Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14345, what steps her Department takes to ensure that aid graduation is sustainable where the Government’s contribution is provided through a multilateral institution.

    Justine Greening

    The Department is currently undertaking a Multilateral Aid Review which will inform our funding decisions and our reform priorities for the multilateral agencies that we work with.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Government will take steps to prevent insurance companies increasing premiums for owners of Volkswagen vehicles affected by the emissions scandal.

    Andrew Jones

    Motor insurers base their decision on whether to insure drivers and their vehicles, along with what premium to charge, by making an assessment of the risk involved. However, vehicle emissions are not regarded by insurers as a material factor they would normally take into consideration when setting a premium.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received on the implications for aid of the 1955 tax treaty between the UK and Malawi.

    Mr David Gauke

    No such representations have been received. Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty have already taken place. We are hopeful the new treaty can be concluded shortly.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether President Anastasiades’ approach to President el-Sisi on the basis of strategic military co-operation, to President Putin on similar issues, and to Israel on oil exploration, while claiming commitment to bilateral negotiations with Turkish Cypriots are a contravention of that procedure.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    It is for the Republic of Cyprus to decide on its external relations. Given the threats facing the Eastern Mediterranean, the need for improved co-operation across the whole region remains crucial. A Cyprus settlement would provide an important boost for regional stability. The UK commends President Anastasides and Mr Akinci for their positive leadership in the Cyprus settlement talks. As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made clear during his visits to Cyprus last year, the UK will continue to do whatever we can to support the efforts of both communities, and their leaders, to seize the historic opportunity that exists to reunite Cyprus.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were excluded from academy schools in Halton in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    The number of permanent and fixed period exclusions in secondary academies in Halton local authority in each year since 2010/11 is provided in the table below. Note that the figures relate to secondary academies only as there were no special academies in Halton in the period the figures relate to and there were no permanent or fixed period exclusions reported by the primary academies in the area.

    Number of secondary academies

    Number of permanent exclusions[1]

    Number of fixed period exclusions

    2010/11

    1

    x

    39

    2011/12

    2

    6

    144

    2012/13

    3

    x

    158

    2013/14

    4

    x

    228

    The number of permanent and fixed period exclusions in each of the years for all other secondary schools (i.e. those that are not academies) in Halton local authority is provided in the table below.

    Number of schools

    Number of permanent exclusions

    Number of fixed period exclusions

    2010/11

    6

    9

    639

    2011/12

    5

    5

    565

    2012/13

    5

    13

    461

    2013/14

    4

    9

    388

    [1] Figures marked “x” are suppressed as they are less than 5

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time for the driving theory test is in each region of England.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has a target that 95% of candidates should be offered a booking for a driving theory test within two weeks of their preferred date. DVSA uses that target to measure the length of time candidates have to wait for a theory test.

    At the time of writing, the national position, broken down by region, was as follows:

    London and South East

    97.12%

    Midlands

    99.46%

    Northern

    98.30%

    Wales and Western

    98.71% (figure includes England only)

  • 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 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39360, on his Department’s reorganisation, whether graduates taking part in the cross-government graduate scheme can take up policy roles in his Department based outside of London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Executive Board announced on 26 May that from January 2018 all policy roles will be based in our single HQ and policy centre in London.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims made by young asylum seekers in Calais in the past 12 months were refused, and on what grounds.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The number of asylum claims made in France over any given period, and their outcome, is a matter for the French authorities.

    The Dublin Regulation is the mechanism for determining responsibility for considering an asylum claim. If accepted for transfer to the UK, the asylum claim is considered in the UK after the individual has been transferred.

    The Home Office has accepted responsibility to consider the asylum claims of over 80 unaccompanied minors from France under Dublin since the start of the year and many more are in train.

    Dublin transfer requests involving children are now generally processed within 10 days by a dedicated team in the Home Office. Children can then be transferred within weeks and are now arriving in the UK on an almost weekly basis. A senior Home Office official has been seconded to the French Interior Ministry to help speed up the process of identifying children who may qualify for transfer to the UK.

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned date for the (a) start and (b) finish of the A509 Isham bypass is; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The latest information provided by Northamptonshire County Council, the promoters of the A509 Wellingborough Development Link which contains the proposed Isham Bypass, is that subject to the successful completion of any remaining design and legal process, and approval by my Department, work could start on site in April 2017 and the scheme open in October 2018.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will offer military resources to assist with the refugee crisis (a) in Lesbos and (b) elsewhere.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence is already supporting the Home Office in its work with refugees. In the Mediterranean, Royal Navy medics and a Royal Marine force protection team are deployed on board the Border Force chartered vessel MV VOS Grace currently in the Aegean Sea, supporting the EU’s FRONTEX-led search and rescue operation. The Ministry of Defence has also supported HM Government’s Syrian Resettlement Programme through the provision of medical escorts on board some of the charter flights that recently brought Syrian refugees to the UK.

    HMS ENTERPRISE is also deployed to the EU Naval Force operation in the Mediterranean tackling the migrant smugglers who profit from the perilous journeys made by migrants across the Central Mediterranean. Royal Navy assets operating in this operation and the earlier search and rescue operation in the summer, have rescued over 7,500 persons in the Mediterranean since May.