Category: Speeches

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to her speech of 18 November 2015 on a new direction for UK energy policy, when the terms of reference of the review into coal will be published; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We remain committed to consulting on how we will we fulfil the Government’s commitment to phase out unabated coal and will be launching the consultation shortly.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2015 to Question 42913, on Yemen: Armed Conflict, what representations he has received from Saudi officials on the timescale for that investigation.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK welcomes the release by Joint Investigation Assessment Team of the outcome of eight investigations into incidents of alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen.

    The UK regularly encourages the Saudi-Arabian led Coalition to conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice his Department makes available on the prevention of loss of hearing amongst older people.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England and the Department jointly published the Action Plan on Hearing Loss in March 2015. The action plan identifies exposure to noise and increasing age as the two major risk factors of hearing loss in working age and older adults. It includes a key objective to: improve the hearing health of all communities, improving equalities and reducing inequalities through prevention of hearing loss; ensure that diverse communities are aware of the importance of good hearing and communication; and, provide effective and up to date communication support for people living with hearing loss to ensure they realise their aspirations. Delivery of this objective will be supported by:

    • NHS England working with partners to promote the development of care programmes to focus on people at risk, including those with dementia, depression, diabetes and cataracts.
    • Public Health England collating existing data on incidence, prevalence and impact of hearing loss in people aged 65 and over and if possible in key groups such as people with dementia; and,
    • The Health and Safety Executive: working with industry stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve compliance with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005; and, reviewing the feasibility of otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing as a leading indicator of damaging exposure to noise for workers.

    An oversight group with membership from government departments, arm’s length bodies and stakeholders in the hearing loss community will review and monitor progress of implementation of the Action Plan on Hearing Loss.

  • Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Right to Rent Scheme for landlords to perform immigration checks on tenants will come into force in Scotland.

    James Brokenshire

    The Prime Minister made clear in his immigration speech of 21 May that the Government intends to roll out the Right to Rent scheme across the whole of the UK. The roll out is being taken forward in a phased manner. Having started in a part of the West Midlands, the next phase will extend the scheme across the rest of England as of 1 February 2016. The Government intends to roll out the scheme to the rest of the UK thereafter as part of the final phase. In relation to the provisions that relate to the private rented sector in the Immigration Bill 2015-16, the Bill also enables for these provisions to be enacted across Scotland at a later date.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 14108, which projects are part of the Green Investment Bank’s forward business plan; what the (a) stage of completion and (b) amount of funding given is for each of those projects; and what guarantees are in place to ensure that these schemes are completed by any new owners of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    Potential investment opportunities identified in the forward business plan of UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), and the company’s estimates of what level of financing it might commit to these, are commercially sensitive matters and are not made public. Potential investors in GIB will be invited to consider the company’s business plan in accordance with appropriate confidentiality agreements.

    Irrespective of whether GIB remains in Government ownership or is moved into the private sector, there is no way to guarantee that any of the projects identified in GIB’s business plan will in fact proceed nor any certainty that GIB will be involved in their financing if they do – they remain only potential investment opportunities.

    Details of the commitments GIB has entered into to date can be found on the company’s website at: http://www.greeninvestmentbank.com/our-investments/.

    “

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections in each of the last three years.

    George Freeman

    Information on why a drug has been prescribed is not collected.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on advertisements with Google in each of the last three years.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet Office spent £107,896.25 on Google advertising in 2013/14. Cabinet Office did not spend anything on Google advertising in 2014/15. Fully auditable figures are not yet available for 2015/16. All figures include VAT.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value of fines issued to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 has been in each year since 2005.

    James Brokenshire

    The value of fines issued to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2005 is as follows:

    01/04/2005-31/03/2006 £1,105,103
    01/04/2006-31/03/2007 £1,898,866
    01/04/2007-31/03/2008 £1,946,705
    01/04/2008-31/03/2009 £2,552,490
    01/04/2009-31/03/2010 £2,609,737
    01/04/2010-31/03/2011 £1,083,390
    01/04/2011-31/03/2012 £931,618
    01/04/2012-31/03/2013 £890,544
    01/04/2013-31/03/2014 £4,070,471
    01/04/2014-31/03/2015 £6,490,232
    01/04/2015-31/03/2016 £5,249,894

    This information is from management information reports. The data held on the Civil Penalty data base does not allow the penalty amounts to be separated between driver’s and hauliers, hence the data provided is the total number of penalties imposed for the period.

    The number of appeals against fines to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2005 is as follows:

    01/04/2005-31/03/2006 7
    01/04/2006-31/03/2007 8
    01/04/2007-31/03/2008 12
    01/04/2008-31/03/2009 13
    01/04/2009-31/03/2010 9
    01/04/2010-31/03/2011 10
    01/04/2011-31/03/2012 11
    01/04/2012-31/03/2013 0 *
    01/04/2013-31/03/2014 24
    01/04/2014-31/03/2015 64
    01/04/2015-31/03/2016 36

    *High Court appeal cases, all appeals were held behind at the time until resolved. Appeals then fell into subsequent years.

    This information is from management information reports.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to support the work of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines; with reference to the Prime Minister’s comments on the pharmaceutical industry to the BBC on 2 July 2014, what recent assessment she has made of the steps to take to resolve market failure related to the development of new classes of antibiotics in that industry; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is committed to ensuring access to low cost, effective medicines in the developing world, providing a range of significant inputs to increasing access to essential medicines.

    We support the provision of essential medicines and other health products through innovative global partnerships such as the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), UNITAID, GAVI and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). We work to strengthen systems weaknesses, such as weak supply chains or poor procurement, which deter private investment, keep medicines prices high or lead to misuse or waste of medicines. We also place a great emphasis on research and development of new vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for conditions that affect millions of poor people. A new £1 billion fund – the Ross Fund – was recently announced with the aim of developing, testing and delivering a range of new products to help combat the world’s most serious diseases, such as malaria, Ebola and TB in developing countries.

    Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance is a key priority for this Government. We are awaiting the final report of the O’Neill Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance later this month and the Department of Health will then lead a cross-Government response.

    We support the aims of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines. For it to fulfil its potential to improve access to affordable and quality medicines, including antibiotics, it will need to take a balanced approach, building on the WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action and engaging with existing global partnerships, and use its influence to galvanise Member States, public and private sectors around a common approach to this important issue.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 35139, how many people have been tested for latent TB infection in each month since the launch of the Collaborative TB Strategy in January 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is not currently available. The first figures of the numbers of individuals who have been systemically tested and treated for latent tuberculosis (TB) will be published in the Annual TB report in the autumn of this year.