Category: Speeches

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2016 to Question 37198, how many of the leaflets entitled Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK have been returned to her Department; and what the postage cost to the Government has been of such returns.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s response of 25th May 2016. This information is not collated centrally by the Department.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number of occasions on which bailiffs have seized operational equipment from private providers of NHS services; what the details are of each such occasion; and what steps his Department takes to prevent this happening.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department does not hold this information. The National Health Service body commissioning a service from the private sector should ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to ensure access to essential operational equipment in the event of one of its suppliers getting into financial difficulties.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England has made an assessment of the effect of the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund on the fabric of English cathedrals.

    Dame Caroline Spelman

    The First World War Centenary cathedral Repairs Fund has currently allocated £3.45million of the £40million total, this has as so far enabled 116 vital repair and restoration projects across 57 Anglican and Catholic cathedrals to be undertaken.

    Lincoln Cathedral has received £1.18 million for repairs to turrets and roofs, typical of the costs faced for high-level cathedral repairs involving extraordinarily complicated scaffolding. These repairs have gone a long way to complete the major repairs but with any building of this size and age constant maintenance is needed.

    The final grants are currently being processed, as the grants scheme comes to a close there will be a programme of formal evaluation to assess the wider social and economic benefits the projects have contributed, such as increased employment, training, volunteer opportunities and tourism. A copy of this evaluation will be made available to all Members early in 2018 so as to ensure it covers all works the Fund has invested in.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what account her Department takes of efforts to eradicate corruption when deciding on the allocation of aid.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID uses a range of criteria, including a country’s efforts to eradicate corruption, to inform its aid allocation decisions. Efforts to eradicate corruption are a key part of the UK’s four Partnership Principles. Our assessment of the government’s commitment to the Partnership Principles influences the extent to which we work with the government of that country and use its systems.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the change in expenditure has been on working tax credits between 2013 and 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested is available from the HM Revenue and Customs Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15 (Note 6.1 – page 153). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

    “

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve outcomes for people with rarer cancers.

    Jane Ellison

    Health is, of course, a devolved matter; however, ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the use of effective treatments for rare cancers, is a key priority. The four United Kingdom health departments and Cancer Research UK are jointly funding a network of 18 Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres. These are driving the development and testing of new anti-cancer treatments to deliver real benefits for patients, including those with rare cancers.

    In England, the Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015, and made many recommendations relevant to rarer and blood cancers, focussing on improving access to diagnostic testing, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC and NATO on more effective use of the BBC World Service to counter inaccurate reporting from Russian media outlets.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in consultation with partners and allies on how to achieve greater access to quality, independent BBC content in countries with significant Russian speaking populations.

    The Government is investing additional funds in the BBC’s digital, TV and radio services around the world to build the global reach of the World Service and increase access to news and information, including additional programming for Russian speakers. It is for the BBC, as an independent broadcaster, to take its own decision about scheduling and programme control.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform, published in November 2015, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reform the law governing surrogacy to better balance the rights of those involved and the welfare of children born via surrogacy.

    Jane Ellison

    A search of the Department’s central correspondence system shows that the Department received 22 representations that made direct or indirect reference to the report `Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform’ since it was published in November 2015.

    The Government has no current plans to change the legislation in respect of surrogacy arrangements.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Marie Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Department has paid in fines to the EU since 2010.

    George Eustice

    As from financial year 2010/11 Defra has accrued £336m for disallowance following the conclusion of EU audits, broken down by financial year as shown in the table below. This relates to a number of different Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Schemes over a number of historical scheme years as disallowance is paid in arrears. These are the only fines that have been imposed on Defra by the EU since 2010.

    Disallowance (*) £m

    10/11

    11/12

    12/13

    13/14

    14/15

    181

    42

    2

    30

    81

    (*) Reflects the sums the European Commission have ruled cannot be reimbursed (i.e. the amounts they have “disallowed”).

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what priority issues were discussed and conclusions reached at the UK-US bilateral annual stocktake of the UK-US Mutual Defence Agreement on atomic energy matters in April 2016; who attended that stocktake from which organisations; and what the cost was of that stocktake.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The UK/US Stocktake took place in April 2016 and was hosted by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). UK attendees were from the MOD and the Atomic Weapons Establishment and US attendees from the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Defense, the US Air Force, the US Navy and Department of Energy Laboratories. No priority issues were discussed. As usual, technical and programme updates and discussions of collaborations took place. The costs were approximately £2500.