Category: Speeches

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people affected by severe mental illness are able to live as independently as possible.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In January 2016 the Government announced almost £1 billion of additional investment for mental health which included over £400 million to enable round-the-clock treatment in communities as a safe and effective alternative to hospital.

    The Work and Health Unit is testing a range of interventions to support people with mental illness to obtain and stay in work.

    NHS England is also working to ensure that by 2020/21 all areas are providing crisis resolution and home treatment teams that are resourced to operate in line with recognised best practice – delivering a round-the-clock, community-based crisis response and intensive home treatment as an alternative to acute inpatient admissions.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage female participation in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    Sport England’s latest Active People Survey results show that the number of women playing sport and being active in England is fast increasing, with over 7 million females aged 16 years or over playing sport once a week – an increase of 261,200 since March 2015.

    However, we recognise that there are various obstacles which still exist that put women off sport and initiatives such as This Girl Can, a Sport England behaviour change campaign, have helped encourage women and girls to get active. In addition the Government’s strategy for sport and physical activity ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for An Active Nation’ and Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’ aim to create a more physically active nation, where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy the benefits that sport and physical activity can provide. Both also put a strong emphasis on reaching groups that are under-represented in sport and physical activity, including women and girls, and helping them to get active in ways that suit them.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the merits of including GPs on the occupation shortage list.

    Ben Gummer

    There have not been any specific discussions with the Home Office about the merits of including general practitioners (GPs) on the national shortage occupation list.

    In 2014 the Department of Health commissioned the Centre for Workforce Intelligence to engage with stakeholders and report to the Migration Advisory Committee in response to their call for evidence. Although the Centre for Workforce Intelligence report recommended the inclusion of GPs on the 2015 shortage occupation list, the Migration Advisory Committee concluded that there was insufficient evidence at that time.

    International recruitment of GPs under Tier 2 of the immigration points-based system continues to be an option for employers where genuine and continued difficulties exist in meeting demand from domestic and European Economic Area supply.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the retention rate of newly qualified teachers; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Teacher retention rates have remained stable for over a decade. Approximately 90 per cent of teachers are in service in the year after they qualify, and 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still teaching 5 years later. Over the longer term, over 60 per cent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

    But we recognise that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers – that is why we have made significant policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload. We have appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in dealing with disruptive children, and to consider all of the challenges of managing behaviour in 21st century schools.

    We have established three groups to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge – marking, planning and data management. The groups will create principles for practice and make specific recommendations for action. All three groups are due to report to Ministers in spring 2016.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Brimstone missiles have been used in Syria since 2 December 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Between 2 December 2015 and 12 January 2016 there have been four Brimstone missiles used against Daesh targets by the RAF in Syria.

  • Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what advice his Department sought from where on the decision as to whether to cease displaying radioactive material hazard signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Defence Equipment and Support organisation decided to cease displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials in July 2011. Before implementing this decision we sought legal advice and notified the regulator. The change was implemented in 2012 in anticipation of the transition to a single type of vehicle for the transport of both nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials and was needed in order to maintain the policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons. No changes were required to operating arrangements as a result of this decision. The Ministry of Defence’s arrangements for the safe transport of defence nuclear materials include the provision of information to the emergency services in the event of an incident; this does not rely on displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of the red squirrel population.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government is committed to protecting and expanding red squirrel populations and tackling the threats that grey squirrels pose to them.

    Since December 2014 the Forestry Commission has been undertaking a number of actions to protect red squirrels from the impact of grey squirrels resulting from an updated grey squirrel action plan for England. These have included measures to control grey squirrels in red squirrel areas, through forestry options under Countryside Stewardship and the previous English Woodland Grant Scheme.

    Additionally, the Government participates in and supports Red Squirrels Northern England, a partnership project between the Red Squirrel Survival Trust, Natural England, the Forestry Commission and the Wildlife Trusts, which is helping to protect and expand the biggest population of red squirrels left in England.

    We are also working together with a range of stakeholders under the UK Squirrel Accord, which aims to promote partnership working to increase public awareness and support for action to protect red squirrels and woodlands from grey squirrels.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans that Spirit Healthcare’s type 2 diabetes education programme will provide education for those with established diabetes.

    Jane Ellison

    Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for making decisions on the commissioning and funding of local services, such as structured education programmes, to meet the health needs of their local population, taking into account issues of safety, clinical and cost effectiveness.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why NHS England has refused to pay the costs of making available pre-exposure prophylaxis in order to protect men from HIV.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new use of HIV drugs which has shown clinical effectiveness in research trials at preventing HIV in people at high risk of getting HIV such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV-positive partners. The drug used in the trials, Truvada, is not yet licenced for use as PrEP. Public Health England (PHE) has undertaken modelling work looking at cost-effectiveness of PrEP. Much depends on the price of the drugs and HIV prevalence in the target group. However, as with any new intervention, PrEP now needs to be properly assessed in relation to cost effectiveness to see how it could be commissioned in the most sustainable and integrated way and how it compares with other cost-effective approaches. The Department is considering this with PHE, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

    NHS England has agreed to carefully consider their position on commissioning pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Planning continues on the early implementer tests sites in the meantime. Irrespective of the commissioning arrangements for PrEP, decisions to fund will depend on full assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness and how it can be integrated with other HIV prevention efforts.

  • Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philippa Whitford on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason self-employed adoptive parents are excluded from the financial support offered to other workers to allow them to take full leave and settle an adopted child from the care system into their family.

    Nick Boles

    Society benefits from parents being able to take time off work to care for their children whilst remaining in employment. Employed adopters have a statutory entitlement to Adoption Leave and Pay (subject to eligibility requirements) on the basis that individual employers would otherwise not offer socially optimal levels of leave and pay.

    However, self-employed adopters can decide how much time off to take. Since affordability may limit the time away from work that some self-employed adopters can take, statutory adoption guidance says that Local Authorities should consider making a payment equivalent to Maternity Allowance in cases where adopters do not qualify for any statutory payment because of self-employment. This payment is discretionary and means-tested to ensure that resources are targeted at those adopters who need it most, as part of a package of post-adoption support.