Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions his Department has requested access to post-activity operational reports of air strikes by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The Government reviews a range of information on Saudi operations which helps inform our analysis of Saudi Arabian activity in Yemen. The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and British military personnel are not directly involved in the Saudi led Coalition’s operations. We have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers to Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Ministry of Defence Police officers are employed in safeguarding the Trident nuclear deterrent.

    Mark Lancaster

    I am withholding the numbers of Ministry of Defence Police officers deployed to protect the Trident nuclear deterrent for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support to find school places is available for British families with school-age children returning to the UK after a long period of time.

    Edward Timpson

    Any British national has the right to apply for a school place irrespective of where they live and any state-funded school must admit their child if they have space. Local authorities must provide information about all schools and available places in their area.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government will bring forward legislative proposals to ban wild animals from being used in circuses.

    George Eustice

    A ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses is a manifesto commitment and will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows. In the interim, the welfare of any wild animals still being used by travelling circuses in England is protected by the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012. Currently, 16 wild animals are licensed by Defra under the Regulations for use by two circuses.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England plans to publish guidance to commissioners on their duty to pay excess treatment costs.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has confirmed that guidance to commissioners on their duty to pay excess treatment costs will be published by the middle of November 2015.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in the light of any representations they have received from Clinical Commissioning Groups about removing current barriers preventing them from using the drug bevacizumab in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No action has been taken in response to the correspondence from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to remove current barriers to prevent them from using bevacizumab (Avastin) in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Bevacizumab is not licensed for use in the treatment of wet AMD. Unlicensed medicines can be used to treat patients where there is a special clinical need. There are two other effective licensed treatments for wet AMD recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to the student opportunity fund on the number of people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have taken significant steps to widen participation in higher education. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers, enabling more people than ever before to benefit from higher education. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds – up from £404m in 2009/10.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

    We will work with the Higher Education Funding Council for England to target the Student Opportunity Fund in the most effective way and with the Director of Fair Access to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the £290 million that the Prime Minister announced on 11 January 2016 to help new and expectant mothers combat poor mental health is additional funding, over and above existing budgets.

    Alistair Burt

    The £290 million investment in perinatal mental health services announced by the Prime Minister is funded from within the Department’ overall Spending Review Settlement.This builds on the initial investment announced at the Spring 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2016/17 to 2020/21 of £350 million.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure provision of specialist respiratory care for people with muscle-wasting conditions; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including those with muscle-wasting conditions. The relevant service specification sets out what designated specialised providers must have in place to offer evidence based safe and effective care. Patients should have access to a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, psychologists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other health professionals.

    The specification also sets out that neuromuscular clinics need to identify those at risk of respiratory problems and refer for specialist respiratory assessment and monitoring.

    The specification can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

    A separate specification covers services for children:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27774, if his Department will take steps to ensure the funding for local smoking cessation services is maintained in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    Local councils will receive £16 billion over the next five years for public health and have a duty to consider how best to respond to local public health challenges. Public Health England provides a range of resources to support councils in developing of tobacco control programmes. Decisions on commissioning services are for local councils.