Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the median amount of (1) child benefit, and (2) child tax credit, received by working families with children whose family earnings are at least £23,000 in Greater London, or £20,000 outside Greater London.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government is committed to achieving a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare economy. That means more emphasis on support to working families on low incomes through reducing tax and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.

    The Chancellor is listening to concerns raised by colleagues and will announce in his Autumn Statement how he plans to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits and saving the money we need to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

    HM Revenue & Customs publish statistics about individuals and households claiming tax credits and child benefits, which are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 10915, what the longest recorded time is for which a woman without any outstanding criminal offences was held in immigration detention since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The longest time that a woman without any outstanding criminal offences has been held in immigration detention since 2010 is 588 days. The individual concerned was subsequently removed from the country. Detention can be prolonged where individuals fail to comply with the re-documentation and/or removal processes, or submit very late, or multiple, applications or appeals.

    The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the length of detention of people detained in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes, within the Immigration Statistics release on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the total area of the direct commissioning site at Connaught Barracks has planning permission for housing development.

    Brandon Lewis

    The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much and what proportion of his Department’s overseas development assistance budget his Department spent was subject to the International Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

    Mr David Lidington

    All of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocation has been subject to the International Development Act since its enactment. This has amounted to: £321 million in financial year 2013/14; £344 million in financial year 2014/15 and is estimated to be over £400 million for the financial year 2015/16.

  • Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of people who have purchased homes under the Help to Buy scheme were from BAME communities since the introduction of that scheme.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not collate this information centrally.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to work with the Egyptian government to prevent people traffickers operating from (a) Alexandria and (b) other Egyptian ports.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Government officials regularly engage the Egyptian authorities on irregular migration. Most recently, senior officials from the Home Office met their Egyptian counterparts on 27 April to discuss a range of issues, including how best to co-operate on countering irregular migration. They are now considering what areas of technical expertise and programmatic support we can provide the Egyptian authorities to strengthen their enforcement capabilities. The UK is also contributing to the “European Union Naval Force – Mediterranean” mission, aimed at disrupting human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Mediterranean and reducing the loss of life at sea.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people living in Croydon have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    The number of Enhanced Disclosure applications from people living in Croydon that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months (for which data is available) is listed in the following table.

    May 2015 – April 2016

    Total Enhanced Disclosures Dispatched (applicants from Croydon)

    Disclosures which took over 60 Days

    Total

    34,031

    5,708
  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral answer of 10 January 2011, Official Report, column 11, what changes have been made to the welfare system since 2011 to support households after multiple birth.

    Damian Hinds

    The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a payment of £500 to provide important help for families with the costs of a new baby (or babies in the event of a multiple birth) if there are no other children under 16 in the claimant’s family. The grant is available to recipients, and partners of recipients, of a qualifying benefit or tax credit.

    From 2012, access to the Sure Start Maternity Grant has been extended and is also available for the additional children of subsequent multiple births. This acknowledges the help that is needed with the costs for all but one of the additional children of a subsequent multiple birth.

    Also, from 2012, Social Fund Budgeting Loans have been available to cover other maternity expenses.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 13 October (HL2299), why they do not hold information on the cost of deportations.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office has published information on the average cost of detention and removal but this is not broken down by initial application type, and to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Further information can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costs-involved-in-detaining-and-removing-illegal-migrants

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contribution the Local Pinch Point Fund has made towards increasing the housing supply.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department is providing £263 million through the Local Pinch Point Fund, targeted at traffic congestion hot-spots, which when combined with local authority and developer contributions is funding schemes costing around £500 million.

    Based on estimates from the promoting authorities, many of the schemes awarded funding encourage housing and commercial development around them, with the potential to support around 150,000 new homes and 200,000 jobs.