Category: Speeches

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Statement of 16 November 2015, Official Report, columns 379 to 382, what proportion of the new security officers announced in that Statement she plans will be based in Scotland.

    Mr John Hayes

    We do not discuss specific deployments of SIA officers. The Rt. Hon member can be confident that the Strategic Defence and Security Review is a good result for the whole of the UK.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what testing for bovine tuberculosis has been conducted on badgers that were killed as part of the cull to eradicate bovine tuberculosis.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Badgers culled under licence in Somerset and Gloucestershire in 2013 – 2015 and Dorset this year were not routinely tested for tuberculosis (TB), since this research had already been carried out under the Randomised Badger Cull Trial (RBCT).

    However, testing of badgers between 1998 and 2005 via the RBCT and Road Traffic Accident surveys provided evidence of the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high incidence of TB in cattle. TB was found in around one third of all badgers in these areas.

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last met his Pakistani counterpart.

    Michael Fallon

    I met Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, on 5 August 2015.

    During my visit I also paid calls on the Prime Minister and other key interlocutors. Most recently, I met with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif when he visited the UK last October.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of funding to the new northern rail franchise will be provided by (a) subsidies to Northern Rail, (b) investment by Network Rail, (c) passenger revenue and (d) investment by Arriva.

    Andrew Jones

    We are unable to disaggregate the proportion of funding on the new Northern Rail franchise.

    I refer the hon Member to my answer of 11 January to the Hon Member for Nottingham South, Lilian Greenwood, (UIN 21124) where the level of subsidies to the Northern franchise was provided and which gives the biggest transformation in decades. These will achieve an unprecedented package of improvements unlike the last Northern franchise in 2004 which included limited plans to invest in services or meet demand, offers better value for the taxpayer and reduces the amount of annual government subsidy required by the Northern franchise by £160 million over nine years (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=21124).

    Network Rail investment is not allocated per franchise. Investment is made on the infrastructure which multiple franchises use and so it is not possible to ‎disaggregate.

    Predicted Passenger revenue and investment by Arriva are commercially confidentially information that we are unable to provide. Actual Passenger revenue is published retrospectively through annual financial statements.

    “

  • 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 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following raids on the Gaza Strip on 12 March, and in particular the deaths and injuries of children resulting from those raids.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities. Israel, like all countries, has a legitimate right to self-defence, and the right to defend its citizens from attack. In doing so, it is vital that all actions are in line with International Humanitarian Law.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce report published in February 2016; and what governance arrangements have been put in place to support the implementation of those recommendations.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is working with delivery partners to carefully consider the Taskforce’s recommendations, and aims to publish an Implementation Plan in the summer that will set out how Government and partners will deliver the recommendations.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time taken for autism diagnosis was by age and gender at time of diagnosis for each year from 2013.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not centrally collect data from the National Health Service on waiting times for an assessment of autism.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline on autism diagnosis states that a diagnostic assessment should start within 12 weeks of referral.

    NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services have undertaken a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to identify best practice on diagnosis and support.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region are living in (i) absolute and (ii) relative poverty.

    Damian Hinds

    This Government is committed to tackling disadvantage and extending opportunity so that everyone has the chance to realise their full potential. Our life chances approach will focus on tackling the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational attainment and family stability.

    The Department for Work and Pensions published the 2014/15 Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics on 28th June 2016. This provides information on individuals living in relative and absolute low income.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201415.

    The number of households in relative and absolute low income is not available at constituency or city region level. This is because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.

    “

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Frontline and Think Ahead social work programmes.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government remains committed to providing appropriate levels of funding to a range of entry routes to social work.

    An independent evaluation of the Frontline programme was published in March 2016, and is accessible online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509240/DFE-RR507-Frontline-pilot-independent-evaluation.pdf

    The first cohort of Think Ahead participants started the programme in summer 2016. Plans are being made to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.

    “

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a security review has been initiated for the purpose of strengthening port security between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    All maritime security requirements are risk informed and are kept under constant review. The Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with ports, ferry operators and other agencies to ensure the safety of the travelling public.

    The DfT also has a set of comprehensive maritime security requirements which port facilities and ships are required to implement, with a well-established monitoring and oversight programme in place to ensure compliance with this regime.