Category: Speeches

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 November (HL3565), what advice they will give to local authorities affected by significant withdrawal of residential care providers in particular areas from publicly-funded adult social care in the event that this prevents those authorities from stepping in to ensure people’s needs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Local Government Information Unit to publish guidance to support local authorities to develop effective contingency plans for provider failure- Care and Continuity: Contingency planning for provider failure. The guidance is attached.

    It is expected that local authorities will keep these plans under review and update them as necessary to reflect current market conditions and risks.

    Should there be a significant withdrawal of residential care providers from the publically funded adult social care market putting pressure on local authorities’ capacity to discharge their statutory functions in the short-term, the Government will work with the sector to develop bespoke contingency plans to support local government to manage the situation. This could include supporting work with neighbouring local authorities and ADASS regional networks.

    More widely, the Government will continue to support local authorities to discharge their functions under the Care Act 2014 which require them to shape a sustainable market that meets the needs of their local population.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian effect of the planning process in Area C of the West Bank.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    According to the UN, Palestinians in the OPTs face a range of serious threats including threats to life, destruction of homes and forced displacement. Planning helps stop demolitions and displacement, which have a negative humanitarian impact and continue to undermine development. The UK strongly supports development of Area C and continues to fund the development of Palestinian outline plans to improve communities’ access to services.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) family and (b) legal visits to prisoners in HM Prison Belmarsh have been cancelled in each of the last 12 months; and for what reason each such visit was cancelled.

    Andrew Selous

    Family and legal visits have been cancelled on two occasions in the last 12 months at HM Prison Belmarsh. These were;

    8 October 2015 – Due to a full lock down search of the prison

    9 December 2015 – To enable a Trade Union meeting

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when an appropriate assessment, as defined in Article 6 of the EU Habitats Directive, was undertaken for the South-West London Waterbodies Special Protection Area.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A habitats regulations screening assessment was prepared in June 2012 which concluded that the impact of construction and operation of HS2 would have a negligible impact on gadwall and shoveler ducks in the Colne Valley Lakes and therefore no likely significant effect on the Southwest London Waterbodies SPA/Ramsar site. The details were reported in the main Environmental Statement published in November 2013.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the introduction of citizenship-for-investment schemes by EU member states; and what assessment she has made of the need for increased transparency of such schemes.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 22 March to Questions 31324 and 31325 from my Hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) and the answers I gave on 9 March to Question 29833 from the Hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) and to Question 29873 from my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood (Kelly Tolhurst).

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with medical organisations on the use of aspirin to prevent strokes.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guideline on stroke and transient ischaemic attack in over 16s: diagnosis and initial management (CG68), published in July 2008, recommends that all people presenting with acute stroke who have had a diagnosis of primary intracerebral haemorrhage excluded by brain imaging should be given aspirin 300 mg as soon as possible but certainly within 24 hours.

    Thereafter, aspirin 300 mg should be continued until two weeks after the onset of stroke symptoms, at which time definitive long-term antithrombotic treatment should be initiated.

    This guidance is due to be reviewed by NICE in July 2016 to see whether it needs to be updated.

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to ensure that people from Iraq who have been displaced as a result of the current fighting in that country have access to assistance.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UN’s latest assessment is that over 3.3 million Iraqis have been internally displaced, with over 10 million people across Iraq requiring some form of humanitarian assistance. The UK is working with the Government of Iraq, Kurdistan Regional Government, United Nations, and non-governmental organisations to make sure that humanitarian support is provided to the most vulnerable, including internally displaced persons (IDPs).

    Since summer 2014, the UK has pledged £129.5 million of humanitarian support for Iraq. This includes £50 million of additional assistance announced on 20 July 2016. Through our contribution, as the largest donor to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, UK funding has helped a number of programmes supporting IDPs leaving Fallujah.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to encourage local communities to input into individual sustainability and transformation plans; and if he will publish contact details for lead officers co-ordinating proposals on the way maternity services are delivered in each NHS area.

    David Mowat

    NHS England, with other national health and care bodies, released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. Local proposals for health and care transformation are not expected to have gone through formal local National Health Service or other organisations’ board approval and/or formal public engagement or consultation at this early stage. We expect that areas will publish a version of their Sustainability and Transformation Plans between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will undertake public engagement during this period, building on the engagement they have already done to shape thinking. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.

    As with the current arrangements for planning and delivery, there are layers of plans which can sit below STPs, with shared links and dependencies. STPs act as an umbrella, holding underneath them a number of different specific plans to address key local issues. Clinical commissioning groups remain accountable for securing high-quality healthcare services for their local populations.

  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make representations to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on reviewing the case of James Thompson.

    Mike Penning

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission is independent, and it would not be appropriate for Ministers or officials to intervene in individual cases.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which of the proposals in Higher education: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice, published by his Department on 6 November 2015 are intended to enhance part-time higher education.

    Joseph Johnson

    Proposals in the Green Paper, ‘Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice’ will benefit both full-time and part-time higher education. Through the Teaching Excellence Framework all students will get better value for money and have more information about the courses they are applying for. Our proposals on social mobility and widening participation will apply to all students and creating a competitive, well regulated higher education system will benefit current and prospective part-time students as well as full-time.

    We have taken steps to support part-time students including introducing non-means tested fee loans and extending loans for those already holding a degree to students wishing to retrain in engineering, technology and computer science. We continue to examine what more we can do to support part-time and are engaging actively with the sector on this issue.