Category: Speeches

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in implementing the British Food Plan across all Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Government is committed to providing food produced to British standards or their equivalent in all its canteens, restaurants and cafeterias by the end of this Parliament. Defra is working closely with other Departments and businesses to implement the Plan for Public Procurement of Food, including a balanced scorecard. The Ministry of Justice recently launched a tender for supplying food to prisons, worth £500 million, which requires bids to use the balanced scorecard. Their current supplier has agreed that the 30 million portions of UHT milk served in prisons each year will be sourced from UK producers. We are working with MoD to develop the best way to embed the balanced scorecard into their forthcoming contracts. We are working with all central Departments to ensure their food and catering contracts comply with the balanced scorecard approach.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the Govia Thameslink Railway remedial plan.

    Claire Perry

    This has been published and is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525767/govia-thameslink-remedial-plan.pdf

    “

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department employs staff with responsibility for developing best practice on withdrawing bilateral programmes from countries that transition to middle-income status.

    Rory Stewart

    Transition planning and development of best practice is led by the relevant country office, with support from officials in the UK and across regions. Each transition process has been different depending on circumstance. ICAI is currently undertaking a review of DFID’s approach to transition and their report is due to be published towards the end of 2016.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44480, what monitoring mechanisms are in place to collect data on the effects of his Department’s devolution policies.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government believes that local areas are best placed to monitor the effects of devolution policies within their locality. All devolution deals include a commitment to putting in place a monitoring and evaluation plan, which is locally developed and administered with government support and signed off by government.

    Combined authorities are also required to have local scrutiny committees, helping to ensure that those best placed to monitor devolution activity are empowered to do so.

    It is the government’s view that this is an appropriate and proportionate approach to decentralising power.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to monitor sustained employment through the Work Based Sector Employment scheme beyond 13 week follow-up enquiries to employers.

    Priti Patel

    Official statistics record starts to sector-based work academy pre-employment training only. The Department does not collate information on outcomes, nor the number of benefit claimants finding work through a sector-based work academy placement. There are no current plans to do so.

    Official statistics are available on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-contract-april-2012-to-may-2015

    “

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in her Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    George Eustice

    In financial years 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 this data was not held centrally. Providing an estimate would be at a disproportionate cost. In 2013-14 Defra and its Executive Agencies spent £199,639 and in 2014-15 £103,977 on external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what programmes he plans to fund from the Joint Security Fund; and how much each such programme will receive in each year up to 2020.

    Michael Fallon

    Decisions on programmes to be funded in part or in whole from the Joint Security Fund will be finalised on receipt of the Chancellor’s formal Spending Review settlement for Departments expected shortly.

  • Chris Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS’s consultation, Specialised services policy and specifications, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the procedure in use by NHS England to develop commissioning policies for specialised medicines.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is continuing to refine its standard operating procedure for developing commissioning policies for specialised medicines, taking into account professional and stakeholder feedback. For example, during 2015/16 NHS England introduced a more explicit requirement for external review of the available evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness, and a parallel clinical assurance process to ensure new policies appropriately reflect the available evidence. These evidence reviews are now made available alongside draft policy proposals as part of NHS England’s public consultation process.

    NHS England has also commissioned an external review of its current policy development process and will formally consider lessons learned as it refines the process to be adopted in support of the 2016/17 work programme.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 27033, which governments within the EU support further political integration.

    Mr David Lidington

    As I said in my response of 23 February 2016 (PQ 27033), there is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices too. The recital in paragraph one of section C makes clear that “the United Kingdom, in the light of the specific situation it has under the Treaties, is not committed to further political integration into the European Union”.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for trends in the number of junior doctors electing not to finish their postgraduate training in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The General Medical Council report, “Interactive reports to investigate factors that affect progression of doctors in training”, shows that for 7,423 Foundation Year 2 (F2) doctors who completed foundation training in 2012, the first cohort the General Medical Council began collecting data on:

    – 65.8% of these doctors took up a specialty or general practitioner training place immediately after completing foundation training;

    – a further 16.6% took up a training place the following year; and

    – 92.5% were in further medical training or working as doctors in the United Kingdom within two and a half years of completing F2.

    A copy of the report is attached and it can also be found at:

    http://www.gmc-uk.org/Briefing_note___Exams_and_recruitment_outcome_reports.pdf_60060997.pdf_60086828.pdf