Category: Speeches

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees have been admitted to the UK since September 2015 in each region; and how many she plans to admit by the end of 2016.

    Richard Harrington

    We will not be giving a running commentary on numbers. The refugees that we are bringing to the United Kingdom are very vulnerable people. Our prime concern is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and ensure their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available. We want to ensure the understandable public interest in the scheme is not based on a running commentary on the numbers that have arrived.

    Notwithstanding this, the Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 26 November 2015 and will cover the period July-September 2015.

    The programme is driven by need, and the number resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors. This includes the number of referrals we have received from UNHCR and the number of confirmed places we have received from local authorities that are suitable for the specific needs of those who have been accepted for resettlement. Rather than a monthly or yearly target we acknowledge that some months we will resettle more or less than others because it is based on the need in the region at that time and the progress of those people through the system. We cannot, therefore, state at this time how many confirmed places will be made available by the end of 2016.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what response his Department has made to requests for more rail travel paths from North Wales to Manchester Airport.

    Andrew Jones

    The allocation of train paths is a matter for the independent Office of Road and Rail to decide, not the Department for Transport.

  • Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) children, and (2) adults, had an appointment with an NHS dentist in each of the 10 districts of Greater Manchester in each of the last five years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Information is not available in the format requested.

    The attached tables show the unique number of patients who received National Health Service dental care in the previous 24 months. An equivalent measure covering the 12 month period is not available.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of his Department were in each of the last five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The table below shows the average hourly earnings for (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of the Department for Transport which includes:

    • Department for Transport (c)
    • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
    • Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
    • Maritime and Coastguard Agency
    • Vehicle Certification Agency
    • Government Car Service
    • Highways Agency

    Year

    FY 2010/11

    FY 2011/12

    FY 2012/13

    FY 013/14

    FY 2014/15

    [a] Female

    £13.58

    £13.85

    £14.28

    £14.75

    £15.21

    [b] Male

    £15.25

    £15.43

    £15.77

    £16.22

    £16.50

    [c] Full Time

    £14.85

    £15.05

    £15.43

    £15.91

    £16.23

    [d] Part time

    £14.00

    £14.24

    £14.52

    £14.78

    £15.17

    Please note: the Government Car Services (GCS) does not hold information on FY 2010/2011 and FY 2011/2012 and is therefore not included in the Department return for these years.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Govia Thameslink Railways Ltd on closure or reduction in hours of ticket offices.

    Claire Perry

    Representatives from Govia Thameslink Railway briefed officials at the Department for Transport on their plans to carry out a consultation on proposals to change ticket office opening hours at some stations.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the posts of NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprints Leaders are remunerated; and how long appointments to those posts are for.

    George Freeman

    Being a Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) leader is a voluntary, non-statutory role. As far as NHS England is aware, in the overwhelming majority of cases, leaders are not being paid over and above the remuneration they receive for their existing roles.

    The role of the STP leaders is to support the development of STPs which are expected to be submitted in July 2016.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 3.2 of his Department’s document, Implementing the replacement for the Horserace Betting Levy, published in March 2016, how his Department plans to use the independent report on the value of the common interest between betting and racing to inform the construct of the proposed levy replacement and recover revenues lost from remote offshore betting.

    David Evennett

    The rate payable by gambling operators will be informed by this independent economic analysis of the funding of horseracing and further discussion with the betting and racing industries. We will be consulting on the findings of the report with both industries within the next few weeks and intend to publish the report in due course.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce a compulsory module on understanding the needs and risks of vulnerable road users to the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence syllabus.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) was purposely designed so that drivers and their employers can decide what type of training is best for the individual. This flexibility ensures that personal training needs are met. Nevertheless, the Government recognises the importance of drivers understanding the needs and risks of vulnerable road users (VRUs). DVSA guidance on Driver CPC course approval therefore encourages training providers to include VRU content within periodic training courses where appropriate.

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre detainees were held in the Kingfisher Isolation Unit on the weekend of 10 September 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Kingfisher Unit at Yarl’s Wood is managed by Serco, the service provider, in accordance with Rules 40 (removal from association) and 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. Detainees may only be separated from others for reasons of safety, either their own or for others, for security reasons or when an individual is being refractory or violent. There is no provision in the Rules for separation to be used as punishment.

    Provisional management information from Serco shows that no detainees were re-located to Kingfisher Unit on either 10 or 11 September. There is no record of any complaints having been made by detainees alleging that they have been threatened with placement on Kingfisher Unit in connection with the demonstration on 10 September.

    Detainee Custody Officers must not threaten detainees in order to manage their behaviour but may advise detainees that they may be separated if their behaviour is judged to risk compromising the safety and security of the centre, themselves or others.

  • Stuart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stuart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart McDonald on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has considered the potential contribution that sustainable fuels can make to supporting the decarbonisation of the UK economy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Sustainable fuels already form an important part of our energy mix and are contributing to the decarbonisation of the UK economy.

    During 2014 just under a fifth of renewable electricity generation came from bioenergy; bioenergy also forms about 94% of our total renewable heat generation; and in transport the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) ensures that just under 5% of transport fuel comes from sustainable biofuels.

    The 2011 Carbon Plan set out a range of scenarios for how the UK could reduce emissions. This considered the role of renewable technologies under the different scenarios. The Government is due to set out next year the level of the fifth carbon budget, covering the years 2028-2032, and following this, a new emissions reduction plan will be published.