UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many equality impact assessments government departments carried out in each year between 2010 and 2016.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010 ensures that public bodies take account of equality and consider the potential impact of decisions on groups with protected characteristics. All bodies exercising public functions who are subject to the PSED need to understand the impact of their policies and services on people with different protected characteristics and be able to provide evidence that this has been taken into account during the decision-making process. However, the legislation does not prescribe how this information needs to be recorded and it is not a statutory requirement in England to prepare or publish information in a particular form, such as an Equality Impact Assessment.

    The Government Equalities Office does not therefore keep records of how many equality impact assessments are carried out by Departments; in any case, this information would not give an indication of the extent to which equality issues have been considered under the PSED.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in encouraging small pension funds in the United Kingdom to amalgamate or co-operate in order to be able to compete with larger international pension funds in the purchase of suitable assets.

    Baroness Altmann

    Automatic enrolment is driving scale in pension provision and the clear trend is towards larger schemes which are better able to take advantage of the economies of scale including better access to a wider range of investment vehicles.

    The Government fully supports the concrete steps the pensions industry has taken to cooperate on investment strategies – for example, the Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP) launched in February last year, and the London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) currently under development by a number of local authorities’ pension schemes in London.

    Moreover, the Government will also work with the Local Government Pension Scheme Administering Authorities more widely to ensure that they pool investments to reduce costs significantly, while maintaining overall investment performance.

    Trustees and managers are ultimately responsible for making investment decisions in the best interests of scheme members, and the Government recognises the challenges of the current economic environment for scheme funding. The Pensions Regulator sets out on an annual basis its key messages on current market conditions and how trustees and employers can agree appropriate funding plans that protect members’ benefits without undermining the sustainable growth of the employer.

    Ministers continue to meet regularly with key stakeholders from the pensions industry to understand better the range of challenges facing schemes and employers and will consider whether there are further steps the Government could take.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many barrels of oil Daesh sells through Turkey on a daily basis.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There are no reliable statistics available on how much oil, and related products, are smuggled over the border to Turkey. However, last year the Turkish government greatly increased the number of border guards to tackle oil smuggling across its border with Syria and captured 79 million litres of smuggled oil.

    We work closely with Turkey and there is no evidence to suggest that the Turkish government has been involved in the oil trade.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide paramedics with on-the-spot blood diagnostic devices for the detection of medical conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    The provision of medical equipment for front-line ambulance service staff falls within the responsibility of individual ambulance trusts. Paramedics already do have access to, and routinely carry, some blood-testing devices for example, to check for blood sugar.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers underwent total electrical failure in the (a) Persian Gulf, (b) Strait of Hormuz, (c) Mediterranean Sea, (d) Indian Ocean and (e) North Atlantic Ocean.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In the interests of National Security I am not prepared to release information concerning the type or nature of any failure or defect concerning our operational Units as to do so would allow deductions to be made as to their operational capability and effectiveness.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) defections from North Korea and (b) unsuccessful defection attempts from that country in the last four years.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold detailed information on the number of defections from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Information on defections from the DPRK can be obtained from the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Unification

    http://eng.unikorea.go.kr/content.do?cmsid=3026

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 29835, and with reference to the Answer of 10 June 2013 to Question 158962, for what reasons information on the number of national minimum wage inquiries made to the Pay and Work Rights and Acas helplines relating to the domiciliary care and residential care sectors is not being collected at the previously available level of disaggregation.

    Nick Boles

    Information on the number of National Minimum Wage enquiries made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) and Acas Helpline for the ‘domiciliary care’ and ‘residential care’ sectors has never been systematically collected.

    However, additional information about a complaint is collected after it is referred to HMRC and investigated further. This can include more detailed information on the sector in which the employer in question operates.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.256 of Budget 2016, what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on supporting the UK’s bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

    Greg Hands

    As stated in Spending Review 15 the government supports the ambition to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in the Northern Powerhouse.

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel“

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the number of unregistered schools in England.

    Edward Timpson

    We are currently investigating institutions that may be operating as unregistered independent schools in England, as referred to by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in his recently published letter. We will make a statement about progress in due course.

    It is important to recognise that new settings come to our attention and existing ones close, or are confirmed not to be operating as schools on a regular basis.

    Sir Michael Wilshaw’s published letter can be accessed on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unregistered-schools-ofsted-advice-note

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the role of his Department was in drafting the Government’s childhood obesity plan.

    Margot James

    The Department of Health led on drawing up the action plan to tackle childhood obesity with input from across Government, including this Department.