Category: Speeches

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of additional jobs and (b) amount of additional housing resulting from a Meadowhall High Speed 2 station location.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Analysis of the Sheffield City Region station options was published in the ‘Engineering options report; West Midlands to Leeds’ dated March 2012. This included analysis of several station sites around the city centre.

    The current estimated difference in cost between locating a High Speed station at Victoria and Meadowhall is £680m. Previous work on the cost of options at Victoria and other city centre sites are not comparable to the current estimate given above. With regards to the Meadowhall station, following the 2013 public consultation, no significant changes have been made to the original station design therefore there have not been any changes in cost.

    When recommending a station location HS2 Ltd. uses a number of criteria, including;

    1. engineering and construction feasibility;
    2. sustainability;
    3. demand considerations, including journey times;
    4. cost; and
    5. wider impacts

    Potential options were sifted by HS2 Ltd. according to these criteria. To support and challenge this approach, external stakeholders and advisors from the Department’s Project Representative Team were involved in reviewing the process and outcomes where appropriate. Further information about the appraisal process can be found in the 2012 ‘Options for phase two of the high speed rail network’ report and 2013 ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’ report. Both of these documents are available on the government website.

    Analysis undertaken by HS2 shows that the introduction of the Sheffield Meadowhall HS2 station could support up to 5,400 jobs and up to 300 residential units, while a HS2 station at Victoria could support an estimated 9,000 jobs and 900 housing units.

    Finally, I can confirm that Department for Transport officials have received a copy of Sheffield City Region’s study into connectivity for a city centre High Speed 2 station at Victoria which Network Rail was involved in.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of increasing the state pension age on productivity.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The projected increase in the number of people working as a result of the rise in State Pension age provided for by the Pensions Act 2011 was estimated to generate a significant increase in gross employment earnings. Under this new timetable the peak increase compared to the previous timetable would be £5.0 billion in 2022/23 (in 2011/12 prices).

    At an individual level, working longer and saving into a private pension will, on average, increase lifetime pension income. Taking into consideration the additional employment income, individuals’ lifetime income will be improved if they work longer. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that the rise in women’s State Pension age from 60 to 62 has been accompanied by increases in employment rates for the women affected.

    Research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in 2011 showed that an increase of one year in the average effective working life is estimated to result in additional annual national output worth up to one per cent of GDP. In the same research, it was estimated that real GDP would be six per cent lower than it otherwise would have been by 2030, if plans for raising the state pension age (according to the Pensions Act 2007) were not implemented.

    The increase in labour supply as a result of the Pensions Act 2011 was also estimated to boost GDP above the projected baseline of the previous timetable. GDP could be between £7 billion and £9 billion higher in 2022/23 (in 2011/12 prices); in the period 2016 to 2026, the increase in labour supply due to the increase in State Pension age could boost national output by £70 billion (in 2011/12 prices).

    More information on both impacts can be found in Annex A of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment at::

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pensions-act-2011-impact-assessment

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the concluding evaluation of the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Payment-by-Results pilot programme will be published.

    George Freeman

    Publication by the University of Manchester of the final report on the evaluation of the drug and alcohol recovery payment by results pilots programme is expected this summer following completion of an independent peer review process.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will seek information from the BBC on the number of unique visitors to the BBC Food website in each month since May 2010; and if he will place that information in the Library.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Decisions in relation to the BBC’s online content are a matter for the BBC which is editorially independent of the Government.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Attorney General, which EU (a) legislative and (b) other proposals the Law Officers’ Department is leading negotiations on for the Government in the Council of the EU.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Law Officers’ Departments are not leading any negotiations for the Government in the Council of the EU.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the service standard is for cases handled by the Complex Casework Directorate.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Complex Casework Directorate has a published service standard for in country Administrative Reviews. The target is to decide 95% of all applications within 28 days.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints relating to the implementation of charging for the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme have been received by (a) the Child Maintenance Service and (b) Child Maintenance Options.

    Priti Patel

    (a) The information requested is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    (b) Child Maintenance Options (CM Options) is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. They are also the gateway to the statutory Child Maintenance Service, ensuring parents who wish to access the 2012 Scheme are making a fully informed decision and have considered making their own arrangements first.

    CM Options will provide information on the charging associated with applications made to the 2012 scheme, but any dissatisfaction in relation to collections charges is directed to the Child Maintenance Service to respond.

  • Richard Fuller – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Richard Fuller – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage business start-ups and entrepreneurship.

    Anna Soubry

    The Start-Up Loans scheme supports people wanting to start a business and has provided over 33,500 loans worth over £180 million. The Government is providing further funding to Growth Hubs to help businesses at the local level, as well as cutting taxes on small businesses, extending rate relief and increasing the Employment Allowance.

    The latest stats from the ONS show that the number of UK start-ups has reached record levels with some 351,000 new businesses launched in 2014.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, is applicable in the outworking of the law, and if so, how.

    Lord Dunlop

    I have nothing further to add to my earlier responses on parity of esteem.

  • David Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to reform the police complaints process.

    Mike Penning

    Complaints made against the police must be responded to in a way that builds public confidence, and allows lessons to be learned.

    The Policing and Crime Bill will reform the complaints system so that the handling of police complaints is customer focused and that cases are dealt with quickly and effectively, not just for the benefits of the public, but also for officers who have done nothing wrong.