Category: Speeches

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the (a) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and (b) Trade in Services Agreement will be subject to a vote in the House following Parliamentary scrutiny.

    Anna Soubry

    We expect the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) will be mixed agreements covering areas of both EU and Member State competence. In that case, they will be subject to agreement by each EU Member State, the EU Council and the European Parliament. As part of this process the agreements will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny before they are ratified by the UK. After political agreement is reached on the text of TTIP and TiSA and it has been established that these will be mixed agreements, we will confirm the procedures for Parliamentary approval.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the recommendations of the report by the Dogs Trust entitled Puppy Smuggling: The Scandal Continues, published in July 2015.

    George Eustice

    The Dogs Trust’s report highlights that responsibility for stopping the illegal movement of puppies begins in the country where they are born. The UK Chief Veterinary Officer has written to the authorities in the countries highlighted in the report to remind them of their duty to ensure that the requirements of the EU pet travel scheme must be fully complied with. This approach has previously resulted in investigations in EU Member States and appropriate action being taken, including the suspension of veterinarians’ licenses. We will continue to alert the authorities in any Member State where we become aware of issues in relation to the operation of the pet travel scheme.

    The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU Member States. In order to carry pets, transport companies must be approved by the Animal and Plant Health Agency to ensure that they have the necessary facilities and trained staff. It is a condition of approval that the transport company check 100% of those pets declared to them for compliance with the EU pet travel scheme. Stringent penalties are in place where people are found to be breaking the rules. Defra actively shares intelligence it gathers relating to abuse of the pet travel scheme with Local Authorities (who are enforcement bodies) and other EU countries for them to further investigate and take any necessary action.

    The illegal trade is ultimately driven by demand and so we have published guidance on the steps pet owners can take to avoid buying an illegally imported pet. See: https://www.gov.uk/buying-a-cat-or-dog. Defra has also worked closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to drive up standards for online advertisements.

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  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff working in his Department are employees on fixed-term contracts.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There are 2,006 employees on fixed term contracts out of a workforce of 84,429, which equates to 2.4%.

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to enact in full the recommendations from the Department for Education’s independent expert group, led by Stephen Munday CBE.

    Lord Nash

    Ministers of the Department for Education are awaiting the report from Stephen Munday’s independent expert group on the content of initial teacher training, which is expected this spring. The Government will consider the group’s recommendations carefully and determine how they should be taken forward.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 21 September 2015 to Question HL2285, what progress Public Health England has made on making the Systemic Anticancer Therapy dataset publicly available; what the timetable is for that dataset being fully accessible; and whether he plans that the dataset will be used to collect data on patient outcomes for treatment funded through the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    George Freeman

    Public Health England (PHE) is working to making data collected as part of the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) dataset available through its Office for Data Release function by summer 2016. The absolute priority of PHE is to maintain patient confidentiality and therefore data will only be released to external parties in a format that does not compromise patient confidentiality either directly or by inference.

    NHS England is currently working closely with PHE on a proposition which will enable the SACT dataset to be used to collect data on patient outcomes for treatment funded through the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is working closely with NHS England to support the new way of working for the Cancer Drugs Fund from 1 April 2016 and the NICE Technology Appraisal process and methods will be considered by the NICE Board at their next meeting on 16 March 2016. We do not have any information on whether the dataset used by PHE will be used to collect data on patient outcomes for treatment funded through the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to provide additional support for educational studies to young carers.

    Edward Timpson

    Schools play an important part in identifying pupils who are young carers and in offering them appropriate support. That is why my Department works with Carers Trust and The Children’s Society to share tools, good practice and increase awareness in schools of young carers’ issues. Ofsted inspectors will also pay particular attention to the outcomes achieved by young carers in schools.

    We have changed the law so that, since April 2015, all young carers are entitled to an assessment of their needs for support, regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how much time they spend caring.

    The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund enables students from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in further education by helping them to overcome any financial barriers they face. With the help of Carers Trust, we have recently improved our guidance to the schools, colleges and training providers that administer the bursary on how they can better identify and support eligible young carers. We also have strong links with the National Association of Managers of Student Services, a network of college staff who have direct responsibility for providing appropriate support for students. We have provided Carers Trust with access to this network so they can agree in partnership how they can better raise awareness of young carers’ circumstances and support requirements.

    Around 60%, of young carers are thought to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years will be attracting pupil premium funding to the schools that they attend.

    Additionally, all young people who have not achieved their full potential at age 16 in terms of achieving a grade C in English and maths GCSE at the age of 16 attract extra funding to provide the educational support they need to achieve and progress. Any young carer who finds themselves in this situation will be able to access additional educational support from their school or college.

    We also funded Suffolk Family Carers over £111,000 in 2015-16 to run a local project to raise awareness of young carers amongst teachers, non-teaching staff and school nurses, including a focus on young carers’ mental health, supporting Suffolk County Council’s strategy on young carers. We are now evaluating that project.

  • 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 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that the ultimate holding company for the London Stock Exchange remains incorporated in the UK.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to my previous answers of 26 April (HL7583 and HL7780) which noted that, once notified of the merger, the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority would assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint, and that it would also be subject to assessments and approvals by the competition authorities, overseas regulators, and shareholders.

    My previous answers further noted that any inter central counterparty links would need to be assessed against the relevant parts of European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many soil scientists are currently employed by (1) universities and colleges, (2) research institutions, and (3) the private sector, in the UK.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    This level of detail is not held by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take following the demolition of a home in Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan by the Israeli authorities on 7 September.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is concerned that there has been a large increase in demolitions since the start of 2016, compared with the monthly average in 2015.

    On 7 September, during a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman in London, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) raised our concerns about demolitions.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many rail freight interchanges there are in the UK; and what the utilisation rate is on the freight network.

    Paul Maynard

    The UK has 16 intermodal rail freight interchanges. These are:

    o Birmingham International Railfreight Terminal

    o Daventry International Railfreight Terminal

    o Hams Hall

    o Widnes

    o Wentloog

    o Selby

    o Doncaster Railport

    o Grangemouth

    o Trafford Park Euroterminal

    o Trafford Park

    o Lawley Street

    o Leeds – Freightliner

    o Mossend Euroterminal

    o Wakefield Euroterminal

    o Willesden Euroterminal

    • Barking

    In addition to these interchanges, there are a large number of port-located rail terminals and small independent facilities nationwide.

    The usage and available capacity of these terminals varies by facility and time of year. However, overall changes in the rail freight market means there has been an increase, in recent years, in imports and exports of containerised goods through the major ports (intermodal freight), increasing utilisation at these sites.