Category: Speeches

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25979, which 10 Israeli NGOs receive funding from the Conflict Stability and Security Fund; and which two NGOs receive funds through the Bilateral Programme Budgets.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We supply funding for projects delivered by the following 10 Israeli Non-Government Offices (NGOs) through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund: The Peres Centre for Peace; Injaz – Centre for Professional Arab Local Governance; Kids Creating Peace; Yesh Din; Gisha; Peace Now; Terrestrial Jerusalem; The International Peace and Cooperation Centre; Rabbis for Human Rights and the Jerusalem Community Advocacy Network.

    We also fund projects delivered by the following NGOs through the Bilateral Programme Budget: Burj Al Luqluq Youth Center and Silwan Youth Center.

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

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department’s tobacco control plan will include future innovations in nicotine delivery.

    Jane Ellison

    Supporting smokers to quit successfully is an important part of reducing the prevalence of smoking in England today. We know that a large number of smokers have and continue to use nicotine delivery devices to support their quit attempts.

    We will consult a range of stakeholders to consider how the use of these products fits with overall tobacco policy as we start to develop the new tobacco control plan.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Boeing Poseidon P-8s acquired by the UK will be equipped with an (a) magnetic anomaly detector, (b) APS-143C rear mounted radar, (c) APS-153 advanced airborne sensor, (d) AN/APY-10 radar and (e) advanced airborne sensor.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the BBC of maintaining free television licences for people over 75 for the remainder of the current Parliament.

    Greg Hands

    Table 2.2 in Budget 2016 shows the savings to the Exchequer of the BBC taking on the cost of the over-75s TV licence concession which is phased in over the period 2018-19 to 2020-21.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on funding research into improving the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

    George Freeman

    The information requested is not available.

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spent £25.5 million on respiratory disease research in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). Most of this investment (£16.6 million in 2014/15) is in infrastructure for respiratory research where spend on specific topics such as the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis cannot be separated from total infrastructure expenditure. This infrastructure includes NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

    The NIHR manages the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, which is funded by the Medical Research Council and NIHR. The programme is currently funding a £1.4 million efficacy and mechanism evaluation of treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with the addition of co-trimoxazole.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the use of digital technology for improving attainment across the curriculum.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government’s approach is not to be interested in technology for its own sake, but rather how it can help teachers work more effectively and children to achieve. The Department has an enabling role so schools can take advantage of the opportunities, but not promoting particular approaches.

    We are focused on three areas:

    • Unlocking innovation in the ed-tech industry by moving to a common set of standards for data within schools and government.

    • Building the evidence base of what works so schools can make informed decisions.

    • Helping teachers and school leaders to build their knowledge and understanding of technology so that they are able confidently to make best use of it.

    Technology presents a number of opportunities to improve outcomes for children. Used well, technology can be a huge aid to schools, but the international evidence shows that caution is needed to ensure technology is used to best effect.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Brandon Lewis

    The total sums spent on using external agencies for recruitment to senior civil service posts in DCLG are as follows:

    2010-2011 – £16,448.38

    2011-12 – £10,950

    2012-13 – Nil

    2013-14 – £14,200

    2014-15 – Nil

    2015-date – Nil

    These figures exclude Public Appointments and Cabinet Office recruitment but are inclusive of VAT.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of clinical commissioning groups have (a) had their transformation plans approved by NHS England and received funding and (b) been told their transformation plans need further work.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England have received and successfully assured Local Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health that cover every clinical commissioning group (CCG) in England. All CCGs will receive the funding allocation agreed through the assurance process by the end of December.

  • Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the letter by Lord Bates to Lord Rosser on 8 January (DEP2016–0028) and the remarks by Lords Bates on 18 January (HL Deb, col 624), which immigration offences led, following conviction, to the forfeiture of assets totalling £966,024 in 2014–15; and how much was forfeited in total for each offence.

    Lord Bates

    There were 16 confiscation orders amounting to £966,024, these are broken down to the following offences.

    Offence

    Amount

    Forgery and Counterfeiting

    £162,997.55

    Facilitation investigation

    £10,665.95

    Sham Marriage – assisting unlawful immigration

    £85,519.29

    Fraud and Money Laundering

    £2.00

    Conspiracy to Facilitate a Breach of Immigration Law

    £25,466.62

    Conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration

    £330,352.72

    Fraud by false representation

    £1,020.32

    Assisting Unlawful Immigration into the UK

    £350,000.00

    In the case of Money Laundering, the small total is because of nominal confiscation orders. A nominal confiscation order for a small amount (such as £1), may be imposed where the court finds that the defendant has benefitted from his criminal conduct, but has no realisable assets. If circumstances change then the order can be revisited.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25396, if she will publish data from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) on the performance of police forces against the service level agreement standards for the time taken to complete local DBS checks over the last six months.

    Karen Bradley

    The operational performance plans of police disclosure units are matters for Chief Constables in association with Police and Crime Commissioners.

    The DBS regularly publishes detailed datasets showing statistics against internal performance standards which form the basis of its monthly reports to the Home Office. This includes performance against their target to issue 95% of all disclosures within 56 days and the number of disclosure applications in progress each month. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-dataset-1-disclosure-progress-information-disclosed-and-update-service-subscriptions.

    DBS also publishes datasets showing statistics against service level agreements with police forces. These apply to the performance of police disclosure units and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dbs-dataset-5-police-disclosure-unit-performance.