Category: Speeches

Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18873, what proportion of his Department’s staff were agency workers covering (a) operational uniformed staff and (b) clerical agency staff in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah

We only use temporary staff to fill business-critical posts and essential frontline services, where they can offer a fast, flexible and efficient way of providing skills not currently available in-house.

The proportion of the department’s staff agency workers either covering operational uniformed staff of clerical agency staff is displayed in the following table. Data prior to 2011/12 is not available.

Year-end date	Proportion of Operational Uniformed Staff	Proportion of Clerical agency staff
31/03/2012	1.92%	0.58%
31/03/2013	2.03%	0.76%
31/03/2014	3.17%	1.14%
31/03/2015	4.61%	1.61%

01/01/2023

Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many youth centres have been closed since 2010 and what assessment they have made of the impact of those closures on young people.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

It is the responsibility of local authorities to decide how to allocate funding for youth services, according to local need. Individual local authorities would be best placed to advise on any changes there have been to the number of youth centres in their local area.

01/01/2023
Alistair Burt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what BT’s commercial investment was in broadband rollout in North East Bedfordshire.

Matt Hancock

The Department does not hold information on BT’s commercial investment in broadband roll-out.

01/01/2023
Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the Nigerian government on returning displaced people to areas previously in the control of Boko Haram.

James Duddridge

We welcome the recent progress made by the Nigerian armed forces in the fight against Boko Haram and the UK continues to support their efforts. The security situation in North East Nigeria however remains extremely fragile and it is not yet appropriate for many displaced people to return to their homes. The UK is supporting the Government of Nigeria and the UN to help those affected by the conflict and we have provided £5.5 million this year for the humanitarian response in North East Nigeria. Tackling Boko Haram will require a comprehensive approach that addresses the political, economic and development problems in North East Nigeria, in addition to a security response. We are supporting the Nigerian authorities to improve security and put the conditions in place to enable the safe return of internally displaced people to their homes.

01/01/2023
Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which date his Department announced the creation of each enterprise zone in (a) urban and (b) rural areas of each region; and what plans he has to create new enterprise zones in what (i) rural and (ii) urban areas.

Greg Hands

26 new and extended Enterprise Zones were announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement on 25 November, details of which are available on gov.uk. The government has provided feedback to those Local Enterprise Partnerships that were unsuccessful in their applications, and where possible, will work with them to consider how the proposals could be improved.

01/01/2023
Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of removing generic medicines required to have a brand name by the MHRA from the Statutory Scheme of Control the Prices of Branded Health Service Medicines.

George Freeman

The Department consulted on options to amend the Statutory Scheme regulations which control the prices of branded health service medicines. Both the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and the statutory scheme include all health service medicines with a brand name, including those required by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to have a brand name. The Department did not propose any changes to the scope of the statutory scheme in this respect and has not made an estimate of the cost of removing those branded medicines from the statutory scheme.

The Department received responses from a range of organisations including National Health Service, independent bodies and pharmaceutical industry. The Department is currently analysing the responses from a range of organisations including NHS, independent bodies and pharmaceutical industry.

The consultation and impact assessment can be accessed using the following link.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pricing-of-branded-health-service-medicines

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01/01/2023
Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 23515, what estimate he has made of the total cost to people who pay council tax in (a) Stevenage, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England of the potential increase in council tax; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Council tax rates are completely up to local councils. All local authorities have the power to freeze council tax if they wish. Any council that wants to raise council tax above the referendum principle needs to go to their local area for consent.

Given the pressures councils face providing adult social care we are giving them the freedom to levy a 2 percent precept to help cover costs. Again, it is up to the responsible authority if they wish to exercise this.

Even if all authorities increase by the maximum under the referendum principles, council tax will still be lower in 2019-20 in real terms compared to 2010.

01/01/2023
Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department is providing to museums in each region and nation of the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Department does not hold information on museums spending broken down by region or nation. Museums funding is devolved to the respective administrations. The total spend on DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries (including the British Library) was £389.7m in 2014-15. The 2015 Spending Review announced DCMS spend on museums and galleries will be maintained in cash terms.

01/01/2023
Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the objectives of the hepatitis C improvement framework can still be achieved.

Lord Prior of Brampton

NHS England has been rapidly working on their plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 following enactment of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technical appraisal guidance and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

01/01/2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what formal public consultation will need to take place before Sustainability and Transformation Plans are submitted to NHS England by 30 June.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Where Sustainability and Transformation plans envisage changes to the way that NHS services are commissioned or delivered, it will be the responsibility of the relevant clinical commissioning groups to involve patients and the public in considering and making decisions on those proposals, in line with their duties under the National Health Service Act 2006.

01/01/2023