Category: Speeches

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Greek and Turkish governments on the unification of Cyprus.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK remains a strong supporter of a Cyprus settlement. We engage regularly with Greece and Turkey, at a range of levels, as part of our efforts to build support for the UN-led settlement talks. We look forward to continuing to work with Greece and Turkey to help the Greek and Turkish Cypriots to reunite their island through a just and lasting settlement.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS advised GPs to administer the pandemic influenza vaccine during the 2010-11 winter due to shortages of supply of seasonal influenza vaccine.

    Jane Ellison

    An estimated 172,260 doses of pandemic flu vaccine were administered from 1 September 2010 to 28 February 2011.

    The Department issued a letter from the Chief Medical Officer on 6 January 2011 about seasonal influenza vaccine uptake and supply. It noted that if efforts to source seasonal flu locally had not been successful, then the H1N1 monovalent vaccine Pandemrix could be offered to those eligible for seasonal flu vaccine.

  • Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many reserve police officers of the Royal Air Force Police they estimate will be deployed in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, (3) 2017–18, (4) 2018–19, and (5) 2019–20.

    Earl Howe

    As at December 2015, the strength of the Royal Air Force Police Reserve, trained or in training, was 150. The liability for the Royal Air Force Police Reserve is 200 for the financial years 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 inclusive.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24298, on Revenue and Customs Greater Manchester, if he will place in the Library the value for money review of the decision made in February 2008.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs has not undertaken a separate value for money review of the decision in February 2008 to close the office at Phoenix House, Oldham. I refer you to my answer of 3 February 2016.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many nationals from other EU member states have been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for (a) less than one month, (b) more than one month, (c) between one and three months, (d) between three and six months, (e) between six and 12 months and (f) more than 12 months.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential effect of changes to employer national insurance and pension contributions on (a) primary and (b) secondary school budgets.

    Nick Gibb

    The most recent change to the employer contribution rate for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) took place in September 2015. At that time the rate was increased from 14.1% to 16.4% of the total pay bill from September 2015. The current employer contribution rate will not change until after the next scheme valuation is complete, which is expected to be in April 2018.

    On 1 April this year, the single tier state pension was introduced. Members of previously contracted out schemes will no longer receive a National Insurance rebate. The National Insurance rate for employers has increased therefore by 3.4% for all salary payments between £8,112.01 and £40,040. Based on data from the last scheme valuation this change is expected to add on average 2% to schools’ pay bill, in relation to the TPS, from 1 April 2016.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to take account of the levels of satisfaction with pay reported in the Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey in his setting of pay policy for the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    The new Pay 16 structure was specifically established in response to Service personnel criticisms of the old pay model. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has developed the new pay model as a simpler, more transparent system which provides Service personnel with greater pay predictability. It addresses some of the concerns about the previous pay model reported by personnel through both the Service Complaints system and the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) and in feedback from the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). I fully expect these changes to be positive for morale overall.

    Many personnel will experience an increase in pay as a result of the new pay model, and no one will take a cut in core pay on implementation. We have taken steps to ensure that personnel are aware of the range and nature of the pay reforms that began on 1 April 2016 and comprehensive internal communications activity has been undertaken to explain the changes. This included Departmental guidance to help personnel understand their new pay statement and any changes. Personnel, including those under pay protection, continue to remain eligible for any Government-approved pay award. Pay protection has been put in place to ensure that no one will take a pay cut on implementation of Pay 16 and this arrangement will exist for at least the first three years to ensure that no one is disadvantaged.

    The new pay model is not designed as a cost saving exercise, but is a rebalancing of pay to make more efficient and effective use of the Armed Forces pay bill; the AFPRB will continue to recommend pay rates for all personnel. As we go forward the Service Complaints Process and AFCAS will be primary sources which inform our assessment of the benefits realised through the pay reforms.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) consultants and (b) seconded staff (i) are working and (ii) have been recruited to work at his Department in the last three years; and from which (A) companies, (B) departments and (C) other organisations such staff were recruited or seconded.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    A) Consultants

    The data that the FCO holds on consultancy projects is tracked by project rather than by individual. Consultants are not always appointed as individuals, rather the project in question is delivered via a company, which allocates the work to experts according to requirements. It is not therefore possible to provide, at proportionate cost, data on the number of consultants recruited to work at the FCO in the last three years. We can however confirm that the FCO has spent the following on consultancy projects in the last three years:

    Financial Year 2015/16 – £1.1m
    Financial Year 2014/15 – £1.6m
    Financial Year 2013/14 – £1.5m

    The FCO’s consultancy expenditure is primarily for specialist advice that supports our diplomacy and where ‘in-house’ expertise is not available, such as de-mining surveys.

    B) Secondments

    With regards to staff on loan from other Government Departments and those seconded from the private sector, the numbers are as follows, based on the year the loan started:

    In 2016 (to date) 147 Civil Servants, 1 public servant, and 1 secondee from the private sector have joined the FCO on loan.

    In 2015, 161 Civil Servants, and 3 public servants joined the FCO on loan. There were no secondments from the private sector.

    In 2014, 149 Civil Servants, 1 public servant and 1 secondee from the private sector joined the FCO on loan.

    Due to the small numbers of loans from individual organisations, it is not possible to give a breakdown of all the organisations from which they were loaned, without risking identification of individuals in breach of data protection rules. However the largest numbers of officers loaned to the FCO in all three years came from:

    2016 2015 2014
    DFID 21 25 11
    Home Office 20 20 20
    Cabinet Office 10 9 20
    HM Treasury 11 11 10
    MOD 13 14 12
    BIS 14 12 14
    DECC 12 4 10
    MOJ 6 14 9

    Fewer than five individuals a year were loaned from any other department. The public servants loaned to the FCO were all Parliamentary staff or Police Officers.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government plans to re-apply for World Trade Organisation membership upon leaving the EU; and what assessment he has made of the length of time it would take for such an application to be successful.

    Greg Hands

    The UK is already a member of the WTO in its own right and will not need to re-apply upon leaving the EU.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what evidential basis there is for there being a link between enabling students from low and middle income backgrounds to attend university and improving UK productivity set out in his report, Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, published in July 2015.

    Greg Hands

    The link between productivity as measured by wage returns and higher education is well established. Academic evidence shows that a woman can expect on average to earn £252,000 more over their lifetime after studying at university, net of taxes and loan repayments. For a man the equivalent figure is £168,000. This government believes that people from all backgrounds should be able to benefit from a university education. UCAS data suggests that those from disadvantaged areas are 38% more likely to apply to university now than they were in 2009.