Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many Civil Service employees of his Department were based in Coventry in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has 6 civil servants currently based in Coventry. Prior to that, some BIS employees were working on a multi-site basis. To establish which employees had worked in the Coventry office and the proportion of time they had spent in the Coventry office, over each of the past 5 years, would incur disproportionate costs.

  • Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to allow publicly owned museums and art galleries to impose charges for entry.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    The Government is committed to maintaining free admission to the permanent collections of major museums and galleries, as set out in ​the 2015 ​manifesto, and government funding to national museums is provided with this condition. ​​DCMS-sponsored museums can and do charge for temporary exhibitions and special events. Charging at other publicly owned museums is the responsibility of the organisations that operate them, for example local councils.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the planned business rate increase for organisations that seek to own or supply their energy with roof top solar panels in the light of carbon emissions targets agreed at the Paris Climate Change Conference.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Business rates policy in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Government. In England, business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme for England to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) jobseeker’s allowance are taking adult education courses paid for by his Department.

    Priti Patel

    Benefit claimants who receive Employment and Support Allowance in the work-related activity group or Jobseeker’s Allowance may be required to participate in activity to improve their skills as a condition of receiving benefit. This policy is known as Skills Conditionality. The latest DWP data on the number of claimants referred to skills-related support under this policy is also available on GOV.UK:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pre-work-programme-support-mandatory-programmes-may-2011-to-feb-2015

    “

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the integrated health and social care system in Northern Ireland in formulating policy on how to better integrate health and social care.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department regularly reviews international evidence in relation to integrated health and social care services. While Northern Ireland has had a structurally integrated health and social care system since 1973, and in more recent years has undergone a restructure in an effort to deliver more coordinated and integrated care, academic evaluation of integration in Northern Ireland has been relatively limited to date. Nonetheless, officials continue to monitor new publications on this subject.

    It is important to note that while there is a growing body of evidence from around the world about what works with regard to integration, no country has successfully delivered integration on a universal scale. Moreover, due to fundamental differences in the design of different health and care systems it is not straightforward to apply lessons learnt elsewhere to the English system.

    More generally, the Government recently reemphasised its ambition to integrate health and social care across England by 2020, and will continue to monitor international evidence as policy is formulated with respect to this programme.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to prevent the exploitation of consumers by salesmen of stair lifts and other aids to the elderly and disabled.

    Nick Boles

    The Department funds the Citizens Advice Service to provide valuable advice to consumers, including how to avoid scams. Citizens Advice also lead the annual Scams Awareness Month, working with Trading Standards to help give consumers the confidence to spot and report a scam.

    Trading Standards Officers have powers to take action under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 against salesmen who use misleading practices and aggressive pressure selling. Additionally, National Trading Standards Scambuster Teams take action against large scale national and regional scammers, including those who exploit the elderly and vulnerable through the sale of substandard or unnecessary mobility aids.

    Since 2014 the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 introduced important new rights for consumers to take their own action against such traders to get their money back.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to meet the demands of increasing world-wide migration.

    Lord Bates

    The Government undertakes extensive engagement on global migration issues with international partners through multilateral and bilateral discussions. The frequency of engagement has increased since the migration crisis in summer 2015 and focuses on the root causes of the crisis and its consequences. UK participation in the Valletta Summit and the Khartoum Process are key parts of this engagement.

    In order to tackle the unprecedented levels of illegal migration to the EU, we are prioritising interventions upstream in countries of origin and transit to reduce the need for migrants to leave their country of origin or move on from a safe third country. Action is being taking through regional initiatives, including Regional Development and Protection Programmes and overseas aid, including £1.12 billion of support to Syria. We are supporting work to strengthen the EU’s external border and joint action on human trafficking to crack down on those who profit from this vile trade. The Government recently announced that it will work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to resettle unaccompanied children from conflict regions. We have asked the UNHCR to make an assessment of the numbers and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK and how that process should be managed. This new initiative builds on the Government’s existing commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees during this Parliament. More than 1,000 vulnerable Syrians refugees – around half of them children – have already been resettled through the scheme.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the financial and humanitarian effect on Turkey of keeping its border with Syria open to refugees while restricting their access to the EU.

    Justine Greening

    The UK recognises Turkey’s extraordinary generosity in ably hosting so many refugees from Syria and elsewhere. The EU-Turkey Summit on 29 November 2015 highlighted the importance that the EU attaches to its wide-ranging partnership with Turkey and need to support Turkey in its hosting of Syrians. The EU and Turkey have agreed to an Action Plan and a €3 billion Refugee Facility for Turkey to help implement it. We have committed our share to the €3 billion Facility

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what statutory duty there is on individual general practitioners to provide notice of closure of a GP practice to NHS England or clinical commissioning group.

    Alistair Burt

    GP Contract regulations require a practice to give NHS England written notice of their intention to terminate their contract. Where the contract is with a partnership, the contract terminates six months from the date of the notice. In the case of a single handed practice, the contract terminates three months from the date of the notice.

    There is no specific statutory duty on NHS England to notify patients of the closure of a practice however the National Health Service Act 2006 requires NHS England to ensure the provision of primary medical services throughout England.

    However, NHS England take the closure of a practice very seriously and will look to engage with patients at the earliest opportunity.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department plans to publish its Skills White Paper.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is implementing reforms to the skills system to ensure we have the technical skills that the economy needs. We are considering when and how to publish details of our plans for further reform of the skills strategy.