Category: Speeches

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Land Registry on the effectiveness of its service.

    Sajid Javid

    I am pleased to say we are consulting on this very issue at the moment.

    We want to accelerate the transformation and digitisation of the Land Registry, improving the service it offers.

    However, we would only proceed with any change if we were convinced it would provide a continued appropriate level of service.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the proposals in the European Commission press release, A European Border and Coast Guard to protect Europe’s External Borders, IP/15/6327; and if she will estimate the potential effect of those proposals on the budget of the UK Border Force.

    James Brokenshire

    The proposal for a European Border and Coast Guard builds on provisions of the Schengen agreement in which the UK does not participate; the UK will not therefore be bound by the new regulation, and will receive a refund on any contributions relating to this proposal, in line with its financing share of the EU budget.

    The UK is supportive of steps to increase the security of the external Schengen border – we have a strong interest in effective management of the Schengen external border, not just in combating illegal migration, and cross-border crime but also as part of the EU-wide counter-terrorism effort.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many full-time equivalent trade negotiators his Department has in post (a) in total, (b) with at least a year’s experience, (c) with at least five years’ experience and (d) with at least 10 years’ experience.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade has a strong and capable trade policy team with many years of negotiating expertise. We will continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere in order to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much pupil premium funding has been received by schools in (a) North Swindon constituency, (b) Swindon and (c) England in each of the years since its inception.

    Edward Timpson

    Information on the amount of pupil premium funding is available in the final pupil premium allocations, which are published on the department’s website. Links to the data for each year since the pupil premium was introduced are provided below. The information is available by parliamentary constituency, local authority and nationally.

    2016 to 2017: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017 – click on ‘Pupil premium final allocations 2016 to 2017 by local authority area and region in England’

    2015 to 2016: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations#history

    2014 to 2015: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations

    2013 to 2014: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables

    2012 to 2013: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-funding-tables-2012-to-2013

    2011 to 2012: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0070267/dsg-and-pupil-premium-allocations-for-2011-12

    “

  • Craig Mackinlay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Mackinlay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Mackinlay on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many foreign vehicles that had overstayed the permitted six months in the UK were identified as a result of the information sharing trial between the police service and HM Revenue and Customs that ran from November 2014 to February 2015; how many such vehicles were impounded; how much was raised in fines in that trial; and what plans his Department has to introduce such a scheme permanently.

    Andrew Jones

    During the trial the police used a combination of information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and on-road interviews to establish whether a vehicle had overstayed the six-month exemption and/or if the vehicle keeper was a resident in the UK.

    Of the 703 vehicles impounded during the trial, 162 were included in the HMRC’s data set.

    The table below shows the amounts awarded by the courts following successful prosecutions:

    Fines

    Costs awarded to the DVLA

    Back Duty paid

    £40,259

    £12,540

    £12,215.10

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) also received £20,751 from out of court settlement payments.

    The trial was carried out from within existing resources.

    A full analysis of the trial is underway and will inform the way forward. Police forces which are authorised by the DVLA to seize unlicensed vehicles continue to target non-compliant foreign registered vehicles.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle disability hate crime.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously. Crime that is motivated by hostility or hatred towards the victim is particularly corrosive and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families. We are committed to working with communities in order to keep them safe.

    We have announced that we will publish a new hate crime action plan next year. This will include a number of actions aimed at reducing the number of hate crimes committed against disabled people, and also improving the response to these crimes when they occur.

    I, and other ministers, attended a roundtable on disability hate crime in October. This gave me the opportunity to speak to a range of people, including representatives of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, researchers and service users. A key part of our action plan will include understanding the issues behind hate crime, and this was an important first step towards this. Officials are taking forward actions from this meeting.

    The Government is currently speaking to a number of organisations and individuals to inform the next steps in developing this action plan. This includes work with the Fulfilling Potential Forum, which is led by the Office for Disability Issues within DWP and is made up of around 40 disability charities, including disabled people’s user led organisations.

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many people of each gender work in his Department.

    Stephen Crabb

    There are currently 23 women and 23 men working at the Wales Office.

  • John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve access to specialist psychology support for people with muscle-wasting conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    With regards to the National Health Service in Scotland, as healthcare is a devolved issue, the Department cannot comment.

    NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including those with muscle-wasting conditions. The neurosciences service specification sets out what designated specialised providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective care. Patients should have access to a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, psychologists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other health professionals.

    The specification further sets out that neuromuscular clinics need to identify those at risk of respiratory problems and refer for specialist respiratory assessment and monitoring.

    The specification can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

    A separate specification covers services for children.

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Questions 24490 and 24491, when her Department expects to have made a decision on whether to grant the right of abode to former British-Hong Kong servicemen.

    James Brokenshire

    The assessment of the request by former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps that they be granted right of abode in the UK is on-going, including discussions at official level with other government departments and a review of archived material on the schemes established between 1990 and 1997. A decision will be made as soon as practicable

  • Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage LGBTI refugees in Lebanon to apply for resettlement in the UK.

    Richard Harrington

    We are clear that our scheme will prioritise the most vulnerable refugees, and that is why under the VPR scheme the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for resettlement using its established vulnerability criteria. These include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

    We are working with UNHCR and other partners to intensify their outreach to groups that might otherwise be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination and unaware of the safe space and options available to them. This includes all religious minorities, LGBTI, people with disabilities, survivors of torture and sexual violence and others.