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Category: Speeches

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) legal fees for employment tribunals for the last twelve months, where invoices have so far been received (January 2015 – December 2015), total £46,385.52. The FCO is in the process of recovering £3,000 of this following a Costs Order in our favour.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to which location he plans to relocate his Department’s functions out of London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department has not yet made final decisions on its future estate. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise has already informed the House, the current plans for the Department’s future estate are for:

    • A combined HQ and policy centre in London
    • Business-facing centre, likely to be in South Wales
    • Institutional and Research funding centre, likely to be in Swindon, but may initially also include Bristol
    • Further education funding centre – location yet to be decided but may initially be in Coventry
    • Higher education student finance centre, initially in Glasgow and Darlington
    • A regulation centre likely to be in Birmingham
    • A combined regional footprint for where service delivery to local users need to happen on a local basis, comprising the BIS Local offices and local service delivery
  • Jack Lopresti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jack Lopresti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Lopresti on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the UK’s (a) payments to the EU, (b) receipts through EU schemes and (c) receipts through the UK rebate in each year between 2020 and 2030.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Treasury’s approach to estimating the net cost of the EU budget to the UK over the long term is set out in Annex B of HM Treasury Analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives, publicly available at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517415/treasury_analysis_economic_impact_of_eu_membership_web.pdf

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that staff in her Department receive religious literacy training.

    Nick Gibb

    We currently have no plans to carry out religious literacy training in the Department.

    Civil Service Learning, the main training portal for Civil Servants, has a broad range of diversity and inclusion courses, which are available to all civil servants. There is also a two day course covering both Abrahamic and Dharmic religions for officials who need a more in depth understanding to carry out their role.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to monitor the effect of the change from disability living allowance to personal independence payments on the standard of living of the recipients of those payments.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Both Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are designed to contribute towards the extra cost of having a disability. PIP is a modern benefit that maintains the key principles of DLA; it is a non-means-tested, non-taxable cash benefit available to people in and out of work. In addition, it takes proper account of mental health conditions and targets resources on those who need support. Most people will continue to receive support under PIP and, in fact, a greater proportion of claimants are receiving the highest rates of the benefit than in DLA – 23 per cent compared to 15 per cent on DLA.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to limit the use of accessible toilets solely for disabled people.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Department for Communities and Local Government has commissioned research into existing guidance in Approved Document M (Access to and use of buildings) of the Building Regulations, including on the use of accessible toilets, and that research will help to guide the way forward where any change to existing legislation is needed. Legislating to restrict use of accessible toilets raises many complex issues including in defining who would, and who would not, be entitled to use such facilities and whether this would be enforceable. Government takes the view that current arrangements are practicable without the need for further legislation and, as a result, does not intend to pursue this further at this time.

  • Baroness Goudie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Goudie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the economic development of the north of England under Candu Energy’s plans for the reuse of the United Kingdom’s plutonium stockpile and closure of nuclear sites.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is in the process of submitting advice to DECC, which together with other sources of information and evidence, will enable DECC to consider options for the disposition of plutonium. There are a number of options for dispositioning of plutonium that will be considered, including the potential option presented by Candu. A decision will be made by ministers in due course. The Government is confident that its preferred option for plutonium disposition will be implemented safely and securely, and in a way that is affordable, deliverable, and offers value for money.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders of each offence type pleaded guilty to an offence during (a) the latest period for which information is available after 13 April 2015 and (b) the equivalent period of time before 13 April 2015 in (i) Magistrates Courts and (ii) Crown Courts.

    Mike Penning

    The proportion of defendants who were tried at the Crown Court and who pleaded guilty, by offence group, in England and Wales in 2014 can be viewed in the table.

    Centrally held information does not include the plea of defendants proceeded against and handled entirely within the magistrates’ courts. This is held on individual court records, which could only be examined at disproportionate cost.

    Final data for defendants tried at the Crown Court is only available up to the end of 2014.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department took to publicise the recent NHS Mandate Consultation.

    George Freeman

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for High Peak (Andrew Bingham) on 2 December 2015 to Question 18482.

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what amount was spent on the maintenance and repair of (a) HMS Daring, (b) HMS Dauntless, (c) HMS Diamond, (d) HMS Dragon, (e) HMS Defender and (f) HMS Duncan for (i) planned maintenance and (ii) repair work in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The amount spent on Maintenance and Repair for the six Type 45 Destroyers is detailed in the table below rounded to the nearest half million:

    Name of Ship

    In-Service Date

    Maintenance/Repair

    Cost (£ million)

    HMS DARING

    July 2010

    Programmed Maintenance

    £7

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    £4.5

    HMS DAUNTLESS

    November 2010

    Programmed Maintenance

    £4.5

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    £4.5

    HMS DIAMOND

    July 2011

    Programmed Maintenance

    £9.5

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    £3.5

    HMS DRAGON

    April 2012

    Programmed Maintenance

    £7

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    £2

    HMS DEFENDER

    March 2013

    Programmed Maintenance

    £2

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    £3

    HMS DUNCAN

    December 2013

    Programmed Maintenance

    £1.5

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    £2

    The table below reflects the number of planned maintenance days per ship over the six year period. Repair work on individual ship systems takes place during both planned maintenance periods and operational deployments and data relating to the number of days’ worth of repair work is not collected. Unprogrammed work/repair figures shown cover the extension of maintenance periods.

    Name of Ship

    In-Service Date

    Maintenance/ Repair

    Duration

    HMS DARING

    July 2010

    Programmed Maintenance

    360

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    105

    HMS DAUNTLESS

    November 2010

    Programmed Maintenance

    215

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    20

    HMS DIAMOND

    July 2011

    Programmed Maintenance

    350

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    0

    HMS DRAGON

    April 2012

    Programmed Maintenance

    250

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    0

    HMS DEFENDER

    March 2013

    Programmed Maintenance

    100

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    0

    HMS DUNCAN

    December 2013

    Programmed Maintenance

    130

    Unprogrammed Work/Repair

    0

    “