Category: Speeches

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what instructions they have given to all ministers of the Crown and senior civil servants to work to facilitate an early and effective withdrawal from the EU.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    A new Department for Exiting the European Union has been established by the Prime Minister. The Department will lead the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK, working closely with the UK’s devolved administrations, Parliament, and a wide range of other interested parties on this approach. Officials and ministers will work closely with other departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Trade and others, to ensure the British public and business interests get the best possible deal when the UK leave the EU.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to address the issue of non-British citizens tricking British citizens into marriage to obtain a UK visa or citizenship.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We take abuse of the spouse immigration route very seriously. In July 2012 the minimum probationary period before a non-European Economic Area (non-EEA) national spouse of a British citizen can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK was increased from two years to five years. This is a better test of the genuineness of the relationship before it can be relied upon as a basis for seeking to settle permanently in the UK.

    In March 2015, a new scheme to tackle sham marriages was introduced under the Immigration Act 2014. All proposed marriages where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from it are now referred by registration officials to the Home Office. This gives us a much stronger platform to identify, disrupt and deter sham marriages.

    If the marriage breaks down permanently before or once the non-EEA national spouse has obtained Indefinite Leave to Remain, the British citizen spouse can provide the Home Office with any relevant information and we may cancel or revoke their former spouse’s leave if it can be established that this was obtained by deception.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to roll-out the placement of Jobcentre Plus advisers in food banks.

    Priti Patel

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 3 November 2015 to Question 14114 and 14139

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the performance of the Fit for Work service since its launch.

    Justin Tomlinson

    An evaluation strategy is in place for Fit for Work. As part of this, a formal process evaluation is being undertaken. The formal evaluation will include feedback from employee users of the service, GPs and employers. Return to work will also be covered. Monthly performance group meetings take place between the Department and the providers in both England/Wales and Scotland together with weekly meetings to discuss management information and performance issues.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will takes steps to ban the practice in the retail and leisure sectors of sending employees home during their shift without notice.

    Nick Boles

    We encourage employers to be clear with their staff up front on how work will be structured. However, the way in which work is arranged, or how shifts are decided upon will depend on each situation and sector. A ‘one size fits all’ solution would not be appropriate.

    Where appropriate, Government publishes guidance. For instance, we recently considered the issue of late notice cancellation of shifts for those on zero hours contracts and have published updated guidance on gov.uk.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 17 February (HL6083), how many of the 14 direct entry superintendents still employed in police forces in England and Wales are (1) in command of front-line operational units, and (2) in administrative or back-office management jobs.

    Lord Bates

    Of the 14 direct entry superintendents employed in police forces in England and Wales, six (43%) are female and three (21%) are from an ethnic minority background. This is significantly more representative than the current make up of the superintendent rank of which 19% are women and 4% are from an ethnic minority background.

    Direct entrants take part in an 18 month training programme. During the course of this training they undertake a variety of roles, including frontline roles, at Constable, Sergeant, Inspector and Superintendent levels aimed at providing a policing context for their leader-ship skills

    The eight direct entrants who began their training in 2014 will complete the programme in May 2016. Should they be successful, the force will decide the roles that they will undertake. The six direct entrants who started in 2015 will not complete the programme until April 2017.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2016 to Question 28967, on stem cells: transplant surgery, which five transplant centres were found to be non-compliant with the NHS England specification.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has advised that three of those five services are now compliant. Two services, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Paediatric Bone Marrow Transplant service and Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust Bone Marrow Transplant, are still awaiting accreditation confirmation from the Joint Accreditation Committee International Society for Cellular Therapy & European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE). Confirmation of compliance is expected no later than December 2016 in line with the JACIE assessment programme. In the meantime, commissioners have been assured that the services are safe to continue to treat patients.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length time taken to reunite stranded minors with their families in the UK once they have been identified in Calais has been in each of the last three years.

    James Brokenshire

    There is no official estimate of the number of children in Calais, this is primarily a matter for the French authorities. It is only possible to assess whether an individual has links to the UK that could enable a transfer on family unity grounds once they make an application for asylum in France.

    Once an asylum claim is lodged in France the Dublin Regulation procedure requesting the UK to take charge of a child on family unity grounds takes place very quickly, often in a matter of weeks, subject to consideration of the evidence in each individual case. An average time is not available for each of the last three years.

    Since February 2016 the UK has accepted 30 family reunification applications from minors in France of which 23 have already been transferred to the UK.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what additional funding his Department plans to make available for implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.

    Jane Ellison

    By 2020-21, the Government will increase funding for the National Health Service by £10 billion a year in real terms compared with 2014-15, to support the implementation of the NHS’s own plan – the NHS Five Year Forward View – to transform services across the country. The Government is backing the NHS plan and enabling it to go further – by investing £2 billion more than the £8 billion the NHS asked for – delivering government objectives including improved access to cancer treatments.

    As part of the response to the independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations, in September 2015, we announced funding of up to £300 million a year by 2020 to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the new target that patients will be given a definitive cancer diagnosis, or the all clear, within 28 days of being referred by a general practitioner.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to safeguard the status of non-UK EEA students in the UK as a result of the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    Existing rules on EU and other EEA students remain in force. This means that existing EU and other EEA nationals and their family members eligible to receive student support (including loans) will continue to receive that support until they finish their courses. This applies to those who are either currently studying or who will begin courses in academic year 2016/17.

    Further information is provided in a statement made by the Student Loans Company: http://www.slc.co.uk/media/latest-news/eu-nationals-and-student-finance-in-england.aspx

    “