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Category: Speeches

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the British steel industry.

    Anna Soubry

    The UK is stronger, safer, and better off in a reformed EU, and this very much applies to our steel industry. The EU is our most important market for steel, buying over half our steel exports, and it is a powerful voice pushing for fair international trading conditions. Our membership provides access to a vast open market with a good system that balances the interests of producers and users. Outside the EU, we could find ourselves on the receiving end of EU tariffs, which would result in additional costs for the UK steel industry. In addition, we would be less able to defend ourselves against unfair competition from third countries. The Commission now has a record 37 measures against steel products, 16 of which are on Chinese imports.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many small applications for house-building have been made in Torridge and West Devon constituency since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    Separate figures for the numbers of planning applications received for house-building are not collected by the department. Figures are, however, available on the number of decisions made: these show that 1,224 decisions were made on applications for minor housing developments within the Torridge and West Devon constituency between 1 January 2010 and 31 March 2016. Minor housing developments are defined as those including fewer than ten dwellings and where the site has an area of less than one hectare.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent from the public purse on the Act FAST campaign in each year since that campaign began.

    David Mowat

    Public Health England (PHE) took over all the public health campaigns formerly run by the Department on 1 April 2013, including Act FAST.

    The funding allocated to the Act FAST media spend is as follows:

    2013-14: £870,000

    2014-15: £850,000

    2015-16: £930,000

    Marketing spend is defined for this purpose as advertising spend covering only the media costs (inclusive of agency commission). These figures do not include recruitment/classified advertising costs and ad hoc spend under £10,000. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

    2016-17 media spend figures are not available as the expenditure has not yet been committed.

    All PHE spend over £25,000, including on public health campaigns, is published routinely and available on gov.uk:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/phe-spend-over-25000

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The information requested is not available.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, (a) when and (b) where the Type 26 frigates will be built; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my noble Friend, Earl Howe to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead, in the House of Lords to Question HL 3905 on 3 December 2015.

    As explained in the White Paper ‘National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161)’, the T26 GCS programme will be crucial to the future of the UK’s warship-building industry and form a central part of the national shipbuilding strategy which is to be published in 2016. This strategy will confirm the arrangements for the build programme of the T26 GCS.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken, both by them internationally and through voluntary agencies, to prevent refugees now in transit through south-eastern Europe from dying of cold; and whether they consider that action is sufficient.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is providing £46 million of humanitarian support to address the needs of refugees and other irregular migrants transiting through Europe and the Balkans. This support is enabling host governments and international organisations including the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organisation for Migration, and non-governmental organisations to provide basic care, assistance, protection, and information to people on the move, with a particular focus on children and the most vulnerable. Of this, £30.5 million is specifically targeted at meeting needs during the Winter. This includes 178,000 warm blankets, 1,700 ‘winterised’ tents to shelter people from the cold weather, warm clothing, hot food, medicines and medical support where low temperatures mean more people will get sick.

    DFID continually reviews humanitarian needs and has deployed experts to countries along the route to assess conditions first-hand. Their assessment is that UK support is appropriate and well targeted, although they remain concerned by the conditions being experienced by already vulnerable people, particularly those who become stranded. DFID will keep the humanitarian situation under review and adapt the UK’s response to emerging needs.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils who achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE in 2015 received no higher than a C grade in any subject.

    Nick Gibb

    Of those pupils[1] achieving five A* to C grades at GCSE[2] in 2015:

    • 4.5% received no higher than a C grade in any subject

    • 32.8% received no higher than a B grade in any subject

    [1] Based on pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the 2014/15 academic year

    [2] Based on those pupils entering single award GCSEs only

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the Marine Conservation Zone from Bideford to Foreland Point to include the Greencliff site.

    George Eustice

    This extension was proposed in a response to the consultation on the designation of this Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). Boundary issues were examined where new relevant information or data were presented which had not previously been considered. Natural England analysed evidence submitted with the extension proposal and advised that it would increase the area of intertidal rock and seabed sediment habitats protected, but these were already protected elsewhere within the MCZ, and in the wider network. Any proposed changes to the boundary cannot be made without further consultation with other stakeholders who may be affected by the change.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on reducing the number of robocalls received by consumers.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    It is unacceptable for consumers to be harassed by nuisance calls, and this Government continues to make progress tackling this issue. The latest figures from the ICO show that reported automated calls accounted for approximately 42% of total calls reported to them – a drop of 3% since the start of the year. This is thanks to tougher enforcement against organisations making automated calls. The ICO recently imposed its largest fine ever of £350,000 on Prodial Ltd for making over 46 million automated nuisance calls. This is 70 times the amount of the maximum possible penalty issued before 2010 – when fines were capped at £5,000, and average fines were considerably less.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what UK Trade and Investment’s total (a) operating budget, (b) communications budget and (c) expenditure on third party communications consultancy and public relations agencies was in (i) 2014, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2016.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) total (a1) operating budget, (b) communications budget and (c) expenditure on third party communications consultancy and public relations agencies in (i) 2014, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2016 was as follows in the table below. We have also provided additional figures (a2) to reflect UKTI total associated operating costs which were allocated by parliament to UKTI’s parent departments, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills prior to 2015/16. These costs have been increasingly consolidated into UKTI operating budget over the last two years:

    2013/14(£m)

    2014/15(£m)

    2015/16 (£m)

    A1

    166.4

    271.9

    343.0

    A2

    209.6

    90.4

    –

    376.0

    362.3

    343.0

    B

    12.6

    4.1

    4.1

    C

    0.5

    3.8

    1.4