Category: Speeches

Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department’s Policy paper, UN Human Rights Council: United Kingdom 2017-2019 candidate, published on 9 December 2015, for what reason reference to the prevention of torture included in previous candidature policy papers was omitted from that policy paper.

Mr David Lidington

Our UN pledges reflect our enduring commitment to promoting universal human rights. Our work to prevent torture globally is intrinsic to this. Our pledges renew the UK’s commitment to encourage the ratification and implementation of core UN human rights instruments – this includes the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and its Optional Protocol. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has said, “torture is always wrong”. We continue to call on all states to set up meaningful national preventative mechanisms to put an end to all use of torture and remain committed to torture prevention work globally as evidenced by the launch of the new edition of the Torture Reporting Handbook on 24 September.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for what reasons two empty armed transporter ships owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and capable of carrying fissile nuclear materials departed Barrow-in-Furness on 19 January 2016; and what the destination of those ships is.

Andrea Leadsom

Two specialist nuclear cargo vessels, which are UK flagged, are currently taking part in a voyage which is approved by all relevant authorities, including the UK Government. In accordance with normal procedures, no further details of their voyage can be disclosed at this stage for security reasons.

01/01/2023
Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many cases the Schools Adjudicator has investigated in connection with the provisions of the Armed Forces Covenant since 2011.

Nick Gibb

In response to the Armed Forces Covenant, the School Admissions Code (the code) contains various provisions to ensure that children of UK service personnel are not disadvantaged when applying for a school place. Admission authorities are required to comply with the code. Objections citing provisions relating to the Armed Forces Covenant would not be within the Office of the School Adjudicator’s jurisdiction (excluding those relating to service premium admission).

The Office of the School’s Adjudicator has not received any objections relating to this issue.

01/01/2023

Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many signatories there are to the Corporate Covenant to date; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

As at 8 March 2016 a total of 891 organisations had signed a Corporate Pledge to the Armed Forces Covenant. The requested breakdown is provided below:

Educational establishments (including training companies)	79
of which, schools, colleges and universities	41

Public Health Bodies (excluding Ambulance Trusts)	25
of which, NHS Foundation Trusts	12

Ambulance Trusts	5

Private companies	763
of which, private companies with ‘Limited’ in their name	355

01/01/2023

Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that abortion clinics transfer women to hospital at the earliest stage necessary in the case of serious incidents.

Jane Ellison

The termination of pregnancies is a regulated activity. All providers of regulated activities must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and must meet all of the relevant Regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, including meeting the fundamental standards of quality and safety, which includes independent sector termination of pregnancy providers and managers. The CQC is responsible for monitoring and, where appropriate, inspecting providers in relation to their ongoing compliance with meeting those requirements. Independent sector providers are also required to comply with the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures which the CQC inspect against.

The CQC has made a public commitment to undertake inspection of all independent providers of termination of pregnancy services using their new inspection approach and will continue to respond to risk as appropriate and take regulatory action as required.

On the issue of whether the Department plans to issue guidance to abortion clinics on consultation on disposal arrangements following termination, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 April 2016 to Question 32357.

We have no plans to issue guidance to abortion clinics on the administration of drugs. The administration of drugs is managed through the CQC’s fundamental standards and through inspection visits.

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01/01/2023

David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of coal produced and imported into the UK is used for (a) electricity generation, (b) steel production, (c) cement manufacture, (d) domestic uses, (e) carbon fibre goods, (f) liquid fuel manufacture, (g) mobile phone components and (h) heritage railways in the latest year for which figures are available.

Andrea Leadsom

The table below gives the proportion of coal produced and imported into the UK by sector for 2014. DECC only produces industry consumption data for the main industrial sectors. Therefore, data is not broken down specifically for cement manufacture, carbon fibre goods, liquid fuel manufacture and mobile phone components. For industry the table shows the two largest consumers and iron and steel.

	Thousand Tonnes	Proportion %
Total Demand	48,500
Transformation	45,665	94.1%
Of which: Electricity Generation	38,400	79.2%
Industry	2,240	4.6%
Of which : Mineral Products	1173	2.4%
Pulp, paper, printing, etc	136	0.2%
Iron and Steel	54	0.1%
Heritage railways	13	0.03%
Domestic	547	1.1%
*Other	35	0.1%

*includes energy industry use, public administration, commercial and miscellaneous.

Source:

DUKES table 2.4 available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes.

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01/01/2023

Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what options his Department is considering for making access to an expanded range of cancer drugs available through the NHS after the end of the Cancer Drugs Fund.

George Freeman

The Government remains committed to the Cancer Drugs Fund which has so far helped over 84,000 patients in England access the cancer drugs they need. £340 million has been allocated to the Fund in 2016-17.

NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements that are being introduced for the Cancer Drugs Fund, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.

01/01/2023
Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the International Aid budget is spent by departments other than the Department for International Development, and which are those departments and how much they are spending.

Lord Young of Cookham

The estimated proportion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to be spent by Departments other than the Department for International Development based on the Spending Review 2015 settlement is 18% in 2016/17. The other departments spending ODA (including allocations from cross-Government funds) are: the Department of Health; the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; the Foreign & Commonwealth Office; the Department for Energy, Food & Rural Affairs; HM Revenue & Customs; HM Treasury; the Office of National Statistics; the Department for Education; the Department for Work and Pensions; Department for Culture, Media & Sport; the Ministry of Defence; the Department for Transport; and the Home Office.

Outturn figures are not yet available, but a detailed breakdown of the 2016 ODA spend by department will be published in April 2017.

01/01/2023
Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 12 November (HL3373), what they intend to do to prevent discriminatory treatment of BME mental health patients, and what assessment they have made of the implications of discriminatory treatment for patients in mental health wards.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are aware that people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups often report poorer experiences of mental health services and there is some evidence of people from BME groups experiencing ethnic discrimination in how services are delivered by not ensuring equitable access or meeting diverse cultural needs.

The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010 make it clear that people should not be discriminated against on the grounds of race or mental impairment. People with mental impairments are included within the groups of people with Protected Characteristics within the Equality Act 2010.

The Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice makes it clear that decisions relating to people detained under the Act should be lawful and in accordance with the requirements of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010.

The Department established the Mental Health Equalities Working Group (EWG) in 2013 to advise on equality and human rights issues, including BME issues.

The Joint Commissioning Panel published guidance in 2014, Guidance for commissioners of mental health services for people from black and minority ethnic communities, which set out 10 key messages for commissioners to improve services. A copy of the guidance is attached.

The Coalition Government published Closing the Gap: priorities for essential change in mental health in 2014, which included a specific action to tackle inequalities around access to mental health services and we continue to work to achieving that action. A copy of this document is attached.

The Department commissioned the Mental Health Providers’ Forum and the Race Equality Foundation to gather and review evidence of effective mental health services for BME groups, which was published this year. The report, Better practice in mental health for black and minority ethnic communities, found that organisations that were successful in providing mental health services that meet the needs of BME groups had developed local community-based approaches to service delivery which addressed cultural and linguistic differences and sought to actively engage hard to reach groups. A copy of this report is attached.

NHS England is also working with a number of BME groups and community leaders to raise awareness, reduce barriers and improve the uptake of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) to all sections of the community. We are also working with the National Health Service and commissioners to disseminate guidance and good practice of what good mental health services for BME communities look like.

01/01/2023
Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on when Lady Justice Macur’s Review of Sir Ronald Waterhouse’s inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former Gwynedd and Clwyd Council areas of North Wales between 1974 and 1996 is likely to be published.

Caroline Dinenage

On 10 December Lady Justice Macur delivered her report to the Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales.

It is being considered as a matter of urgency with a view to publication as soon as possible.

The Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales are very grateful to Lady Justice Macur for her work on this important matter over the last three years.

01/01/2023