Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of community cohesion in view of the reduction in discretionary spending available to local authorities in London.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Britain has a claim to be the most successful multi-faith, multi-racial democracy in the world. Nowhere exemplifies this more than London – a thriving global city with a

    diverse population.

    It is up to the councils in London to decide what to spend their money on and reforms are giving them more powers over their budgets than ever before.

    The Community Life Survey 2014/15 reports that 89 per cent of people in London feel that their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on

    well together. Full data is available (attached) from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447015/Community_Life_Survey_2014-2015_csv.csv/preview

    But we are not complacent. The Prime Minister has asked Louise Casey to carry out a review on how to boost opportunity and integration in the most isolated

    communities in Britain, the findings of which will inform a new Cohesive Communities programme.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people working for central government departments have been paid through a limited company in the last year for which figures are available.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many illegal maritime arrivals have reached the UK in each year since 2010.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Specific details on numbers or locations of suspected illegal maritime arrivals are not disclosed for security reasons.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on UK involvement in rendition of 29 June 2016, Official Report, columns 442-3, relating to a document not yet received by the Intelligence and Security Committee, fell to be corrected by Ministerial Correction on 11 July 2016, Official Report, columns 1-2 MC.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Once an error had been identified, I took the decision that a ministerial correction entry to correct the record was appropriate in the light of the nature of the error.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the public expenditure that is required to extend the life of RMS St Helena.

    Rory Stewart

    Through its commitment of Financial Aid to the Government of St Helena, DFID subsidises the costs of the service provided by the RMS St Helena. The subsidy is the difference between the actual costs of operating the service and the actual revenue generated. So it is not possible to calculate the subsidy in advance and without knowing, for example the levels of occupancy on each service and operating costs. For the period between April and July 2016 the RMS service returned a profit of £220,000 so no subsidy was required. The cost of subsidising the operations of the RMS St Helena in FY 2015/16 was £620,000.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of Monitor on spending on mental health services during 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    In total, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have set plans for 2015/16 which reflect an increase in mental health care expenditure in excess of their increase in allocation for the year. NHS England is tracking actual expenditure against those plans and it will report to the Secretary of State at the end of the year on whether those plans have been met.

    Departmental Ministers meet the Chief Executives of NHS England and Monitor regularly and discuss a wide range of issues, including funding for mental health services.

    NHS England was formally established on 1 April 2013.Expenditure by NHS England on Specialist Mental Health Services for 2013/14 was £1.780 billion and £1.795 billion in 2014/15. NHS England’s planned expenditure on Specialist Mental Health Services for 2015/16 is £1.859 billion.

    NHS England has published CCG level expenditure on mental health for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £8.1 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for mental health services in 2014/15. Estimates for 2015/16 are not available.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the conclusion of its thematic review of the annuities market as to whether consumers are being treated fairly in the current financial climate.

    Damian Hinds

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) places a duty on the firms that they regulate to treat their customers fairly, and the FCA have wide-ranging powers of enforcement in pursuit of this objective.

    The FCA’s Retirement Income Market Study, which followed on from the work of the Thematic Review of Annuities and was published in March 2015, recommended greater use of annuity comparisons to encourage greater shopping around by consumers. The FCA are currently conducting behavioural tests on options for presenting these comparisons in the most effective way, and expect to report on these findings and any proposed rule changes in 2016. In addition, the FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review, which will be published early next year, will assess issues from the Thematic Review – including the issue of eligible consumers not purchasing enhanced annuity products.

    The FCA also plan to consider consumers’ wider information needs in light of market developments following the pension freedoms.

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will commission independent research on the effect of fixed-odds betting terminals on the health of their users and on the communities in which they are prevalent.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), was set up to by the Gambling Commission to advise on priorities for research relating to responsible gambling. Research into gambling related harm is commissioned by the independent charity, the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT), taking into account the priorities set out by the RGSB. At the request of the RGSB, the RGT is currently commissioning research to define Gambling Related Harm which will consider the wider health impacts of problem gambling. The Government continues to encourage such research.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effect of individual electoral registration on jury selection and composition.

    John Penrose

    The rules governing jury selection and composition are unaffected by the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER). Potential jurors’ names are still selected at random from the electoral register.

    IER means that we can prove electors are genuine for the first time and is crucial in ensuring the registers used for jury selection are as accurate as possible.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK rail operators who may lose their franchise as a result of the recently announced proposals to transfer the responsibility for inner suburban rail services in London from his Department to Transport for London maintain and improve their services while this change takes place.

    Claire Perry

    No current franchises will be affected by the proposals, therefore we would not expect to see any operator lose their franchise as a result. The proposed transfer will take place at the start of, or within the, successor franchises.