Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people under the age of 18 have died after receiving the HPV vaccination in the last three years.

    George Freeman

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects reports of suspected side effects to vaccines and medicines via the Yellow Card Scheme. It is important to note that a report of a suspected side effect does not necessarily mean the vaccine or medicine was the cause of the reported event, and coincidental illness can also be a factor. Such reports remain under continual review by the MHRA in order to detect possible new risks.

    The MHRA has received one suspected side effect report with a fatal outcome temporally associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which occurred in the last three years. A link with the vaccine has not been established. There has been no suggestion from safety monitoring so far in the United Kingdom that the vaccine has been responsible for any deaths.

    More than three million girls have been vaccinated in the UK with HPV vaccine since 2008, and tens of millions more have been vaccinated globally. As with all vaccines, safety remains under continual review, and HPV vaccine has a very good safety record.

  • MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to ensure appropriate arrangements are made available to safeguard vulnerable women who participate in criminal justice proceedings.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    I am committed to making the process of going to court simpler, easier, and more sympathetic to victims. My department’s court reform programme will make sure victims and witnesses, both male and female, continue to be treated with respect throughout the process. For example, the digitisation of the courts services is having a positive impact on victims by providing the ability to give video evidence rather than facing the trauma of attending court.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the findings in the Report from the charity Sense, Realising Aspirations for All; and what steps he is taking to ensure that people who are deafblind and those with complex needs benefit from plans to halve the disability employment gap.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We welcome the Sense report, Realising Aspirations for All. We want all disabled people and those with a long term health condition to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations.

    Everyone has an important part to play in making the transformative changes required for long-term reform on supporting disabled people into work and contributing to halving the disability employment gap.

    We will soon publish a Green Paper that will explore a range of options for long-term reform across different sectors enabling everyone to realise their aspirations, regardless of their health condition or disability. We are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including organisations that represent the needs of deafblind people, through our preparatory work and detailed consultation plans that will follow.

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend free use of the (a) Mersey Gateway and (b) Silver Jubilee Bridge to residents and UK firms across Merseyside; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    As announced at the Summer Budget, we have asked the Department for Transport to look at extending the Mersey Gateway local discount scheme to residents of Chester West & Chester and Warrington, as well as looking at help for small businesses. This work is ongoing.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

    Stephen Crabb

    There are no instances in which a Wales Office Special Advisor has accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the Government has not given financial and other support to British Airways’ Green Sky project; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the potential cancellation of that project on the aviation industry’s sustainable aviation agenda.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government recognises the strategic importance of supporting sustainable aviation fuels in order to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation sector, and drive the development of an advanced biofuels industry in the UK. Waste-derived fuels, such as those that the GreenSky project aim to produce, hold real potential for UK growth and jobs, as well as for our energy security and balance of payments.

    The GreenSky project was eligible to enter the Department’s recent Advanced Biofuel Demonstration Competition which has provided £25m of financial support to help develop sustainable biofuels. The competition attracted a wide range of strong proposals and following a thorough assessment process the GreenSky bid was unsuccessful.

    I have met with British Airways to discuss the GreenSky project. We will continue regular contact as British Airways pursue this excellent initiative to develop waste-derived jet fuel.

    The Transport Energy Taskforce, made up of a broad range of expert stakeholders, including British Airways, made recommendations last year, including making aviation biofuels eligible for rewards under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. We intend to include proposals on this in a public consultation this year.

  • Gordon Henderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gordon Henderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Henderson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support smaller building firms in building high-quality new homes.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have put in place a number of initiatives to help smaller builders to build more homes and grow their businesses including the Housing Growth Fund and Builders’ Finance Fund. A new £1 billion short-term housing development fund, announced at Autumn Statement, will be launched in the Spring.

  • Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Grocott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries have expressed an interest in applying for membership of the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that any European State which respects its values and is committed to promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union. The Council currently recognises five candidates for EU membership: Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Serbia. Turkey, Montenegro and Serbia have started accession negotiations. Albania and Macedonia have Candidate Status but have not started accession negotiations. Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its membership application on 15 February 2016. The General Affairs Council will revert to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application once it deems that sufficient progress in the implementation of the Reform Agenda has been achieved. Kosovo is recognised as a potential candidate and has signed and concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU. Iceland started negotiations in 2013, but last year requested that it no longer be considered a candidate country.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the time taken to process Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

    Karen Bradley

    In the vast majority of cases, disclosure certificates are issued in a timely manner. Performance data relating to February 2016 indicates that average processing time for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) applications was 15 days. It is important that checks undertaken are thorough and a proportion of the applications received by the DBS need to be referred to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process.

    The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner. A small number of forces have experienced difficulties in meeting the service level agreements in place between the DBS and each force. Whilst no assessment has been made of the impact of timeliness on unemployed customers, it is recognised that delays may create problems for some people. The DBS is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. We will not compromise when it comes to the safety of children and vulnerable adults.

    The number of applications to the DBS from people living in the Clacton constituency that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months is listed in the table below.

    Month

    Number of certificates issued by DBS to applicants in Clacton constituency

    Applications that took longer than 60 days

    March 2015– February 2016

    5,707

    322
  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for the publication of the obesity strategy; and what role (a) Public Health England and (b) his Department is playing in the drafting of that strategy.

    Jane Ellison

    The Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, is being led by the Department with input from across Government, including Public Health England.