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Category: Speeches

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for a driving test appointment (a) in England, (b) at the Halifax test centre and (c) at the Huddersfield test centre.

    Andrew Jones

    The average waits for a practical car driving test appointment in (a) England and (b) at Halifax test centre and (c) at Huddersfield test centre are as follows:

    England – 12 weeks

    Halifax driving test centre – 18 weeks

    Huddersfield driving test centre – 17 weeks

    The main cause of current high practical driving test waiting times across the country is a significant and sustained surge in demand for driving tests. The last time there was demand at such high levels was in 2005/6.

    To help address the demand, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) 2015/16 recruitment campaigns resulted in 193 new examiners starting work at test centres across Britain. A further 48 examiners have started testing since April 2016, and DVSA has made employment offers to an additional 110 people, who are currently either attending the new entrant training course, or waiting to attend one.

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) also deploys driving examiners between test centres accordingly to help balance variations in demand for tests. Resources have been pooled between Huddersfield, Halifax, Steeton and Skipton, and the DVSA is currently using resource from Huddersfield and Halifax to help service demand at Steeton and Skipton.. There are five new entrant examiners currently attending training who, if successful, will be deployed into Steeton and Skipton. This will have the knock on effect of helping to reduce waiting times at both the Halifax and Huddersfield test centres.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) nursery schools, (b) day-care facilities and (c) children’s centres in (i) Birmingham, Erdington constituency, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) the UK have (A) declared insolvency and (B) closed due to funding shortages in each of the last three years.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Nursery Schools

    The Department for Education’s register of educational establishments in England and Wales indicates that from the 31 August 2013 to 31 August 2016 eight maintained nursery schools closed, and 10 amalgamated or merged with another school. No closures were recorded in Birmingham, Erdington or the West Midlands.

    The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of nursery schools. Local authorities have a duty to secure sufficient childcare in their local area. In consultation with their Schools Forum, they are responsible for deciding how best to distribute early years funding across their locality.

    There is a presumption against the closure of any nursery school. The local authority must consult on any proposed closures, clearly demonstrating the rationale for so doing.

    Day-care facilities

    The Department does not collect data on the number of childcare businesses that have closed. The Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that the childcare market continues to expand.

    • The number of registered places in full day care settings rose by ten per cent between 2011 and 2013.
    • The long term increase in the number of full day care providers continued in 2013. In total there were 17,900 full day care settings in 2013 (compared to 17,600 in 2011).

    Children’s centres

    Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. The Department does not collect information on the reasons for the closure of children’s centres.

    According to data supplied by local authorities, a total of 259 children’s centres closed in the calendar years, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Forty nine of these closures were in the West Midlands. None of these were in Birmingham.

  • Andrew Selous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Selous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Selous on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants there were in South West Bedfordshire constituency (a) on the latest date for which figures are available and (b) in each year since 2010.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The information available for the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants, by Parliamentary Constituency, is published and can be found at:

    https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

    Guidance for users is available at:

    https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

    “

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of biopropane for transport fuel.

    Andrew Jones

    As part of a consultation in 2014 on amendments to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) the department considered the potential benefits of biopropane in delivering GHG savings. In recognition of this, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation was subsequently amended to increase rewards for suppliers of that fuel from April 2015.

    The department, working with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, have evaluated a range of options for tackling poor air quality; this formed the basis of the Government’s draft air quality plans that recently went to public consultation. Switching to LPG can provide air quality benefits but may not be easily deployed in all vehicle types.

    As part of the department’s 2014 Clean Vehicle Technology Fund (CVTF) grant scheme, Birmingham City Council were awarded £500,000 to enable the conversion of 80 older black cabs from diesel to LPG which will help improve air quality on some of the most polluted roads. There is a possibility of funding through the current CVTF grant scheme being used to support further LPG conversions in other areas.

    We are considering many competing priorities across Government as part of the Spending Review, including measures to tackle air quality pollutants and reduce other harmful emissions. The outcome of the Spending Review will be announced later in the autumn.

    The department regularly meets with motor manufacturers and their representative body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Discussions on how manufacturers can act to tackle poor air quality cover a range of measures.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish her Department’s response to the consultation on a review of the feed-in tariff scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the Feed-in Tariff review consultation and intend to publish a Government response as soon as possible.

  • Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the funding criteria will be for the social investment outcomes fund; and whether NHS providers of alcohol and drug addiction services will be able to apply for that funding.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    In the spending review the Chancellor announced £80m for a new social outcomes fund to support the creation of locally developed social impact bonds tackling a range of social problems. The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the fund. The detailed criteria for the fund is being developed, but it will provide a portion of outcome payments for locally commissioned social impact bonds where some of the benefits and savings generated fall to central government.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of students at university who are prescribed medical treatment for mental health issues.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have made no assessment of the number of students at university who are prescribed medical treatment for mental health issues as this information is not collected centrally.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect on organisations commissioning academic research of his Department’s proposed regulations that would prevent recipients of government grant funding for research in using that work to call for government policy changes.

    Matthew Hancock

    The new clause is about ensuring taxpayers money is only used for the intended purposes. The use or otherwise of research findings is already set out in grant agreements. There should, therefore, be no effect on organisations, which are free to use other funding to lobby, but not to spend taxpayers’ hard-earned cash on lobbying.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many disabled people joined the workforce in each sector in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment of airstrikes in Yemen since 2012.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has carried out no impact assessments of airstrikes in Yemen since 2012. Impact assessments are required for the implementation of domestic UK policy, not for military action abroad either by the UK or other countries.

    During the current Saudi-led Coalition operation in Yemen the MOD has monitored incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law violations using available information. We consider a range of information from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations.