Category: Speeches

  • 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 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of the grants awarded by the National Institute for Health Research have been related to mental health in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) awards funding of varying durations through a wide range of research programmes, research training and career development schemes, and funding streams for research infrastructure, systems and support services.

    Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR has been categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure, systems and support services where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. The following table shows NIHR spend in the ‘mental health’ category, and this spend as a proportion of total categorised spend and as a proportion of total revenue expenditure.

    NIHR spend in ‘mental health’ HRCS health category

    £ million

    Proportion of total categorised NIHR spend %

    Proportion of total NIHR revenue spend %

    2010/11

    49.8

    9.0

    5.4

    2011/12

    53.2

    9.0

    5.8

    2012/13

    70.0

    9.5

    7.3

    2013/14

    71.7

    9.5

    7.3

    2014/15

    72.6

    9.0

    7.4

    “

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of inflammatory arthritis on an individual’s ability to stay in work.

    Jane Ellison

    We are aware that a high proportion of people with inflammatory arthritis are of working age. Inflammatory arthritis is a major cause of sickness absence.

    Treatment for inflammatory arthritis has improved dramatically with the development of new drugs. It is essential for people with relevant symptoms to present early to their general practitioner and for the condition to be diagnosed promptly. Ensuring that people have access to the best possible treatment and support provides the greatest scope to enable people with inflammatory arthritis to stay in work.

    The newly formed Work and Health Unit is a joint endeavour between Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions. The Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with health conditions and disabilities, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.

    In the Spending Review the Government has provided at least £115 million of funding for the Unit including a Work and Health Innovation Fund.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposal not to publish the Financial Conduct Authority’s report on banking culture outlined in its Business Plan 2015–16; to whom they have communicated that assessment; and what response they have received.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    No Treasury Minister or official had any discussions with the FCA before the FCA took its decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in its 2015-16 Business Plan.

    The FCA has published (in response to the Noble Lord’s Freedom of Information request) the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, at which offices the 4,000 staff of HM Revenue and Customs who are expected to live outside the reasonable travel to work area after the Building Our Future reorganisation work.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Location Programme is the result of an extended period of consultation and deliberation. The Department has taken account of a number of criteria in reaching its decisions, including the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, the cost of buildings and asset value, and the need to retain the staff and skills it needs to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC conducted high level People Impact and Equality Assessments to inform its planning. The Department plans to update these once discussions have been held with its staff.

    HMRC’s modelling estimates that the majority of staff live within Reasonable Daily Travel of a regional centre. Reasonable Daily Travel is calculated in line with established HR policies and procedures. Every worker at HMRC will have a one-to-one meeting with their manager to discuss their individual circumstances.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26614, on children in care: housing, how many young people he expects to be on the Positive Pathway Framework in 2016.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Positive Pathway is a framework to support local authorities and their partners to design their services to prevent homelessness and meet the housing and support needs of vulnerable young people rather than a service to individual young people.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to record the atrocities that have been committed by Daesh in Iraq so that, in due course, offenders may be brought to justice.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    This Government wants to see accountability for Daesh abuses, and has supported efforts to document them. The UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses.

    In Iraq, we are funding training for human rights defenders to improve victim support and case documentation of sexual violence committed by Daesh. It is hoped that this evidence will be able to be used in the future to hold the perpetrators to account.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with other government departments on the future roles of HEFCE and the Quality Assurance Agency.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government published a Green Paper ‘Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice’ on 6 November 2015. This set out our proposals to drive up the quality of teaching in higher education, and for simplifying the higher education regulatory landscape with a higher education regulator that has the student interest at its core. The consultation closed on 15 January 2016 and we received over 600 responses. In developing both the Green Paper and our response to the consultation, we have consulted extensively across the sector and continue to do so. No decisions have yet been taken and the Government will issue its response in due course.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the new draft EU Resettlement Scheme to be made public; and what progress, if any, has been made in re-opening EU frontiers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We understand the Commission are going to bring out a legislative proposal on resettlement with a Title V legal base shortly. We will consider the detail of the proposal once published.

    The Schengen States agreed on 12 May that certain Schengen internal border controls in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Norway can remain raised until November.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government’s Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from his Department last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    DCLG is working with partners, including the Local Government Association, local authorities and women’s sector organisations to implement its commitments in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. These are to launch a two-year fund for specialist accommodation-based support and services, and to help local areas meet the National Statement of Expectations which will set out for the first time what we expect from local areas in commissioning violence against women and girls services. DCLG is also committed to launching a new programme to support domestic abuse victims with complex needs.

    The last Violence Against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting took place on 11 July 2016. DCLG officials did not attend as that meeting was between Home Office and third sector stakeholders. However, DCLG officials will be attending forthcoming meetings on this topic.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NHS England to publish the first and second quarter figures for Cancer Drugs Fund notifications and individual Cancer Drugs Fund requests for 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The information for the first quarter of 2015-16 was published on NHS England’s website on 10 November 2015 and is available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

    Information for the second quarter is currently being finalised and NHS England expects to publish this in the near future.

    “