Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made by the leading donor countries, including the United Kingdom, in South Sudan in promoting civil society, effective governance and accountability.

    Baroness Warsi

    The current crisis in South Sudan has significantly set back the development of civil society and effective governance. As a member of a Troika (UK, US and Norway) we have worked closely with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators to identify opportunities for civil society participation in the political process, and, in particular, the engagement of women, youth and faith group representatives. IGAD has proposed to both parties that representatives of civil society are present in the talks themselves, and assist in informing of the agenda.

    We are clear that accountability for human rights violations and abuses will be an essential part of the peace process. We support the work of the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan and UNMISS (UN Mission in South Sudan) human rights team as first steps towards ensuring that perpetrators are held to account.

    The promotion of civil society voices and effective governance will continue to be part of the UK’s development programmes to support stabilisation and peace-building in South Sudan.

  • John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2013, Official Report, column 335W, on the Merchant Shipping (Diving Safety) Regulations 2002, whether it is still his policy to pursue revocation of the regulations.

    Stephen Hammond

    It is still our policy to revoke the Merchant Shipping (Diving Safety) Regulations 2002.

    There have been no specific discussions between Ministers or the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regarding the implications for diver safety or revoking the regulations since May 2013. However, the proposal was raised by the MCA at a meeting with HSE’s Offshore Division in July 2013 to consider a range of regulatory issues affecting the offshore sector, and it was agreed to discuss in more detail as the proposals are developed, and prior to any changes to the regulations.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department plans to develop its existing work on violence against women in Afghanistan in its next operational plan.

    Justine Greening

    DFID works with partners in Afghanistan, including other donors, Afghan women and civil society groups, and the Afghan Government to build on our existing work tackling violence against women and improving women’s rights.

    This includes £3m funding for a joint programme with the Australian Government to improve the implementation of laws designed to protect women and girls affected by violence. From 2014, up to £2m in grants from the DFID-funded Tawanmandi programme to Afghan civil society organisations will also be primarily focused on the elimination of violence against women and girls.

  • Aidan Burley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Aidan Burley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Aidan Burley on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what timetable he has adopted for the introduction of a Statutory Code and Adjudicator in the public house sector.

    Jenny Willott

    Between April and June 2013 the Government consulted on proposals to establish a statutory Code of Practice and an independent Adjudicator, which are aimed at supporting pub tenants. The Government received over one thousand one hundred written responses to the consultation on pub companies and their tenants and over seven thousand responses to the online survey conducted in parallel. We are considering the evidence carefully, to ensure that intervention is both proportionate and targeted, and we intend to publish a Government Response to the consultation as soon as we can.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseeker’s allowance claimants have been referred early to payment group three of the work programme since June 2011; and what proportion of all the referrals to that payment group they account for.

    Esther McVey

    The number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants referred early to the Work Programme under payment group three between June 2011 and December 2013 is 51,440. This equates to 18.5% of the total number referred under this payment group.

  • Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that children and adoptive parents receive support beyond the initial stages of the adoption process.

    Edward Timpson

    People who adopt are making a life changing decision, both for themselves and the children they adopt.

    Research indicates a high level of need among adoptive families for therapeutic services often many years after the adoption process has ended.

    It is for this reason that we have committed £19.3 million into an Adoption Support Fund to make therapeutic support much more widely accessible, timely and of high quality for adoptive families.

  • Lord Barnett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Barnett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Barnett on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 26 March (HL Deb, col 528), what was the basis on which he described the sale of the student loan book for £160 million as value for money for the taxpayer”; and what was the original value of the loans.”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Mortgage Style loans offered for sale had a face value of around £890 million.

    The sale of the Mortgage Style Loan Book was value for money as the purchase price exceeded the value of retention to Government.

    The real value of the book is below the face value of the loans because of the subsidised nature of the loans and their age. These loans attract low interest rates and have an earnings threshold for repayment. The age-related write off combined with the earnings threshold means some borrowers never repay.

    The sale of Mortgage style Loans also allowed the Student Loans Company to focus on its core business of supplying income contingent loans (ICR) to current students and collecting repayments from those loans.

  • Mr Nick Gibb – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Nick Gibb – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Nick Gibb on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implementation of The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. [R]

    David Laws

    Ofsted routinely checks school websites before inspections. If a parent, or other party, believes that a school is not complying with the requirements, they are entitled to raise this with the governing body. If their complaint is not resolved and they believe that the school has failed to discharge its duty or acted unreasonably, they can raise their complaint with the Secretary of State.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will assess the potential merits of allowing designated bodies to be given the power to make super-complaints against public service providers such as those that exist in private markets.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Government is considering recent reports of the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) into how complaints about public services are handled. As part of this, the Cabinet Office is working to investigate further how public services can make best use of complaints and also to take a wider look at the role and powers of the Public Sector Ombudsmen. The Government will respond to the PASC in due course. I am happy to discuss this matter further with my Hon. Friend.

    The annual reports and accounts of the public service ombudsmen in the UK provide details of their performance over the past 12 months including information about complaints received.

  • Mr Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Jamie Reed on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training schemes his Department has in place to enable teachers to support children who have type one diabetes.

    Edward Timpson

    The training of school staff to support pupils with medical conditions is a matter for schools. However, the Department for Education fully expects them to be aware of and understand the needs of pupils with medical conditions such as diabetes, and to put arrangements in place to provide effective support. This should include ensuring that school staff receive suitable training.

    From September 2014, there will be a new duty, (introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014), on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance (upon which we have consulted publicly) will set out the requirements on schools to support children with medical conditions, which we would expect them to apply to conditions like diabetes. The guidance will set out expectations in respect of staff training.