UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-03-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in Easington constituency who will be affected by the reduction of the income rise disregard for tax credits to £2,500.

    Damian Hinds

    This information is not held and statistically reliable projections at constituency level could only be provided at disproportionate cost. From April 2016, the income rise disregard – the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within a year before their tax credit award is adjusted – will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500.

    The only people who will be affected by this will be those who see an increase in their in-year income by more than £2,500. There will be no net cash losers because their income will have increased.

    In the subsequent tax year, a claimant’s tax credits award will be calculated in the usual way, using their full annual income for the previous year to determine their tax credit entitlement. This means that after the change in the tax year, whether the claimant’s increase in income was above or below the disregard level, their tax credit award for the following year will be adjusted to what it would have been had no disregard existed

  • Mike Freer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Freer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials of her Department plan to attend the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS at the UN headquarters in New York in June 2016.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK government will be represented at the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on ending AIDS at the UN headquarters in New York in June 2016. Precise attendance has still to be finalised.

  • Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North of 1 December 2015, on foreign aid.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Department does not have record of receiving a letter from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North dated 1 December 2015. My office has been in contact with the hon. Member’s office to receive a copy of the letter and we will respond in due course.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster continues to chair the National Flood Resilience Review following his appointment to lead the EU Unit.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    I continue to chair the National Flood Resilience Review Group. The review’s report is currently being finalised and is due to be published this summer.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to ensure that the forthcoming review of fair funding for early years education will include measures to help close the attainment gap at age five.

    Caroline Dinenage

    This Government is committed to narrowing the gap in attainment between the most disadvantaged children and their peers, including in the early years. We will be investing over £1 billion more per year by 2019-20 to fund our commitments on the early years entitlements – this includes £300 million per year from 2017-18 for a significant increase to the hourly rate paid for the two, three and four year old entitlements.

    The 2014-15 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results tell us that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development continues to increase – 66% in 2015, compared to 60% in 2014 and 52% in 2013. Furthermore, a higher proportion of children eligible for free school meals are achieving a good level of development – 51% in 2015 compared to 45% in 2014.

    We need to continue this improvement. This is why we propose an additional needs factor in our new early years national funding formula, in order to channel funding towards local authorities with a higher relative proportion of children with additional needs. Our consultation on early years funding reform is currently open, and I would encourage my Honourable Friend and his constituents to submit their views.

    The Government already provides additional funding for the most disadvantaged three- and four-year olds through the Early Years Pupil Premium. This will continue as a separate funding stream, additional to the early years national funding formula.

  • Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, during the UK’s Presidency of the UN Security Council this month, they will refer reports by Radio Dabanga of crimes against humanity in Darfur to the International Criminal Court for investigation.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The situation in Darfur has already been referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the UN Security Council under UN Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005). As the prosecutor’s investigation is still ongoing, it could encompass any new allegations. However, such a decision would be for the Office of the Prosecutor of the Court to take. The UK remains a strong supporter of the ICC.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what level of co-operation there is between the National Crime Agency and authorities in the Republic of Ireland on combatting organised criminal activities taking place between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

    Mike Penning

    The Common Travel Area between the UK, Ireland and the Crown Dependencies and the free movement of goods within the EU mean that close liaison and co-operation between UK and Irish law enforcement partners against serious and organised crime is both vital and valued by both sides. The National Crime Agency has dedicated resources currently working with Irish law enforcement agencies to tackle the threat from organised crime that affects both our countries.

    On 17 November 2015, the Northern Ireland Office published ‘A Fresh Start: The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan’. The National Crime Agency will be involved in discussions with the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Office, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Immigration Enforcement in relation to the implementation of the agreement.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of levels of rough sleeping in town centres on the use of town centres by the general public.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government remains committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we are maintaining homelessness funding over this Spending Review period, building on our significant investment since 2010. We will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20.

    It is for local authorities to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area, including provision of suitable accommodation. More rough sleepers are being found and helped quicker thanks to our investment in StreetLink, which gives the public a means to act when they see someone sleeping rough. Since the launch of StreetLink in December 2012, over 16,000 rough sleepers have been found and connected with local services so that they can get the help that they need to get them off the streets. We are committed to do more to improve services for homeless people with complex needs. Building on London’s approach of using social investment to improve outcomes for rough sleepers, we will be setting up a new Social Impact BondFund to help the most complex and entrenched rough sleepers.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the procurement of a human papilloma virus vaccination programme currently taking place includes the vaccine needed for men who have sex with men.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls. The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service.

    In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters, advised that a targeted HPV vaccination programme should be undertaken for men who have sex with men up to 45 years of age who attend genitourinary medicine and HIV clinics. They noted that this should be subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The JCVI acknowledged that finding a way to implement its advice would be challenging and made clear that work was needed by the Department and others to consider commissioning and delivery routes for this programme. This work is already underway and we will announce our plans as soon as we can.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27312, what steps she has taken to reduce the proportion of children and young people entering the care system who have not had their Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire score submitted.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education and Department of Health strengthened the statutory guidance Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children[1] in March 2015 to include information on how Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs) should be used. The Department wrote to local authorities in 2014 and 2015 to remind them about the purpose and importance of SDQs. Ahead of this year’s data collection (published in September 2016), the Department will also write to Virtual School Heads and Independent Reviewing Officers about the use of SDQs for looked-after children. In addition we are considering how to utilise best practice from local authorities that have had consistently good return rates for SDQ scores in their annual children looked after data returns to the Department.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-the-health-and-wellbeing-of-looked-after-children–2

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