Category: Speeches

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether recommendations from the Independent Experts Panel on Serious Case Reviews to Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards are advisory.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    ‘Working Together’ states that local safeguarding children boards “should have regard to the panel’s advice when deciding whether or not to initiate a serious case review (SCR), when appointing reviewers and when considering publication of SCR reports.”

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the stability of the shadow banking sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When appropriately conducted, shadow banking can benefit the economy by increasing the availability of credit to a range of individuals or firms, and provide a valuable alternative to bank funding. It provides credit and liquidity to the real economy and can improve efficiency and drive innovation in the financial system through firms developing expert knowledge in a particular area.

    However, the Government is aware of the risks shadow banking activities pose to financial stability when things go wrong. The crisis showed that some shadow banking entities created pro-cyclical build-ups of leverage, did not fully transfer credit risk, were susceptible to rapid sell-offs, and were very complex. It also became clear that the shadow banking sector had very complex interconnections with the traditional banking system.

    Recognising the need to improve the transparency and supervision of the shadow banking sector, the Government has taken steps to improve the way shadow banking entities are regulated.

    Domestically, the Government has created new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. In September last year, the Committee agreed as one of its medium term priorities the identification and management of potential systemic risks from shadow banking.

    At the international level, the Government is actively supporting the effective regulation of the sector in EU policymaking, and the UK is instrumental in shaping the global regulatory response at the Financial Stability Board.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

    Gregory Barker

    The Table below details the companies used and the total amounts paid to them in the last financial year. We are unable to identify separately the amounts retained by the companies as fees and the amounts passed on to the temporary worker by the company.

    Agency

    2013-14

    £k

    Adecco UK Ltd

    1,162

    Michael Page International Recruitment Ltd

    533

    Methods Consulting Ltd

    517

    Parity Resources Ltd

    461

    Allen Lane Ltd

    406
  • David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to speed up the planning system.

    Nick Boles

    We have reformed the planning system to make it simpler, more positive and faster to navigate. We have abolished top down regional planning and increased the types of development that benefit from permitted development rights. Where planning permission is required, we have stripped away unnecessary information requirements while retaining essential safeguards. The National Planning Policy Framework, and our recently published simplified planning guidance, provides a significantly clearer basis for making decisions than the confusing array of sometimes contradictory policy that we inherited; and we have taken steps to tackle under-performance by planning authorities where this occurs.

    The latest statistics show that these steps are having a significant impact. For example, district level planning authorities between January and March 2014 granted 76 per cent of major applications on time compared with 60 per cent in the same quarter in 2013.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the gender balance is of his Department’s management board and its sub-committees.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Management Board consists of 8 executive (5 male and 3 female) and 2 non-executive members (1 male and 1 female).

    The Management Board is supported by the four Sub-Committees which are each chaired by a member of the Board; they are Audit & Risk Committee, Human Resources (HR) Committee, Operations Committee and Health and Safety Committee.

    The gender breakdown of the committees is as follows:

    Audit & Risk Committee (ARC): 2 male, 1 female;

    HR Committee: 9 male, 10 female; and the 20th position is currently filled by two people (1 male, 1 female) in a job-share;

    Operations Committee: 9 male and 8 female; and

    FCO Health and Safety Committee: 18 male and 8 female members.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the annual cost in each school of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force detachment.

    Anna Soubry

    The cost of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force (CCF) unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme depends largely on the number of cadets in the unit.

    Decisions on opening new CCFs in schools are made jointly by the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence (MOD). The key criteria for deciding which schools can establish a new CCF are the ability of the school to fund the new unit and provide sufficient adult volunteers to run it. However, we are particularly interested in establishing CCFs in areas of deprivation.

    No assessment has been made of the effect of establishing new CCFs in state schools on recruitment to community cadet units. However, it should be noted that CCFs and community cadet units deliver different but complementary elements of the MOD’s youth engagement strategy.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by her Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

    Karen Bradley

    Information on the 10 consultancy firms that were paid the most by the Home Department for the last financial year and how much each of those firms were paid is set out in the table below:

    Supplier Name

    Total Cost/Value

    1. DETICA LTD

    £7,220,985

    2. PA CONSULTING SERVICES LTD

    £6,084,558

    3. ERNST AND YOUNG LLP

    £2,575,080

    4. KPMG LLP

    £2,259,099

    5. DELOITTE

    £855,360

    6. PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS LLP

    £676,871

    7. BROADCASTING SUPPORT SERVICES

    £387,268

    8. X-NET

    £298,407

    9. ROKE MANOR RESEARCH LIMITED

    £94,262

    10. iO1 LTD

    £45,704

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many cases of academy trusts acquiring freehold interests on land for schools there have been in each of the last five financial years.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may allow publicly-funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

    There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

    The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

    “

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether her Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department’s payroll services are provided by the Ministry of Justice. My understanding is that they have no current plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

  • John Howell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Howell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Howell on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms in Henley constituency have been subject to restrictions on cattle movements following a test proving the presence of TB in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    Statistics on TB breakdowns are only available at county and herd level. Figures below show the number of herds restricted as a result of positive bovine TB test results in Oxfordshire in each of the last three years:

    · 2011 – 30

    · 2012 – 29

    · 2013 – 27

    Bovine TB statistics are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bovine-tb.

    “