Category: Speeches

Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of offenders on probation housed in Approved Premises.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Approved Premises (formerly known as probation or bail hostels) are used to provide enhanced supervision for higher-risk offenders who have been released from prison after completing the custodial part of their sentence. They also house a small number of defendants on bail. My Department is analysing the capacity and distribution of the Approved Premises estate to establish whether more places are needed.

January 1, 2023
Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what obligations they intend to place on companies to list their foreign workers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

The Government will shortly be consulting on proposals to tighten the Resident Labour Market Test, which businesses have to undertake before sponsoring individuals under Tier 2 (General), the skilled work route for non-EEA nationals.

This is not about listing foreign workers or so-called “naming and shaming” of companies. This information will not be published. The proportion of international workers in a company is one of the pieces of information that we might decide to take into account, as part of our work to ensure that companies take reasonable steps to recruit at home before looking to bring in workers from abroad.

We will listen to businesses throughout the consultation and use that feedback to inform our decisions.

January 1, 2023
Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with Vivarail, train operating companies, and Passenger Transport Executives on the potential use of D-trains (class 230), and for which areas or services.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The deployment of rolling stock is a matter for train operators.

Department for Transport officials have met with Vivarail to understand their proposals for the refurbishment of D78-Stock. Along with other industry stakeholders, officials have visited Vivarail’s facilities at the Long Marston Depot.

The Great Western Railway franchise includes a commitment for the operator to carry out initial feasibility studies in respect of a number of potential projects, and one of these is into the use of D-Class trains.

Vivarail is a private sector company that has developed these proposals at its own risk.

January 1, 2023
Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the hypothecation of revenues raised from VAT on specific products for a specific purpose.

Mr David Gauke

The Government’s spending priorities are not, in general, determined by the way in which the money is raised. All revenue received, in combination with the amount borrowed or repaid by the Government, contributes to the amount that the Government can spend in total. However, we will continue to look at each case on its merits.

January 1, 2023
Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency planning his Department is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Mr Julian Brazier

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January 2016 to Question 21931.

January 1, 2023
Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to address increasing numbers of ISIS fighters in Kosovo; and what support the UK is offering to authorities in Kosovo to tackle this issue.

Mr David Lidington

We are concerned about the rise of Daesh foreign fighters across Europe, including in Kosovo and are engaging in a range of ways to reduce the risk to the UK. We have encouraged Kosovo to put in place the necessary measures, including legislation and counter-extremism strategies. Last year, Kosovo adopted legislation making it illegal to join in armed conflicts outside its territory and approved a 2015-2020 Counter Extremism Strategy. We, along with other international donors, are identifying areas in the action plan where we can offer support. In addition, our wider assistance to Kosovo targets social exclusion and seeks to promote jobs and growth, which are key to mitigating the risks of marginalisation and radicalisation of Kosovo’s youth. Kosovo is a member of the Global Coalition Against Daesh and, at the UK’s invitation, has joined the Strategic Communications Working Group, which the UK co-chairs.

January 1, 2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department provides to senior civil servants on speaking at public events.

Matthew Hancock

All civil servants are subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Civil Service Management Code. Further guidance on attendance at external events including those organised by political parties can be found in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance (vol 2).

January 1, 2023

Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people with a (a) physical disability, (b) mental disability and (c) physical and mental disability in (i) the UK and (ii) Twickenham constituency.

Justin Tomlinson

a) and b) Based on the latest available figures from the Department’s Family Resources Survey 2013/2014, an estimated 11.9 million people in the UK reported a disability. The table below provides more detailed information about the types of impairment that disabled people reported.

Table 1: Disability prevalence disaggregated by impairment type UK, 2013/14

	Millions of individuals
Impairment type	2013/14
Vision	1.5
Hearing	1.7
Mobility	6.5
Dexterity	3.4
Learning	1.5
Memory	1.9
Mental health	2.1
Stamina/breathing/fatigue	4.5
Social/behavioural	0.8
Other	1.8
All with at least one impairment	11.9

Source: Family Resources Survey 2013/14

Respondents can report, and be affected by, more than one type of impairment.

c) Using the FRS an estimated 2.7 million people in the UK reported both a physical and mental disability. This estimate includes all individuals currently living in private households. It does not include individuals living in communal establishments (e.g. care homes).

For the purposes of this analysis, the following categories have been classified as physical disabilities;

Vision, Hearing, Mobility, Dexterity, and Stamina/Breathing/Fatigue.

The following categories have been classified as mental disabilities;

Learning, Memory, Mental Health, and Social/Behavioural

Note that disabilities classified as "other" have not been included in part c).

The department cannot provide figures in the format requested for Twickenham.

Aggregate level estimates of people with disability aged 16-64 in Twickenham can be found on the Nomis website based on the Annual Population Survey: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/select/getdatasetbytheme.asp?opt=3&theme=&subgrp=

“

January 1, 2023

Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs there were in the manufacturing sector in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of all jobs such jobs were in each such year.

Anna Soubry

Data on the number and proportion of manufacturing employees in each region and constituent country of the UK is available from the Office for National Statistics Employee Jobs data.

Please note that this covers employees only and excludes the self-employed.

The data requested is given below.

Employee Jobs in Manufacturing by Region and Country of the UK

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
North East	129	128	121	116	113
North West	364	361	334	329	305
Yorks/Humber	288	283	267	253	248
East Midlands	279	277	264	257	258
West Midlands	350	331	318	285	280
East of England	247	243	232	220	214
London	144	139	133	118	111
South East	302	297	287	267	265
South West	244	245	232	224	216
Wales	157	156	156	140	129
Scotland	214	212	201	189	176
Northern Ireland	84	84	82	75	73
UK	2,800	2,755	2,626	2,472	2,388

	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
North East	107	110	109	110	116
North West	316	296	302	314	328
Yorks/Humber	247	249	246	258	262
East Midlands	249	261	253	251	256
West Midlands	277	275	280	294	299
East of England	221	226	213	216	212
London	106	107	106	112	115
South East	262	254	242	239	237
South West	213	218	217	214	214
Wales	133	133	138	147	145
Scotland	178	180	174	182	189
Northern Ireland	74	74	75	77	80
UK	2,384	2,383	2,356	2,414	2,453

January 1, 2023

Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information she has been provided by the Office for Nuclear Regulation to demonstrate the safety of Sizewell B nuclear plant restarting after in-service inspection of the reactor pressure vessel undertaken by EDF; and what assessment she has made of the implications for that process of hydrogen flaking present in the RPV Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors in Belgium.

Andrea Leadsom

During Sizewell B’s periodic shutdown, inspectors from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) examined the Licensee’s arrangements for maintenance activities, reviewed test and inspection records and inspected the plant and equipment. A thorough examination (or in-service inspection) of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was completed by EDF to confirm that it remains in good condition. An ONR team of technical specialists examined the results of the in-service inspections and they are satisfied that they demonstrate the continued integrity of the RPV and that the hydrogen flaking present in the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors in Belgium is not evident at Sizewell B.

ONR inspectors did not identify any issues that would affect the safety case for the restart of the Sizewell B reactor and its safe operation up to the next planned statutory periodic shutdown in 2017, and issued clearance for it to restart on 31 May 2016. ONR expects to publish its Project Assessment Report, detailing this decision, on its website.

January 1, 2023