Category: Speeches

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant the Answer of 18 December 2015 to Question 20074, on mental health services: children, when he expects that the thematic review will be (a) finished and (b) published.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England aims to finalise and publish its thematic review of how the mental health needs of children and young people in vulnerable groups have been addressed as part of the overall Local Transformation Plan analysis by 30 April 2016. A number of thematic reviews have been commissioned as part of the overall analysis of the Local Transformation Plans. One of these thematic reviews focuses on vulnerable groups of children and young people, which will include children who have been abused.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many officials of his Department had an operational level (C1) examination pass in which languages in (a) 2001 and (b) 2010.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I refer my right hon. Friend to my answers of 10 February 2016 (PQs 23665 and 25484). We only record current C1 passes, valid for five years after the date of the exam, and therefore do not have pre-2010 data.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce mandatory reconsideration for visa applications where a significant change in circumstances occur following an application decision.

    James Brokenshire

    Every application is decided in accordance with the Immigration Rules based on the information provided by an applicant at the time of application. If the applicant’s circumstances change, a fresh application can be made at any stage but this must be treated as a new application as it will contain new information not previously considered.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure suicide prevention services are autism-appropriate.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

    Public Health England (PHE) published ‘Guidance for developing a local suicide prevention action plan’ in 2014. The guidance states the importance of developing multi-agency suicide prevention groups to ensure that local suicide prevention plans are informed by local intelligence and the needs of the local community. PHE is currently refreshing this guidance.

    We welcomed the independent Mental Health Taskforce recommendation to ensure that all local areas have multi-agency suicide prevention plans in place by 2017.

    The National Suicide Prevention Strategy (2012) stated that accessible, high-quality mental health services are fundamental to reducing the risk of suicide in people of all ages with mental health problems.

    Last year, NHS England commissioned the world’s first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision so that physical and mental health problems can be identified and addressed. The process is currently being piloted in the North East and Cumbria.

    We have made monumental strides in the way we help manage conditions such as autism in this country and that is why we are working alongside people with autism, and their carers,

    to make sure they have access to healthcare with adjustments made for their conditions. This is a focus of the Cross Government Autism Strategy which was revised in 2014 as Think Autism.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of corporation tax receipts from the digital economy sector in 2015-16.

    Mr David Gauke

    We cannot make an estimate of the corporation tax receipts from the digital economy.

    During the international work on corporate tax avoidance in the digital economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development agreed that the digital economy cannot be ringfenced for tax purposes. This is because it is becoming impossible to say what is and is not part of the digital economy, due to digital aspects permeating the economy as a whole.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps members of the public can take to ensure that their local authorities comply with the National Planning Policy Framework.

    Gavin Barwell

    There are many ways in which local people can ensure that Local Planning Authorities have regard to the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework when carrying out their planning functions.

    Local Plans prepared by Local Planning Authorities are assessed against requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework as part of the tests of soundness. There are opportunities at various stages for communities to comment on the Local Plan including at publication stage. Each local council must prepare a Statement of Community Involvement. This should set out a local council’s policy for involving communities in the preparation and revision of its Local Plan.

    Local Planning Authorities are required to make decisions on planning applications in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework is such a material consideration. There are opportunities for communities to comment on planning applications.

    Neighbourhood planning also provides a powerful set of tools for local people to ensure they get the right types of development for their community, where the ambition of the neighbourhood is aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area. Communities are able to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like, and what infrastructure should be provided, and grant planning permission for the new buildings they want to see go ahead.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on work permits and immigration rules for EU citizens working in the construction and building trades after the UK leaves the EU.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Secretary of State meets with the Home Secretary and other stakeholders regularly to discuss a wide range of policy issues.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the slowing of economic growth in Q3.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government’s economic plan is working. In Q3 2015, the economy grew 0.5 per cent – the 11th consecutive quarter of quarter-on-quarter growth – and 2.3 per cent in the year to Q3 2015. The economy is now 12.4 per cent larger than at the start of the 2010. The UK is forecast by the OECD to be the joint fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2015.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13471, whether the Government’s proposed standardised packaging of tobacco policy will now be reassessed against the revised one-in-two-out framework criteria published by the Better Regulation Executive after that policy was finalised.

    Jane Ellison

    Government policies, including standardised packaging of tobacco products, are assessed against the Better Regulation Framework in place at the time.

  • Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on the Darwin Initiative in each year since 2010.

    Rory Stewart

    The Darwin Initiative has funded biodiversity projects in developing countries since 1992 and is managed by Defra. Since 2011 it has been co-funded by Defra and the Department for International Development (DFID). The total expenditure on Darwin Initiative projects and running costs since 2010 is as follows:

    2010/11 – £6.1 million

    2011/12 – £4.3 million

    2012/13 – £5.7 million

    2013/14 – £6 million

    2014/15 – £6.9 million

    Darwin Initiative funding from DFID can only be spent on projects which meet Official Development Assistance (ODA) criteria and this ODA expenditure (reported by calendar year) is as follows:

    2010 – Zero

    2011 – £2.4 million

    2012 – £2.4 million

    2013 – £3.1 million

    2014 – £5.3 million

    Defra additionally manages the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund (also known as Darwin Plus) which is co-funded by Defra, DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The total expenditure since it was established in 2012 is as follows:

    2013/14 – £720,000

    2014/15 – £1.8 million