Category: Speeches

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have agreed to cross-margining of variable payments through LCH Clearnet and Eurex; and if so, who will be responsible for regulating these separate entities; and whether they have required any increase in capital or margin.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) establishes a strict supervisory framework for CCPs, which in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England.

    EMIR’s requirements – which continue to apply in the event of a merger or change of control of a CCP – include that a CCP must be sufficiently well-resourced to withstand extreme market events, including the simultaneous default of its two largest clearing members.

    In the event of a qualifying change of control the Bank of England must under EMIR also assess the suitability of the proposed acquirer and financial soundness of the proposed acquisition.

    Copies of the Bank of England’s 2016 report on supervision of financial market infrastructures were laid before Parliament on 4 March and are available in the House library.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the recommendations of the report of the Public Accounts Committee, Department for International Development: responding to crises, published on 20 April 2016, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department improves its system of accounting for ODA spend on humanitarian emergencies.

    Justine Greening

    The Government will respond to the Committee’s recommendations in the usual way in a Treasury Minute which will be laid before Parliament.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which five health conditions required the greatest (a) financial and (b) time commitment from GP services in the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The requested information is not held.

  • Lord Dubs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Dubs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many unaccompanied child refugees have been transferred to the UK under the terms of the Immigration Act 2016 from (1) France, (2) Italy, and (3) Greece.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Our records currently indicate that since Royal Assent, 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act 2016 have been transferred to the UK. Details on the European country these children arrived from are not currently available. This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken to increase diagnosis of patients with atrial fibrillation.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England’s Sustainable Improvement Team is taking action to promote the use of GRASP-AF (Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation) within general practitioner (GP) practices in England. GRASP-AF is an audit tool developed by and trialled in the National Health Service which greatly simplifies the process of identifying patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) who are not receiving the right management to help reduce their risk of stroke.

    The Sustainable Improvement Team is also working with NHS RightCare, a programme committed to improving people’s health and outcomes, to help promote the use of GRASP-AF in the programme’s 65 first wave clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS RightCare’s ‘Commissioning for Value’ packs help CCGs identify priority areas such as AF, and the GRASP AF tool provides a practical method of addressing any inequalities. NHS England’s intention is that the work with NHS RightCare will increase the number of CCGs using GRASP-AF in a systematic way.

    Anonymised data from GRASP-AF can be uploaded to CHART Online, a secure web enabled tool that helps practices improve performance through comparative data analysis. This allows practices and CCGs to benchmark their management of AF with other practices across England and so help identify and reduce any variation in practice.

    The use of GRASP-AF is voluntary and its use therefore varies across CCGs. Currently 2,248 GP practices have uploaded data from GRASP-AF to CHART online across 151 out of the 209 CCGs. Of these, 19 CCGs have all GP practices in their area uploading data.

    In addition to the NHS action outlined above, all local authorities in England are required to offer the NHS Health Check programme, with the large majority commissioning general practice to provide them on their behalf. More than 15 million people aged 40-74 are, have been or will be eligible for an NHS Health Check between 2014 and 2018. The programme’s best practice guidance recommends that a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading and those individuals who are found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred for further investigation.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of play opportunities for children with disabilities and complex needs.

    Edward Timpson

    Play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning. The importance of play is recognised in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework[1], which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”

    Early Years educators and Early Years teachers are required to have an understanding of different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. It is for individual schools and settings to provide opportunities for play for their children and pupils, including those with special educational needs.

    We welcome the report published by Sense and their continuing efforts to support deafblind children and young people.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2

    “

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of the SEND code of practice on educational provision for children with cerebral palsy.

    Edward Timpson

    The reforms introduced in September 2014 will ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 0 to 25, including those with cerebral palsy, have improved access to the support they need.

    Local authorities are responsible for meeting the educational needs of all children with SEND within their local area. They must co-ordinate education, health and care provision for individual children and ensure that young people and parents are involved in discussions about their individual support and about local provision more generally. Statutory Local Offers published by each local authority must set out what support is available for all children and young people with SEND in their area, including those with more complex needs.

    The reforms detailed in the SEND Code of Practice were drawn up in consultation with a wide range of interested parties, many of whom represented the interests of children and young people with specific impairments. They are intended to improve outcomes for every child or young person with SEND by placing them at the heart of a system designed to respond to their individual needs and aspirations.

    The Department has not assessed the impact of the SEND Code of Practice, or regional variations in provision, on the basis of any specific impairment but is monitoring implementation closely.

    This monitoring includes inputs from annual data collection; termly surveys of local authorities and Parent Carer Forums; and feedback from specialist SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations. From May 2016, this monitoring will be enhanced by a new joint Ofsted/CQC inspection framework for SEND, which is currently the subject of a national consultation.

    Schools are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify the SEN of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that they get the support they need. Teachers are expected to be able to adapt their teaching to the needs of all pupils, and to have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

    To support the school workforce, the Department has funded almost 11,000 SEN Coordinators to attain Masters-level national awards between 2009 and 2014, at a cost of almost £33 million; is funding SEND conferences for school leaders and supporting the development of a ‘SEND gateway’ for education professionals, which offers a wide range of online training and information.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to the Kurdish Peshmerga in their efforts against Daesh.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    As part of our wider support to the Government of Iraq and in close cooperation with the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, we are providing substantial assistance to the Kurdish Peshmerga. In addition to the air support being provided by the RAF, the UK military training team in northern Iraq we have trained over 2,700 Peshmerga fighters in infantry fighting skills, weapons handling and C-IED procedures. We have also gifted weapons and ammunition, including 40 heavy machine guns, non-lethal equipment and airlifted support provided by other Coalition partners.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any of the trusted partner pilots for the purposes of universal credit alternative payment arrangements will cover alternative payment arrangements for residents in (a) supported housing and (b) sheltered accommodation for elderly people.

    Priti Patel

    The intention is to deliver 26 Trusted Partner pilot sites. In total we received just over 200 valid applications; 16 landlords have already commenced the pilot and work is in train to confirm the final 10.

    We plan to let key stakeholders know once all landlords have been confirmed.

    Tenants in accommodation such as supported or sheltered housing are not subject to the Alternative Payment Arrangement process.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many women have died (a) in pregnancy and (b) during childbirth in (i) St Helens, (ii) St Helens North constituency, (iii) Merseyside and (iv) the North West in each year since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.