Category: Speeches

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they will be putting forward to assist in the adoption of a new global framework on refugees at the forthcoming UN High Level Summit on Refugees and Migrants on 19 September.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK fully supported the UN General Assembly’s High Level Meeting on Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants on 19 September, and the New York Declaration on refugees and migrants which was adopted at the meeting.

    We will work with others following the High Level Meeting to achieve specific outcomes that will be better for migrants, for refugees, and for all countries in the migration chain – source, transit and destination.

    In New York, the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) argued that alongside stepping up our efforts on humanitarian assistance and development, the international community needs to build a more effective policy approach: addressing the root causes of forced displacement, providing proper protection for refugees, and reducing today’s unmanaged population movement.

    At the High Level Meeting, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of the principle of providing asylum in the first safe country, thereby discouraging dangerous secondary movements; ensuring clarity in the different protections afforded to refugees and economic migrants; and maintaining the rights of all states to control their own borders.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to provide additional resources to local authorities or schools for sex and relationships education.

    Edward Timpson

    We want schools to provide all young people with a curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education have a vital role to play in this.

    SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE, but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

    When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The existing SRE guidance was last updated in 2000. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

    Schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources that can be used and adapted by schools.

    We hold regular meetings with Ofsted about a range of matters. As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high-quality PSHE, including SRE. We are considering all the options, including the need for any statutory powers, and will come to a view soon.

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 12956, how many of the suspicious activity reports received under the provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been investigated; and how many prosecutions have resulted from those investigations.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Department does not hold this information in the format requested.

    All Suspicious Activity Reports received are subject to an initial assessment by the UK Financial Investigation Unit (UKFIU) in the National Crime Agency. The UKFIU Terrorist Finance Team identifies and acts upon SAR information relating to the detection and investigation of terrorist finance, whether submitted under the Terrorism Act (TACT) or the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

    Over the reporting period, the National Crime Agency received 1216 Suspicious Activity Reports under the provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000. These SARs were disseminated to the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit (NTFIU) and the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) network, to make an assessment of what further action was needed and in order for the information to be available in support of counter-terrorist investigations.

    In many cases, a SAR will not merit a specific detailed investigation. However, the information remains searchable and may be used at any time to inform the development of intelligence and operational targeting.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each gender had single-sided deafness in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested on the number of people with single-sided deafness is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of single-sided deafness in the last five years in England.

    Year

    2010 – 2011

    2011 – 2012

    2012 – 2013

    2013 – 2014

    2014 – 2015

    Male

    277

    286

    295

    336

    301

    Female

    299

    279

    310

    336

    332

    This data may include the same person being admitted to hospital on more than one occasion and the data excludes diagnoses that were made outside of secondary care.

    The Action Plan on Hearing Loss was jointly published in March 2015 by the Department and NHS England. It sets out the case for taking action on the rising prevalence and personal, social and economic costs of uncorrected hearing loss and the variation in access and quality of services experienced by people with hearing loss.

    Transfer devices are available through the NHS. NHS England is developing commissioning guidance on the provision of hearing loss services, as part of its commitments in the Action Plan on Hearing Loss. The guidance will support clinical commissioning groups when making local decisions and help improve equality of access and patient experience.

  • Mike Wood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mike Wood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of Staying Put arrangements on foster children.

    Edward Timpson

    Staying Put arrangements help to provide the security and stability that care leavers need to make a successful transition to adulthood. The Department for Education has provided funding of £44m to local authorities for 2014/15 to 2016/17 to support them in implementing the new duty.

    Data published by my Department in October 2015 show that, for the year ending March 2015, 48% of eligible care leavers were in a Staying Put arrangement at age 18.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been spent on the National Citizenship Service programme in each of the last five years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The Autumn 2015 Spending Review announced over £1 billion to expand the National Citizen Service and the ambition is for NCS to cover 60% of all 16 year olds by 2020/21. The following table shows the funding provided by Government for the delivery of NCS since the programme commenced.

    Year

    Government Funding

    2011/12

    £21 million

    2012/13

    £62 million

    2013/14

    £84 million

    2014/15

    £130 million
  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will expedite the work of the cross-governmental working group on drones; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to mitigate the safety risks posed by civilian drones.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Government’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of our citizens. That is why we apply the highest regulatory safety standards for commercial aviation in the world.

    There is legislation in place that requires users of small drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle, and that requires users to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit their vehicle to endanger any person or property.

    It is already illegal to operate a drone recklessly or negligently, and the Crown Prosecution Service has successfully prosecuted where there has been persistent reckless behaviour.

    Education of drone users is vital. The DfT is working with the CAA on raising awareness of responsible drone use. This includes the CAA’s ‘Drone Code’ safety awareness campaign and the issuing of safety leaflets at the point of sale.

    We will continue to keep our policies and regulation under review to ensure public safety remains paramount. This currently includes working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 13258, whether an hon. Member will be informed about a post-16 area-based review on the basis that their constituency is in the area covered by the review or on the basis that a college in their constituency is included in a review.

    Nick Boles

    The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit supporting the area reviews will arrange for Hon. Members to receive a letter informing them when a review is being launched that covers any part of their constituency and inviting them to give their views.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of the number of PAYE schemes whose balances do not reconcile to within £100 of their liabilities in 2013-14 and each successive financial year.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not keep this data.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what involvement UK armed forces have had with EU battle groups in the last three years; and how many UK armed forces personnel the Government has pledged to commit to those groups.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The EU Battlegroup concept has Lead Nations on standby for six month periods. The UK was an EU Battlegroup Lead Nation from July to December 2013, and will be again from July to December 2016. The total number of UK personnel involved is 2,330. They remain under national control and direction at all times.