Category: Speeches

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment on projects which have received funding under the Connecting Europe Facility initiative.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Projects seeking funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) should show that they comply with EU Environmental Policy. The Department will undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment, where it is required to do so, in line with its legal obligations.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the time taken for patients outside London to receive stroke rehabilitation treatment.

    Jane Ellison

    Although the Government has made no assessment of the time taken for patients outside London to receive stroke rehabilitation treatment, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) has collected data over the last three years on the rehabilitation that stroke patients get in hospital and in the community in England. This data includes information on time to first assessment for rehabilitation and treatment. The SSNAP reports are available at:

    https://www.strokeaudit.org/results/PostAcute.aspx

    “

  • Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consumers and organisations have made representations on the Chief Medical Officer’s revised guidelines on alcohol consumption.

    Jane Ellison

    We have received 1,017 responses to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ alcohol guidelines consultation, including responses as part of a campaign and responses that did not answer some or any of the specific consultation questions.

  • Biography information for Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Biography information for Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the comments by Lord Mance in the Supreme Court’s judgment in R (on the application of Bancoult (No 2)) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2016] UKSC 35 that a refusal to allow resettlement of the Chagos Islands could be judicially reviewed as potentially irrational

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In the last Parliament, the Cabinet asked for further detailed work to understand the uncertainties around cost and demand for resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence, have refined uncertainties around costs, and a 12 week public consultation was carried out to clarify demand. The results of the consultation were published in January 2016. Officials are now carrying out remaining work on the options available before the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), takes a final decision on the policy. There is no date yet when an announcement on possible resettlement will be made. Developments will be announced to Parliament and the public in due course.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been charged with terrorism offences committed overseas on their return to the UK in each of the last three years.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government takes the threat posed by UK nationals who travel overseas to engage in terrorist activity extremely seriously. We are particularly concerned about those who travel to Syria and Iraq to fight. People seeking to travel to engage in terrorist activity should be in no doubt we will take the strongest possible action to protect our national security.

    The number of individuals suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism or criminal matters who are arrested and then formally charged is recorded and collated in the Home Office Quarterly Statistical Bulletin which was last published on 22 September 2016. These statistics do not disaggregate arrests, charges and convictions relating exclusively to overseas returnees.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the potential implications of the closure of steel plants in the UK for the UK defence industry and infrastructure.

    Anna Soubry

    This Department is regularly in contact with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) about the impact of industrial issues on the UK defence industry and supply chain, such as the challenges facing the steel industry. Any implications for defence procurement will also be considered by the steel procurement working group which was set up with cross-departmental representation (including MoD) following the Steel Summit.

  • Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what UN initiatives the UK is supporting that aim to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and establishment of a Palestinian nation state that is recognised both internationally and by Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK continues to support a negotiated two state solution as the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of this, along with other members of the UN Security Council, we welcome efforts by the Quartet to drive forward improvements on the ground. We support the Security Council’s efforts to build an environment conducive to peace and achieve our common goal of a two-state solution. In response to the recent violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UK supports and reiterates the Council’s calls on both parties to avoid escalating the situation. We will judge proposals for further UN initiatives on the basis of whether we assess they support progress on the Middle East Peace Process.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many press or public relations officers are employed by (a) Ofgem, (b) the Oil and Gas Authority, (c) the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, (d) the Coal Authority, (e) the Committee on Climate Change and (f) the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; how many of those staff earn more that (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total cost is of running the press office in each of those organisations in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The most recent information for each of the bodies is:

    a) Ofgem

    Ofgem employs a small team of six press officers. The total cost of running the press office including pay, pensions and all other costswas £642,000 in the financial year April 2014 to Mar 2015.

    b) Oil and Gas Authority

    The Oil and Gas Authority has a small communications and external affairs team, currently consisting of four staff. There is no dedicated press officer.

    For 2015/16 costs for this team (including IT, staff costs & necessary subscriptions) are projected to be c£203,000.

    c) Civil Nuclear Police Authority

    The Civil Nuclear Constabularly/Civil Nuclear Police Authority employs a total of two members of staff: a Head of Engagement and Communications and one Communications Manager. It has no press or public relations officers. The only costs of running this small communications team are salary costs.

    d) Coal Authority

    There are two members of staff (one of which is part-time) working on press and public relations in the Coal Authority. The only costs of running this team is salary cost plus £7,300 establishment costs for the year.

    e) Committee on Climate Change

    There are two members of staff in the Committee on Climate Change Communications Team. The running costs of the team are salary costs plus other running costs (e.g. IT, website) of £18,934.

    f) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority does not have a press office. Two members of staff have responsibility for media relations as a substantive part of their role: the Head of Stakeholder Communications and Corporate Communications Manager.

    Given the small size of these teams, providing the information requested on salaries would enable individual members of staff to be identified. This information has not, therefore, been provided.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new housing developments were built in the period 2010 to 2015 against advice given by the Environment Agency.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The information requested is not collected by the Department. The Environment Agency’s most recent report ‘Managing flood and coastal erosion risks in England’ indicates that between April 2011 and March 2015, over 99 per cent of proposed new homes had planning outcomes in line with Environment Agency advice where they had objected because of concerns about flood risk and had been made aware of the decision.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, when the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority plan to publish the evidence received on transaction costs for pension trusts; and what the timetable is for determining the next steps referred to.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

    Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

    We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.