Category: Speeches

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government has requested the sending state to (a) waive, (b) suspend and (c) remove the rights to diplomatic immunity of an individual diplomat to the UK since 2010.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Under Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomat’s immunity may only be waived by the sending State. The VCDR does not refer to immunity being suspended, nor removed. Full statistics and details about requests for waivers of immunity for the period specified are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Such requests would cover instances where a diplomat was the alleged offender; the alleged victim of a crime; where a diplomat has witnessed a crime and police have sought a witness statement; or where police have sought witness statements from diplomats in relation to unconnected investigations. However, statistics for waivers requested in respect of serious and significant offences allegedly committed by individuals with some form of diplomatic or consular immunity are recorded centrally for the period covering 2010-2014. In total, 14 such requests were made during this period.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much and what proportion of her Department’s overseas development assistance budget her Department spent was subject to the International Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has spent the following amounts of Official Development Assistance (ODA) over the past three years

    Year

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Total ODA

    £408.4m

    £192.4m

    £336m

    Amount under the International Development Act 2002

    £402.8m

    £187.7m

    £328.2m

    % under the International Development Act 2002

    98.6%

    97.5%

    97.6%

    The spend that is under the International Development Act 2002 comes from the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF) and the ODA-eligible proportion of the annual subscription to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The remaining DECC ODA spend is the ODA-eligible proportion of the annual subscriptions relating to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This spend is governed by the Supply and Appropriation Act; we seek to ensure this expenditure is consistent with the aims of the International Development Act.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what form they will report on the revenue collected from the immigration health surcharge for foreign nationals; and whether that information will be placed in the public domain.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Home Office committed to provide information about its administration of the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) within 12 months of the surcharge going live. The Immigration Minister wrote to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee to provide an update on 23 March, including details of the number of migrants who have paid the Surcharge and the total amount of Surcharge funding directed to the National Health Service (NHS).

    A copy of the letter has been placed in the House library to ensure the commitment to Parliament is met. The Home Office will also report on total IHS income received in its Annual Report and Accounts.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has produced an implementation plan for the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government intends to produce a report in due course that will set out how the UK is contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the (a) efficiency of existing diagnostic tests and (b) effectiveness of current treatments for Lyme disease.

    Jane Ellison

    Lyme disease is a complex infection where challenges in understanding of disease progression, and consequently diagnosis and treatment, remain.

    The National Health Service and Public Health England (PHE) use well established validated diagnostic tests for Lyme disease that are highly reproducible between laboratories. International External Quality Assurance schemes are in place to ensure consistency between different test centres. Commercial manufacturers and international academic groups have research programmes into improved tests and PHE continuously reviews new Lyme serology tests and will validate and implement new tests if appropriate.

    All treatment for Lyme disease within the NHS should be evidence based, and targeted at the disease mechanisms underlying those symptoms. Most cases are diagnosed in primary care and PHE has published a referral pathway for general practitioners to follow to ensure problem cases are seen by an appropriate NHS specialist.

    To further strengthen the evidence base we have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a new clinical guideline on Lyme disease, for both primary and secondary care, for publication in 2018. The Department is also commissioning three Systematic Reviews by independent academic groups to cover

    ― diagnosis and diagnostic tests;

    ― treatment; and

    ― epidemiology/transmission routes.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department has allocated to support Sir John Parker in his report on diversity on corporate boards.

    Margot James

    The secretariat to Sir John’s review is provided by private sector sponsors and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have been very supportive of the review and providing support at ministerial and official level.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for Zimbabwe’s political and economic future in the event of the death of President Mugabe.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Zimbabwe faces enormous political and economic challenges. A peaceful transition to a leader willing to make reforms could move Zimbabwe towards a more democratic, prosperous future. The UK does not support parties or individuals, but rather the implementation of policies that could lead to eventual normalisation of Zimbabwe’s international relations.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful cataract operations in each age group there were in each of the last three years.

    Alistair Burt

    Data is not collected on the number of successful or unsuccessful cataract operations. The table below shows the number of finished consultant episodes with a main or secondary procedure of a cataract operation by age group between 2012-13 and 2014-15.

    Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector

    Age

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    0-4

    383

    423

    332

    5-9

    187

    188

    168

    10-14

    128

    138

    102

    15-19

    147

    153

    156

    20-24

    235

    266

    255

    25-29

    331

    315

    348

    30-34

    525

    542

    510

    35-39

    788

    822

    820

    40-44

    1,911

    1,883

    1,905

    45-49

    3,803

    4,166

    4,208

    50-54

    7,437

    7,923

    8,554

    55-59

    13,118

    14,283

    15,223

    60-64

    23,605

    24,919

    26,860

    65-69

    39,796

    43,535

    47,591

    70-74

    53,676

    58,908

    65,216

    75-79

    68,836

    77,081

    85,126

    80-84

    65,744

    72,303

    78,833

    85-89

    39,255

    42,602

    45,938

    90+

    13,575

    14,883

    15,740

    Unknown

    125

    137

    213

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

    Note:

    The figures in the table do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

  • 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 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 1958, what the total budget of the BIS Automotive sector team was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The total administrative budget associated with the BIS Automotive sector team for the last five financial years was £6,265,356. This is illustrated below:

    Financial Year Administrative Cost

    11/12 £1,393,614*^

    12/13 £1,187,636^

    13/14 £1,207,986^

    14/15 £1,256,570^

    15/16 £1,219,550^

    *Includes funding for the Advanced Manufacturing Showcasing team who were under the same administrative budget for these years.

    ^ Includes one FTE on loan to the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

    The total budget to support Industrial R&D primarily for the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Driverless cars over the last 3 years* was:

    RDEL(Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit) – £79.327m

    CDEL (Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit) – £11m.

    RDEL CDEL

    13/14 £452,000 £0

    14/15 £26,000,000 £5,000,000

    15/16 £52,875,000 £6,000,000

    *There is no data available for 11/12 and 12/13

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from Pakistan to the UK in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 there were no extraditions from Pakistan to the UK.

    There is no bilateral extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan and, unless a multilateral convention applies, extradition is on the basis of reciprocity.

    The Government will neither confirm nor deny whether it is considering or is involved in negotiations with a particular country regarding an extradition treaty.