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Category: Speeches

  • David Lammy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of people sleeping rough since 2010.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society – one person without a home is one too many – that is why since 2010 we have invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England.

    More rough sleepers are being found and helped quicker. Our measures include supporting the roll-out of No Second Night Out across England through the Homelessness Transition Fund. In London, two-thirds of rough sleepers come off the streets after a single night. We have also commissioned the pioneering StreetLink service, which since its launch has helped over 14,500 rough sleepers by connecting them to local support services and avoid becoming entrenched in a life on the streets.

    We are committed to do more to improve services for homeless people with complex needs. Our investment includes £5 million for the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, which is reaching 830 entrenched rough sleepers in London.

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

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to tackle obesity in children under 11.

    Jane Ellison

    Tackling obesity, particularly in children, is one of our major priorities. Progress has been made in recent years, but we know we have much further to go. We will announce our plans for tackling childhood obesity in the new year.

    In the meantime we are continuing to invest in the Change4Life campaign, which provides motivation and support for families to make small but significant improvements to their diets and activity levels. Industry has also taken a range of actions including removing billions of calories and tons of sugar from products and portion sizes have been reduced, but the challenge to industry to make further substantial progress remains.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Ofsted report highlighting a 60 per cent increase in the number of children who have died as a result of abuse and neglect in the past year.

    Lord Nash

    The death of any child is a tragedy. We want all children at risk of abuse or neglect to be identified early, to have timely and proportionate assessments of their individual needs, and to have the right services provided at the right time.

    The Ofsted statistical release, Serious Incident Notifications from local authority children’s services 2015, reports a 17 percent increase in the number of cases of child death being notified to Ofsted compared to the previous year. The rise in numbers of deaths reported to Ofsted does not necessarily indicate a rise in the number of child deaths. The official figures for the number of child deaths in 2014-2015 will be published by Office for National Statistics (ONS) later in the year.

    The Ofsted statistical release contains experimental data, based on information supplied by local authorities about serious incident notifications. What constitutes a serious incident is set out in statutory guidance, Working Together 2015. The Ofsted report is just one of a range of data sources relating to serious incidents involving children. It is not, however, the official source of data on child deaths, which is collected by the ONS. The Government also publishes reviews of homicide and child deaths, which together enable a more accurate assessment of the number and causes of child death.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultation he plans to undertake on changes to the planning process for applications for fracking.

    James Wharton

    The Government has in place a local government led process for the consideration of planning applications for shale gas exploration. As part of this, mineral planning authorities have a responsibility to consider such applicationsunder the Town and Country Planning regime. The Government has taken steps to ensure this locally led regime is effective, as set out in Written Ministerial Statements made on 16 September, HCWS201 and HCWS202. This includes making available £1.2 million to ensure mineral planning authorities have adequate resource to reach timely decisions.

    Community involvement in planning applications and people’s safety and the environment will remain paramount. No decision has been made to take shale gas exploration out of this local government led process and there are no plans currently to consult on such a change.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to encourage academies to join high-performing rather than under-performing multi-academy trusts; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Regional Schools Commissioners (RSC) are supporting the development of high-performing multi-academy trusts (MAT). MATs enable academies to realise a wide range of benefits and provide the formal structure in which high-performing schools can support under-performing schools to improve.

    Where there are concerns about the performance of an academy, the RSC may decide that the support of a new academy trust is needed to bring about the necessary improvements. In selecting a new trust, the RSC will evaluate its capacity, including the performance of the trust’s existing academies and its ability to provide the support required.

    In order to move an underperforming academy to a new trust, the RSC may be able to use the termination powers set out in the academy’s funding agreement to require the academy to move without the agreement of the academy or the existing trust. The Education and Adoption Bill will give RSCs stronger, more consistent powers to do this with all failing and coasting academies.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to ring-fencing funding provided to local authorities for childcare.

    Lord Nash

    We have already announced over £1bn more for the early years entitlements within the ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Grant by 2019-20, which includes £300m per year to uplift the average funding rate to providers. The increase to the funding rate is based on robust evidence from the Review of the Cost of Childcare. We have made clear our commitment to maximise the amount of early years funding which reaches front line childcare providers, and will consult on proposals for achieving this as part of our consultation on early years funding reform later this year.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what polling and research his Department has conducted into public opinion on the EU and the EU referendum since 1 January 2015.

    John Penrose

    Cabinet Office asked independent polling company TNS to carry out a survey in March (2016). This poll found showed that 85% of the public wanted more information on the EU referendum from the Government. TNS published this poll on their website.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in co-operation with the government of Lebanon and UN agencies to ensure that all refugee children in Lebanon receive the basic and remedial education that they need.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has committed up to £40m per year to support education in Lebanon up to 2019/20 as part of our £2.3bn response to the Syria crisis. We are a key proponent of the regional No Lost Generation Initiative, and endorsed an agreement at the London Supporting Syria and the Region conference in February that all refugee and affected host community children should be in education by the end of the 2016/17 school year.

    We are aligning our support behind the Government of Lebanon’s second Reaching All Children with Education Programme (RACE II), working with a range of partners to scale up quality formal and non-formal education. We have already helped expand the Lebanese education system to reach 200,000 Syrian children and are also supporting the expansion of high-quality, standardised non-formal education and training. This includes basic numeracy and literacy and catch-up learning programmes to reach the most vulnerable out of school Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children and youth. We are also tackling barriers to school entry, protection issues and pyscho-social problems that prevent children accessing education. We also support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to ensure Palestinian refugees have access to education and training in Lebanon.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) offices in Scotland the Government plans to close by 2020; and what changes there will be in the total number of HMRC employees working in Scotland.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to create two new regional centres in Scotland in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019-20, accommodating between 5,700 and 6,300 full time equivalent posts by 2025. As work is transferred to the regional centres HMRC plans to close ten offices in Scotland by 2020. The changes are part of a ten-year transformation programme to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. Scotland has 12 per cent of HMRC’s total workforce and that will not change with modernisation.

    HMRC believes that its responsibilities will be unaffected by the changes. Staff are receiving guidance and training to deal with any enquiries relating to the Scottish rate of income tax, as with any other tax issues.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State plans to respond to the letter of 22 September 2016 from the hon. Member for Christchurch seeking further information to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 45756.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I replied to my hon Friend on 17 October 2016.