Written Answers: Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Ministerial Policy Advisers
Jon Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015. More...

Written Answers: Northern Ireland Office: Northern Ireland Office: Ministerial Policy Advisers
Jon Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Infrastructure
Jon Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to publish an update of the National Infrastructure Plan and infrastructure pipeline before the end of 2015. More...

Written Answers: Department for Work and Pensions: Ministerial Policy Advisers
Jon Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Infrastructure
Jon Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many projects, of what value, have received investment through the Pensions Infrastructure Platform in (a) 2015 and (b) since the platform's launch. More...

Written Answers: Cabinet Office: Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department's latest forecast of total annually managed expenditure spend for this year is; and what the forecasts were for those sums at the time... More...

Written Answers: Cabinet Office: Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent in (a) real terms and (b) as a proportion of departmental spending on (i) temporary agency staff, (ii) consultants, (iii) non-payroll staff, (iv) administration and (v) marketing and advertising for each year since 2010-11. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Welfare Tax Credits
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's impact assessment on the Tax Credits (Income Threshold and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015, what the (a) income brackets are for each decile and (b) equivalent levels are for the proportions in Chart 1. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Welfare Tax Credits
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12704, what the income range is of the half of tax credit claimants with the highest income. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Welfare Tax Credits
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate what the annual tax credit award for a single-earner family with two children, with no childcare costs, earning (a) £8,000, (b) £12,000, (c) £15,000, (d) £20,000 and (e) £25,000 a year will be in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Lone Parents: Personal Income
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate what the net income, including tax credits and child benefit, will be of a single parent with two children working 35 hours per week at the (a) national minimum wage and (b) National Living Wage in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Children: Poverty
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of tax and benefit changes included in the Summer Budget 2015 on (a) relative and (b) absolute child poverty. More...

Written Answers: HM Treasury: Oil Fired Power Stations: Enterprise Investment Scheme
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many diesel power stations receiving capacity market payments have been fully or part-funded through the Enterprise Investment Scheme. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Education: Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy
Jonathan Ashworth: In the event that the Government bring forward a motion for further military intervention in Syria against Daesh, can the Secretary of State assure us that we have a strategy in place so that that bombing does not have the consequence of bolstering the Assad regime? More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Prime Minister: Iran: Nuclear Deal
Jonathan Ashworth: The deal is important and welcome, but the right hon. Gentleman will be aware that there have been rumours that Saudi Arabia would respond to a deal by trying to develop its own nuclear programme. What assessment has he made of those rumours, and does he think Saudi may go in that direction? More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: The hundreds of constituents who have been in touch in recent days opposing this change to the Hunting Act will welcome what the Government have done, but will consider the way they have gone about it to be utterly chaotic. If this was designated a free vote by the Whips Office, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones) said, why have the Government pulled the vote? More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Syrian Refugees
Jonathan Ashworth: The Minister will recall that, back in April, the acting head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said that Europe was simply not doing enough in this regard. This is a humanitarian disaster, with 4 million refugees living in neighbouring countries. What urgent representations is the Minister making to his European counterparts about making the funds available to deal with...More...

Isil: Ways and Means - Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation - Amendment of the Law
Jonathan Ashworth: I know that the right hon. Gentleman is committed to devolving powers to the regions. However, in the last Parliament Conservative Ministers made a commitment to deliver the electrification of the midland main line. Why will the Government not get on with that, because it would be good for the east midlands economy? More...

Oral Answers to Questions - International Development: Syrian Children: Refugee Camps
Jonathan Ashworth: The Red Book describes the midlands as the “engine for growth”. When the Chancellor visited the midlands before the election, he gave a cast-iron commitment to the electrification of the midland main line. Is it not hugely disappointing that there was no progress on that electrification in today’s statement? More...

Ways and Means: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation - amendment of the law
Jonathan Ashworth: The Secretary of State will be aware that the Lebanese Minister for Education said that Lebanon is facing a $100 million shortfall in the budget for educating Syrian refugee children. What representations has she made to her international counterparts to ensure Lebanon gets that $100 million? More...

Written Answers - - Department for Work and Pensions: Employment and Support Allowance
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants there were in each year since 2010; and how many such claimants had Social Fund Loan payments deducted in each such year. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Cabinet Office: Senior Civil Servants (Social Background)
Jonathan Ashworth: We welcome the Minister to his place and the Opposition support genuine efforts to increase the diversity of the civil service. He will be aware that 58% of permanent secretaries were privately educated, as were 53% of senior diplomats and 45% of public body chairs. Would he therefore support targets... More...

Written Answers - Department for Work and Pensions: Employment and Support Allowance
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants had Social Fund Loan repayments wrongly deducted from their benefits in each year since 2010; and how many of those deductions were due to (a) prior full loan repayment and (b) non-existence of the loan. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Communities and Local Government: Tunisia, and European Council
Jonathan Ashworth: In Leicester, we all hope and pray for the safe return of Ray and Angela Fisher. I am grateful for the commitments that the Prime Minister has made with respect to the embassy and Foreign Office staff.
Does the Prime Minister agree that Daesh thrives on divisions in the region, whether those involve Kurds or Arabs, Sunni or Shi'a? What is he doing to build an effective united front...More...

BBC Investment (East and West Midlands)
Jonathan Ashworth: I am sure the hon. Gentleman and other east midlands MPs will join me in bidding farewell to John Hess, the BBC's political editor in the east midlands; we wish him well. I mention that to raise a serious point. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the BBC should continue to invest in good political journalism that explains to our constituents what is going on in this place? We would not... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Work and Pensions: Topical Questions
Jonathan Ashworth: My constituent, Mr Geoffrey Thomas, found that the DWP was deducting £8.43 from his ESA because it falsely claimed that he had taken out £400-worth of social loans. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is a disgraceful way to have treated my constituent? Will he make urgent inquiries to make sure that this is not happening to any other people across the country? More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Education: Failing Schools
Jonathan Ashworth: With respect to failing schools, the Secretary of State has insisted that Uplands junior school in the Spinney Hills part of my constituency should convert to an academy. Down the road in the Eyres Monsell part of my constituency, the Samworth Academy has the worst GCSE results in the whole of Leicester-the results have gone down again-the chair of governors has resigned and there... More...

Jon Ashworth MP calls for end to Rohingya boat-migrant crisis
Jonathan Ashworth: It is a pleasure to see you re-elected and in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. Please accept my congratulations on your re-election.

I want to bring to the House an opportunity to talk about the human rights situation in Burma/Myanmar and the migrant boat crisis that we have seen reported on in recent weeks in the media. We have seen heartbreaking coverage as thousands of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi migrants have remained stranded in squalor in smugglers’ boats at sea while initially Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia refused to allow them to land...More...

Debate on the Address: Home Affairs and Justice
Jonathan Ashworth: Estimates provided by the House of Commons Library suggest that we are likely to lose 300 police officers in Leicestershire because of the cuts that are to come. When will the Home Secretary be able to give us the actual figure? More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: Has the Leader of the House had time yet to study yesterday's figures from the Office for National Statistics, which show that the city with the lowest disposable income per person is now Leicester? He may also be aware that over the last four years child poverty increased in Leicester. Will he therefore ensure that when the Chancellor comes to the House and outlines his £12... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Cabinet Office: Trade Unions
Jonathan Ashworth: The Paymaster General has spent the last five years attacking civil servants' facility time and check-off. We now learn, a week before Dissolution, that he is inserting a gagging clause into the civil service code. Why is it so necessary and urgent to change the civil service code now? More...

Commons debate - Lesser-Taught Languages
Jonathan Ashworth: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate, the title of which is “Lesser-taught Languages”. In Leicester, these languages are not lesser taught - Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali and Arabic qualifications are sat by hundreds of students every year. He has hit the nail on the head. If we want to expand trade, rather than getting rid of these qualifications, we should... More...

Commons debate - Lesser-Taught Languages
Jonathan Ashworth: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate, the title of which is “Lesser-taught Languages”. In Leicester, these languages are not lesser taught - Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali and Arabic qualifications are sat by hundreds of students every year. He has hit the nail on the head. If we want to expand trade, rather than getting rid of these qualifications, we should... More...

Written Answers - Department for Transport: Advertising
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's advertising and communications expenditure was in each month since September 2014; and what that expenditure is forecast to be in March 2015. More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: Public Sector: Procurement
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of public sector procurement has been allocated to ethnic minority businesses in each year since 2010. More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: UK Statistics Authority
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Written Statement HCWS319 of 27 February 2015, what the urgent cash requirement on services was that made an advance of £15 million sought from the Contingencies Fund necessary. More...

Written Answers - Department for Communities and Local Government: Staff
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the gender balance is of staff working in the Ministerial office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley. More...

Written Answers - Department for Communities and Local Government: Staff
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the ethnic composition is of staff working in the Ministerial office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Cabinet Office: Transparency Agenda
Jonathan Ashworth:Can we perhaps have a bit more transparency with respect to ministerial interests? This week, we saw Ministers hobnobbing at the black and white ball, although I noticed that the Paymaster General was sadly excluded from the Cabinet auction, and we saw new analysis showing that in the past 12 months Tory Ministers have made 168 ministerial visits to marginal Tory-held constituencies. In the... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Attorney-General: Local Government Finance
Jonathan Ashworth: I rise to make a few remarks on behalf of the city of Leicester, which I am fortunate enough to represent. In common with my hon. Friends the Members for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), for Derby North (Chris Williamson) and for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts)-he is no longer in his place-I represent a city that sadly often scores far too highly in the deprivation league...More...

Written Answers - Ministry of Justice: Take-away Food
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on take-away food for staff since May 2010. More...

Written Answers - Department for Communities and Local Government: Quarrying: Redbridge
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with the London Borough of Redbridge on gravel extraction in Aldborough Hatch. More...

Written Answers - Department for Communities and Local Government: Conditions of Employment
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff are employed on zero-hours contracts in the office of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his Department, the hon. Member for Keighley. More...

Westminster Hall debates - Rohingya Community (Burma)
Jonathan Ashworth: It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Main, not least because I know that you take a particular interest in matters affecting the part of the world on which I am about to speak through your work with the all-party parliamentary group on Bangladesh. I am grateful for the opportunity to put some issues on the record. In September 2012, I introduced a very good debate in this Chamber, to... More...

Department for Communities and Local Government: Cleaning Services
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retired civil servants have received late pension payments since the spin out of MyCSP in 2012. More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: Civil Servants: Pensions
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retired civil servants have received late pension payments since the spin out of MyCSP in 2012. More...

Commons debates - A and E (Major Incidents)
Jonathan Ashworth: The Secretary of State will know that major incident status was declared at Leicester hospitals this week for the seventh time in three months. More...

Written Answers - Home Office: Overseas Students: Entry Clearances
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many international students living and studying in the UK have not had their passports returned to them by the Passport Office in time to travel abroad before Christmas 2014. More...