UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the new Enterprise Allowance scheme.

    Priti Patel

    Latest statistics show that 76,960 new businesses have been set up with the support of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA).

    A cohort study of the initial participants in the scheme showed that 78% of the first 2,960 NEA participants who started to trade remained off benefits for 52 weeks.

    In January 2016 we published an evaluation report which showed that business established with the support of NEA had a sustainability rate of 80%, with over 90% of these trading for over 12 months. Around half of the respondents to the survey reported an expansion in their customer base or an increase in turnover. The majority of respondents were planning to expand their business in the future.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to add junior doctors to the definition of worker in section 43K(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

    Ben Gummer

    The Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and more recent legislation, forms part of the wider employment rights legislation.

    Junior doctors are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, as they are employees of the National Health Service trusts at which they are based.

    The Department supports NHS staff who wish to raise concerns and is implementing a range of measures to support the development of a culture in which staff are able to raise concerns without fear of repercussion or reprisal. The Department has made clear to NHS organisations that they should have policies and procedures to support and encourage staff to raise concerns, and that those concerns should be considered and, where appropriate, acted upon.

  • John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Woodcock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Woodcock on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) flying hours and (b) air shows were flown by the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft prior to their decommissioning.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As the Nimrod MRA4 aircraft was never in RAF service, the Ministry of Defence does not hold information regarding the aircraft’s flying hours or appearance at air shows when operated by BAE Systems.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the UK’s influence in the world of the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The Government believes that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU. That way, the UK can play a leading role in one of the world’s largest organisations. Membership of the EU, like our membership of NATO and the UN, amplifies, not diminishes, the UK’s influence in the world.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of Lord Justice Briggs in his report entitled, Civil Courts Structure: Interim Report, published in December 2015, that personal injury should be excluded from the Online Court.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Government welcomes Lord Justice Briggs’s interim report on the review of civil court structures. Our courts and tribunals are antiquated and need urgent reform. We are considering the recommendations of the interim report and will also pay close attention to the content of Lord Justice Briggs’s final report. Our work to reform the courts and tribunals includes consideration of a range of innovative approaches to provide more effective access to justice. In particular we want to make better use of technology to provide simpler court processes. As part of this we will consider the extent to which technology can be used to resolve some of the most complex cases, including personal injury claims.

    Lord Justice Briggs has undertaken extensive consultation as part of his Review. In addition to this, the Government will continue to engage and consult with the judiciary, practitioners and court users on our wider programme to reform the courts and tribunals.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has made to reallocate UK aid funding from cross-EU funds and programmes.

    Rory Stewart

    We remain committed to spending 0.7% of our national income on development assistance, and to achieving the UN’s Global Goals and ending extreme poverty by 2030. Outside of the EU we will have better control over where we are spending our money. We will continue to uphold our manifesto commitments on UK international development.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48291, what bids his Department received for the provision of specialist steel required for the pressure hulls for the Successor submarine programme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The management of the steel procurement process for the Successor programme is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence conducted a technical assessment during the BAE Systems tendering process to ensure bids met specifications.

    There were four bids received in total. I am withholding details of the bidding firms as the disclosure of this information would be prejudicial to commercial interests.

    Other stages of construction will include grades of steel manufactured by British suppliers and we encourage them to take the opportunity to bid.

    85% of BAE Systems supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people caring full-time for a relative; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    “Caring full-time for a relative” is not a term that is defined in data collections and so the data is not collected centrally.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 November (HL3653), whether they will require all EU advertising notices to include information about the ratio of UK contributions to the EU budget and sums returned by way of grants.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The government has no plans to require all EU advertising notices for Structural and Investment Funds to include information about the ratio of UK contributions to the EU budget and sums returned by way of grants. However we will seek to remove the requirement to display notices in future reforms of the CAP.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the housing on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is affordable.

    Brandon Lewis

    There is outline planning permission for approximately 6,800 homes on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The target is for 31 per cent of these homes to be affordable, which means over 2,100 affordable homes across the entire site.

    The exact percentage of affordable homes delivered will depend on the market conditions as each scheme comes to market.