Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of recent trends in apprenticeship start-ups.

    Nick Boles

    There were 2.4 million apprenticeship starts over the previous parliament, and 499,900 apprenticeship starts in the 2014/15 academic year – an increase of 13.5 per cent on 2013/14.

    The number of under-19 apprenticeships starts in 2014/15 was 125,900, this was up 5.1 percent on 2013/14. There were 19,800 starts on Higher and Degree Apprenticeships in 2014/15, an increase of 115 per cent on 2013/14 (9,200 starts).

    We are taking action to support and encourage the growth of apprenticeships to meet our commitment to reaching 3 million starts by 2020.

  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2016 to Question 32057, on Epilepsy Death, for what reasons his Department made the decision to retire quality and outcomes framework indicators EP002 and EP003 in 2014.

    Alistair Burt

    Senior NHS England clinicians and representatives of the British Medical Association reviewed and agreed all the proposed changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) taking into account the views of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and Public Health England.

    The removal of QOF indicators will not mean that general practitioners (GPs) will no longer tackle important health issues, rather, the aim is that reducing QOF will help free up time to enable GPs to spend more time on providing more proactive coordinated and individual care for their patients, based on their clinical judgement. The reduction in the number of QOF indicators was intended to reduce bureaucracy, unnecessary patient testing and unnecessary frequency of patient recall and recording.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice Next Steps to spread educational excellence everywhere announced, dated 6 May 2016, how long before she made the announcement of her decision to change her policy on schools becoming academies that decision was made.

    Edward Timpson

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Lord Trefgarne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Trefgarne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to appoint a permanent Chief Constable of Surrey.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Since their introduction in 2012, the appointment of a chief constable is a matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner.

    Surrey’s new Police and Crime Commissioner, David Munro, announced on 14 June that Nick Ephgrave is his preferred candidate for the role of Chief Constable of Surrey Police. The appointment is subject to a confirmation hearing by the Surrey Police and Crime Panel on 5 July.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will take steps to encourage barristers who are employed through the Service Prosecuting Authority to enter the selection competition to become Queen’s Counsel.

    Robert Buckland

    I would strongly encourage anyone with the appropriate skills and experience to apply to become Queen’s Counsel, including those at the employed bar and within the Service Prosecuting Authority.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he or his Ministers have had with their Egyptian counterparts on (a) the reconstruction and repair of churches and other Christian property and (b) the granting of licences for new churches in Egypt.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There have been no recent discussions between ministers and the Egyptian government on these issues. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have discussed these issues with church representatives in Egypt. The UK remains clear that the freedom of religious belief needs to be protected and that the ability to worship in peace is a vital component of a democratic society. We look to the Egyptian government to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution, which includes protections for freedom of religious belief.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reaper drones are currently deployed in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria.

    Penny Mordaunt

    To safeguard operational security I am withholding operational information on the number of RAF Reaper aircraft deployed.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 6.32 of his Department’s publication, Living Well for Longer: One year on, published in March 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect of the time taken to publish the hepatitis improvement framework on (a) members of the South Asian population and (b) other people in England with hepatitis C.

    Jane Ellison

    No such assessment has been made.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of self-harm and self-inflicted deaths among young people in custody.

    Andrew Selous

    The safety and welfare of young people in custody is vital and we are clear that reducing the level of self-inflicted deaths is of utmost importance.

    We have improved the assessment of young people’s risks and needs when they enter custody. We have also improved the specifications for Secure Training Centre and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) to place an increased emphasis on the management of self-harm and suicide including ensuring the appropriate skills and training of staff are in place to meet the needs of young people.

    In YOIs we have introduced new psychological services to better inform risk management and support those detained.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the £35 million transferred to his Department from Libor fines has been spent on projects supporting the armed forces community.

    Mark Lancaster

    All £35 million of LIBOR funding has been allocated to projects which support the Armed Forces Community. For details of the organisations and projects which benefited from this money, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 June 2015 to Question 428 to the hon. Member for St Helens North (Mr McGinn). http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-05-28/428/

    Organisations that have received LIBOR funds are required to provide a monthly report of progress; these are reviewed and monitored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Armed Forces Covenant Team and, where appropriate, action taken to ensure that the project is on track. At the end of each project, recipients of LIBOR funding also complete a close of project report and an assessment is conducted against the original terms and conditions. This enables the MOD to confirm the closure and record lessons learnt for future grants. Where appropriate, the MOD Armed Forces Covenant Team have engaged with projects on a one-to-one basis.