Category: Speeches

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.89 of Budget 2016, how much of the £20 million a year of new funding for a Northern Powerhouse school strategy she expects will be directly received by schools in Lancashire.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The allocation of this funding will depend on the identified need and will be reassessed each year, based on the evidence. We intend to build on the Department’s strategy for Achieving Excellence Areas, as identified in our recent White Paper.

    Decisions on allocation of funding for the 16-17 financial year will be made by the autumn of this year and will be informed by the emerging findings of the review by Sir Nick Weller.

    We will be publishing the terms of reference for Sir Nick Weller’s report in due course.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his Department’s policy that employees should be offered the choice of either auto-enrolment or paying into a Lifetime ISA as a means for saving for their pension, or that employees who wish to invest in a Lifetime ISA must do so in addition to auto-enrolment.

    Greg Hands

    The new Lifetime ISA is an additional flexible savings product which will complement pensions to give savers greater freedom and choice to save for the long-term in a way that works for them.

    With automatic enrolment already helping nine million people with their pensions, the Government remains committed to supporting people who save in different ways.

    Increasing the choice of savings products available, the Lifetime ISA supports the Government’s ambition to encourage a regular savings habit amongst young people and to create a culture of long-term saving by offering the right products to suit their changing circumstances at different points in their lives.

    From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government. Under the new Lifetime ISA, young savers will no longer have to choose between saving for their first home purchase or for retirement.

  • Peter Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Peter Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Grant on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families have accessed support from the (a) Child Maintenance Service and (b) Child Support Agency in each (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority in each of the last three years.

    Priti Patel

    The attached excel file (PQ40836) provides the number of cases administered by the Child Support Agency (CSA) by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority in each of the last three years.

    With regard to cases administered by the Child Maintenance Service, the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

    Notes for the spreadsheet

    1. Figures rounded to nearest 10

    2. Figures are the number of live cases.

    3. Figures are as at December 2013, 2014 and 2015

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide an update on his Department’s preparations for the Mottram by-pass.

    Mr John Hayes

    Highways England is currently identifying and assessing options for the Trans Pennine Routes which includes the Mottram by-pass. A public consultation on the Preferred Route is currently planned to take place in early 2017. There will also be two public awareness events in October 2016 which will provide an opportunity for people in the local communities to meet the project team, receive an update on progress and provide feedback which can then be used in the development of the scheme.

    Planning permission for this scheme will require an application for a Development Consent Order and start of works is planned by March 2020 in line with the Highways England’s Delivery Plan 2015 – 2020.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of suicides among women with autism.

    David Mowat

    The cross-Government suicide prevention strategy, ‘Preventing suicides in England: a cross-Government outcomes strategy to save lives’ highlights various groups of people for which tailored approaches to meet their mental health needs are required to address risk of suicide. This includes people who are in contact with mental health and/or social care services and people who may experience social factors such as social isolation and social exclusion, which may be experienced by people with autism.

    We are looking at ways to strengthen the cross-Government suicide prevention strategy and will set out details later this year.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a guideline in 2015, ‘Challenging behaviour and learning disabilities: prevention and interventions for people with learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges’ which recommends interventions to mitigate risks, including for people with autism, such as self-harm and suicide.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people owned their own home in each year from 1997 until the last year for which records are available.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The numbers of owner occupier households in England, estimated from DCLG’s English Housing Survey, are provided in the table below


    Number (000s) of owner occupied households, 1997 to 2013-14: England

    1997

    13,629

    1998

    13,817

    1999

    14,091

    2000

    14,340

    2001

    14,359

    2002

    14,559

    2003

    14,701

    2004

    14,678

    2005

    14,791

    2006

    14,791

    2007

    14,733

    2008

    14,628

    2008-09

    14,621

    2009-10

    14,525

    2010-11

    14,450

    2011-12

    14,388

    2012-13

    14,337

    2013-14

    14,319

    Source: English Housing Survey https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/469214/2013-14_Section_1_Households_tables_and_figures_FINAL.xlsx

  • Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kate Hoey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from (a) the hon. Member for Wallasey, (b) the Labour Party and (c) the Trades Union Congress on protection of workers’ rights in the EU; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has a regular series of meetings with the Trade Union Congress in which a range of subjects are discussed. The Trade Union Congress has responded to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ consultation on the implementation of the Posted Workers Enforcement Directive. In addition, some Trade Union Bill correspondence has referred to compliance with the EU Social Charter. No recent representations from either the honourable Member for Wallasey or the Labour Party have been received through the Department concerning the protection of workers’ rights in the EU.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implication for her policies of the conclusion of the Social Market Foundation report, Educational Inequalities in England and Wales, published in January 2016 that, based upon the performance of 11-year-olds, the geographic area in which a child is born has become a more powerful predictive factor in school performance for those born in 2000 compared to those born in 1970.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We refer the Right Honourable MP to our response to PQ 22192, submitted to Parliament on Tuesday 19 January, which provides information on our policies to deliver educational excellence everywhere so that every child in England reaches their potential, regardless of background.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to incentivise developers to co-fund the deployment of local fibre broadband networks to properties which are not scheduled for connection free of charge.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government’s recent announcement of a new deal bringing industry together will see fibre-based broadband offered to all new developments for free or part of a co-funded initiative. In addition, the Home Builders Federation are committed to promoting and supporting uptake of the co-funding offer among their membership.

    This new offer sets a high bar for all suppliers and developers in the market, and Government will be working with industry closely to monitor success over the next year.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a manual reporting option will remain available to small businesses under the proposal to move to a quarterly digital tax reporting system by 2020.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government will consult on the details of the Making Tax Digital proposals throughout 2016, including digital exclusion issues.

    HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) vision is for everyone to deal with their tax affairs digitally by default, although the Department does of course recognise its responsibility and legal duty to ensure equal and fair access to services. For those who genuinely cannot get online, for example due to disability, geographical or other reasons, non-digital alternatives will be provided.