Category: Speeches

Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much each local authority in England has received from the Adoption Support Fund since its creation.

Edward Timpson

The table below shows how much each local authority in England has received from the Adoption Support Fund since its creation:

LA	ASF Total Spend to Date (£)
Barking and Dagenham	44,196.20
Barnet	166,813.26
Barnsley	29,235.00
Bath and North East Somerset	40,261.47
Bedford	81,340.50
Bexley	70,451.00
Birmingham	160,325.87
Blackburn with Darwen	81,696.80
Blackpool	57,601.98
Bolton	55,920.00
Bournemouth	28,727.76
Bracknell Forest	21,444.10
Bradford	309,173.00
Brent (prev Herts)	43,973.00
Brighton and Hove	123,200.90
Bristol	199,771.70
Bromley	12,314.00
Buckinghamshire	205,907.10
Bury	70,376.30
Calderdale	102,775.50
Cambridgeshire	251,323.18
Camden	93,988.70
Central Bedfordshire	88,479.91
Cheshire East	184,035.96
Cheshire West and Chester	151,425.46
City of London	–
Cornwall	260,491.05
Coventry	66,094.00
Croydon	37,369.65
Cumbria	362,150.10
Darlington	25,810.00
Derby	58,166.80
Derbyshire	301,734.86
Devon	458,850.32
Doncaster	182,252.82
Dorset	19,004.00
Dudley	77,882.90
Durham	145,119.27
Ealing (prev Herts)	387,675.71
East Riding of Yorkshire	147,132.67
East Sussex	374,962.27
Enfield	95,085.44
Essex	276,241.07
Gateshead	8,984.00
Gloucestershire	1,213,955.86
Greenwich	91,407.75
Hackney	165,218.00
Halton	32,759.50
Hammersmith and Fulham	35,313.56
Hampshire	244,384.30
Haringey	203,142.10
Harrow (prev Herts)	57,459.50
Hartlepool	17,631.96
Havering	1,170.00
Herefordshire	58,998.20
Hertfordshire	293,849.02
Hillingdon (prev Herts)	8,301.84
Hounslow (prev Herts)	5,640.25
Hull	116,738.65
Isle of Wight	36,944.00
Isles of Scilly	–
Islington	78,032.34
Kensington and Chelsea	18,535.01
Kent	367,991.20
Kingston	56,034.14
Kirklees	294,390.30
Knowsley	30,508.70
Lambeth	75,001.00
Lancashire	440,242.16
Leeds	199,474.72
Leicester	105,823.75
Leicestershire	189,426.69
Lewisham	139,396.50
Lincolnshire	109,876.35
Liverpool	50,392.10
Luton	19,413.60
Manchester	263,742.75
Medway	113,923.40
Merton	121,835.40
Middlesbrough	24,273.84
Milton Keynes	129,924.42
Newcastle upon Tyne	132,122.00
Newham	29,051.00
Norfolk	472,360.80
North East Lincolnshire	169,037.20
North Lincolnshire	3,603.50
North Somerset	82,103.50
North Tyneside	61,443.20
North Yorkshire	612,921.58
Northamptonshire	209,503.74
Northumberland	28,498.90
Nottingham	172,346.00
Nottinghamshire	97,291.97
Oldham	20,030.50
Oxfordshire	34,818.65
Peterborough	51,391.02
Plymouth	221,433.97
Poole	13,321.38
Portsmouth	77,709.42
Reading	26,652.00
Redbridge	54,632.80
Redcar and Cleveland	16,840.00
Richmond	320,954.40
Rochdale	61,243.50
Rotherham	201,774.40
Rutland	–
Salford	89,485.40
Sandwell	26,059.00
Sefton	29,383.92
Sheffield	300,284.78
Shropshire	92,774.00
Slough	16,578.00
Solihull	247,751.00
Somerset	144,238.40
South Gloucestershire	90,356.73
South Tyneside	86,296.60
Southampton	42,207.80
Southend-on-Sea	69,489.25
Southwark	264,437.46
St. Helens	17,909.80
Staffordshire	248,092.20
Stockport	37,947.87
Stockton-on-Tees	42,182.60
Stoke-on-Trent	131,143.67
Suffolk	390,301.42
Sunderland	165,319.14
Surrey	302,995.50
Sutton	52,715.00
Swindon	58,167.50
Tameside	127,575.59
Telford and Wrekin	–
Thurrock	21,901.60
Torbay	51,134.40
Tower Hamlets	16,004.00
Trafford	59,046.76
Wakefield	260,394.68
Walsall	30,730.00
Waltham Forest	5,552.00
Wandsworth	273,035.42
Warrington	63,546.60
Warwickshire	344,023.10
West Berkshire	40,060.00
West Sussex	400,439.03
Westminster	38,383.88
Wigan	30,686.85
Wiltshire	69,687.65
Windsor and Maidenhead	59,604.50
Wirral	8,334.40
Wokingham	51,360.90
Wolverhampton	63,073.60
Worcestershire	201,224.60
York	188,133.45
TOTAL	19,892,053.92

* Shropshire provides Telford and Wrekin’s Adoption Service

* Leicestershire County Council provides Rutland’s Adoption Service

* Cornwall make applications on behalf of the Isles of Scilly

* City of London have had no adoptions from care during the relevant period.

01/01/2023

Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make representations to the BBC on ensuring the Your Paintings archive is maintained as on online resource.

Mr Edward Vaizey

As set out in the Government’s White Paper, A BBC for the future: a Broadcaster of Distinction, the government encourages the BBC to do more to open up its archive and ensure that it can be used by the public and as wide a range of institutions and organisations as possible. How the BBC presents its online content is matter for the BBC. Your Paintings is now available on artuk.org.

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01/01/2023
Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will put in place measures to ensure that future CSIIP providers do not offshore work, data and processes which are currently within the remit of Defence Business Services.

Mark Lancaster

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. In the event of a decision to outsource, any proposals from suppliers to ‘offshore’ DBS work would need to satisfy relevant MOD, and wider Government, policy and requirements concerning security and data protection.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what advice his Department provides to local authorities on the issuing of Hackney carriages and private hire driver licences to individuals based outside their own local authority.

Andrew Jones

Local authorities can issue licences to prospective Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle drivers irrespective of where the driver lives. The Department provides Best Practice Guidance for local authorities to help them develop their own standards for taxi and PHV operators, drivers and vehicles.

01/01/2023
Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on ensuring that mental health is removed as an obstacle to entering the workplace.

Alistair Burt

Ministers at the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions met on 3 June and agreed to greater cross government working between our respective Departments. Following that meeting, the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions Work and Health Unit was created to improve the health and employment outcomes of benefit claimants. Next year, the unit will launch a range of voluntary mental health and employment pilots to support working age individuals with or at risk of developing a mental health condition retain and return to employment.

We know that people come into contact with the welfare system at a time when they may be vulnerable because of unemployment and its associated consequences. The Department for Work and Pensions provides guidance and training for staff to help them identify and support people who may be vulnerable.

01/01/2023
Damian Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Green on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the responses to her letter of 24 November 2015 to all local council leaders on the Dispersal of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

There have been a number of positive responses to the letter of 24 November, including concrete offers of support for Kent through the disperal of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children. We are clear that local authorities with the capacity to support Kent should do so. The Immigration Minister and the Children’s Minister chaired a round table meeting on 15 December with council leaders and directors of children’s services to consider what more can be done , and longer-term options for the dispersal of unaccompanied asylum seeking children. We hope the arrangements will remain voluntary and more local authorities will come forward. However, we have taken a reserve power in the Immigration Bill to underpin the voluntary power and act as a backstop power to mandate dispersal if the voluntary arrangements do not work.

01/01/2023
Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-01-20.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to review the amount of compensation for losses paid to Equitable Life policy holders over the course of the current Parliament.

Harriett Baldwin

There are no plans to review the payments made by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. The Scheme closed to new claims on 31^st December 2015. However, the annual payments to With-Profits Annuitants will continue unaffected for the duration of their annuity.

01/01/2023
Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government has taken to relieve food insecurity in (a) Taiz and (b) elsewhere in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has more than doubled its humanitarian commitment to Yemen over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. This includes funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) and International Non-Governmental Organisations who provide emergency food to over 570,000 people, either through direct delivery of food or providing cash or vouchers to enable people to buy food. These distributions are prioritised to the areas of greatest need including the hardest to reach districts of Taiz. Just last week, UK funding helped WFP to deliver a month’s supply of food to 21,000 people in Taiz. UK funding to UNICEF is also treating over 150,000 children for severe acute malnutrition and we are funding the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) to improve the supply of essential commercial goods, including food, into Yemen.

01/01/2023
Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the safety of railways in the UK and other European countries.

Claire Perry

The United Kingdom currently has the safest record of any major railway network in Europe. All European Union Member States collect statistics about their safety performance including, for example, accidents and consequences, accident precursors and technical information. This material is collated by the European Railway Agency in its Annual Safety Performance Reports which are published at www.era.europa.eu/Core-Activities/Safety/Safety-Performance/Pages/Safety-Performance-Report.aspx.

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01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of its recent increases in financial support for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Egypt on the ability of those NGOs to operate effectively.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Our assessment is that programme effectiveness has not been compromised to date, despite growing restrictions on civil society. However, we continually review our programming to ensure it has maximum impact and represents value for money for the taxpayer.

01/01/2023