Category: Speeches

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans that Spirit Healthcare’s type 2 diabetes education programme will provide education for those with established diabetes.

    Jane Ellison

    Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for making decisions on the commissioning and funding of local services, such as structured education programmes, to meet the health needs of their local population, taking into account issues of safety, clinical and cost effectiveness.

  • Lord Triesman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Triesman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Triesman on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the support provided by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) to events celebrating the Commonwealth, and its wider role in addressing challenging social issues, including early and forced child marriage, how much financial support has been provided to the RCS in each of the last five financial years, and how much will be provided in this and the next financial year.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has contributed a total of £191,452 from 2011- 2015 to activities run by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) and the Council of Commonwealth Societies (CCS) for whom the RCS organises events. A breakdown of this sum is listed below:

    2011

    £60,720.00

    2012

    £48,619.60

    2013

    £21,706.40

    2014

    £22,000.00

    2015

    £38,407.00

    This year the FCO has again provided £20,000 towards the cost of the CCS Commonwealth Service event in Westminster Abbey.

    Future funding requests for all Commonwealth organisations will be assessed on a case by case basis.

  • 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 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of UN Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict and its Annex, published in April 2016, in which the Saudi-led Coalition is listed as committing grave violations against children in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June, which includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools. We consider all these reports very carefully. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the average car insurance premiums paid by (a) existing customers and (b) new customers in each of the last five years.

    Simon Kirby

    The Government does not hold information on average annual household and motor insurance premiums. There are a range of estimates of the cost of insurance published by industry, including the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the AA and Confused.com. The ABI’s data is available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/News/Industry-data-updates.

    The Government encourages consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. To this end, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published rules and guidance requiring insurers to disclose the previous year’s premium on renewal notices for general insurance products including motor and home insurance. The measures also require insurers to identify consumers who will be renewing with them for the fourth consecutive time and give them a prescribed shopping around message. The rules will come into force in April 2017.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much pupil premium funding has been received by schools in (a) North Swindon constituency, (b) Swindon and (c) England in each of the years since its inception.

    Edward Timpson

    Information on the amount of pupil premium funding is available in the final pupil premium allocations, which are published on the department’s website. Links to the data for each year since the pupil premium was introduced are provided below. The information is available by parliamentary constituency, local authority and nationally.

    2016 to 2017: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017 – click on ‘Pupil premium final allocations 2016 to 2017 by local authority area and region in England’

    2015 to 2016: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations#history

    2014 to 2015: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations

    2013 to 2014: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables

    2012 to 2013: www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-funding-tables-2012-to-2013

    2011 to 2012: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0070267/dsg-and-pupil-premium-allocations-for-2011-12

    “

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many in-patient mother and baby units specialising in caring for women during the perinatal period closed between 2010 and 2015; and how many such units are open.

    Alistair Burt

    Between 2010 and 2015, four mother and baby units closed and two opened. In addition the unit located at Basingstoke in 2010 moved to Winchester in 2013. The units now currently open are detailed below.

    Mother and Baby units open in 2015

    1. Beadnell Mother and Baby Unit, Morpeth
    2. Leeds Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Mother and Baby Unit
    3. Manchester Mother and Baby Unit
    4. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Perinatal Psychiatric Services
    5. Derby Mother and Baby Unit, Derby City General
    6. Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St. George’s Hospital, Stafford
    7. Barberry Mother and Baby Unit, Birmingham
    8. Thumbswood Mother and Baby Unit, Welwyn
    9. Rainbow Mother and Baby Unit, Chelmsford (new unit opened 2013)
    10. Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit, Homerton Hospital
    11. Coombe Wood Mother and Baby Unit, Coombe Wood, London
    12. South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Mother and Baby Unit
    13. The New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital, Bristol
    14. Winchester Mother and Baby Unit, Royal Hampshire County Hospital
    15. Florence House Mother and Baby unit, Bournemouth (new unit opened 2013)

    Source: NHS England National ERG Report 2015

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the aims are of the Eagle training scheme; when that scheme was developed; how many service personnel and reservists from each service have undertaken that scheme; what the cost per trainee of that scheme was; which training centres provided that training; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Eagles Scheme was developed in 2008 to utilise adventurous training and staff rides to enhance ethos, communication skills, leadership and management skills. Although historic records on attendance are not held centrally, the aim for financial year 2015-16 is to deliver courses to 5,000 personnel as follows:

    Training Centre

    Approx No of trainees

    Force Development Training Centre (FDTC) Bavaria

    1,900

    FDTC Grantown on Spey

    500

    FDTC Crickhowell

    500

    FDTC Danesfield/Weston on the Green/Halton

    1,600

    Overseas Eagles

    600

    The Ministry of Defence is on target to train these personnel by the end of this financial year. The anticipated average cost per person, based on 5,000 personnel, is around £285.00 per person per week.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether payments made under the Flood Re insurance scheme are subject to any provisions to ensure that homes are (a) rebuilt or repaired to meet standards for improved flood resistance and resilience and (b) not rebuilt on flood plains; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    There is no such duty in relation to payments made by Flood Re. However, Flood Re will consider plans to incentivise the take up of resilience measures through its published transition plan and the insurance industry have committed to discuss options for resilient or resistant repairs as part of the repair process in response to the recent flooding.

    The Flood Re Scheme is only available to properties built before 2009. This cut-off date recognises that new housing development should be located to avoid flood risk, or where development in a flood risk area is necessary, it should be designed to be safe, appropriately resilient to flooding and not increase flood risk elsewhere, in line with the national planning policies in place.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the technical assistance programme for the Bahraini police and prisons service in preventing the use of torture in police stations and prisons in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of ongoing allegations against Ministry of Interior personnel, and we have expressed our concerns to the authorities.

    The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also ask the Government of Bahrain to allow a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

    We believe that UK support to Bahrain’s reform programme is the most constructive way to achieve long-lasting and sustainable reform in Bahrain. While it will take time to see the full results, UK support is having a direct, positive impact on areas of concern. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes and project work is routinely monitored and evaluated to inform and improve future assistance.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has allocated funding to defend a legal challenge against his decision to impose a new junior doctors contract.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has an allocated budget to fund the legal services it requires, which would include funding for any challenge in relation to the junior doctors’ contract.