Category: Speeches

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of attempted suicide there were in prisons in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    The national statistics on safety in custody use the category of self-harm incidents, defined as “any act where a prisoner deliberately harms themselves irrespective of the method, intent or severity of any injury”. They do not include a separate category of “attempted suicide”, because the intent of the prisoner is often unknown. Some incidents are more likely to result in a fatality than others, but the point at which a self-harm incident becomes an attempted suicide is unclear.

    Summary statistics on self-harm in prison custody are published quarterly, and the latest annual figures, for the ten years to June 2015, can be found in Table 3 of the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472712/Safety-in-custody-summary-q2-2015.xls

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  • Baroness Grey-Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Grey-Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Grey-Thompson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much NHS England spent on the purchase of wheelchairs in England in the last year for which figures are available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Information on the cost of operating wheelchair services in England is not available centrally. Such information as is available is from reference costs, which are the average unit costs to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services to patients. The total cost of operating wheelchair services reported in 2014-15 reference costs was £143.4 million.

    NHS England advises that as clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning wheelchair services, it does not collect data on how much is spent on the purchase of wheelchairs. NHS England is however supporting improvement in wheelchair services and has just established a new national data collection. This will enable tracking at local and national levels of issues such as the number of wheelchair users, the costs of services and the length of time people have to wait.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Rapid Review Panel process can be extended to medical device technology, and if not, why not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Rapid Review Panel’s (RRP) primary remit is the evaluation of products for potential use in the National Health Service, to support claims of improved efficiency or efficacy of infection prevention and control interventions i.e. products that could reduce healthcare associated infections. The RRP, however, does not have the remit to regulate the safety of therapeutic products such as medical devices.

    Due to the requirements of safety assurance and regulation of therapeutic products, which are verified through Notified Bodies applying a Conformité Européenne (CE) marking, medical device technology falls within the remit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA’s Innovation Office is set up to assist companies in the regulation of novel medical devices.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what advice his Department has sought from the Swiss government on best practice in concluding a trade deal with (a) Japan, (b) China and (c) other non-EU states.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not sought advice from the Swiss government on these matters.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests from his Department for evidence to inform a personal independence payment assessment were (a) made and (b) responded to by GPs and other professionals in each year since the introduction of the personal independence payment; and what the professional discipline was that each of those requests were made to.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • 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 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the findings of the report of the International Development Committee, UK implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, HC103, published on 8 June 2016, on the need for a cross-government approach in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on those goals.

    Justine Greening

    I have discussed the government’s approach to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. This will be a cross-government effort with individual Secretaries of State accountable through their Single Departmental Plans. There will continue to be regular discussions involving all relevant departments across Government. The Government will respond to the IDC report.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to end payment of the operational allowance to armed forces personnel serving in South Sudan.

    Mark Lancaster

    We review eligible locations every six months as standard but Ministers have no plans to change the qualifying criteria.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been convicted of animal cruelty offences in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Details of convictions for animal cruelty cases for 2010 to 2015 can be found on the Government’s official website relating to Criminal Justice System Statistics in the document “Outcomes by Offence”. A link to the document can be found below. The data for animal cruelty is under the category “108 Cruelty to Animal”.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015

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  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what communications they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive about the establishment of City Deals in Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government communicates with the Northern Ireland Executive frequently on a wide range of issues.

    The Economic Pact between the Executive and the Government was modelled on some of the approaches the Government takes with City Deals but many of the policies included in City Deals in Great Britain are devolved in Northern Ireland and are the responsibility of the Executive.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether people over the initial postgraduate loan age cap of 30 will be able to apply and receive a postgraduate loan of up to £10,000 for the 2016-17 academic year.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to enhancing its support for postgraduate study and wants more people to have the opportunity to build on their academic success through access to a higher level qualification.

    The new Postgraduate Loans for Master’s study are intended to be available for eligible students studying in academic year 2016/17.

    The Government announced on 25 November that the new Postgraduate Loan for Master’s study will be available to individuals up to age 60. Further information is available via the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/postgraduate-study-student-loans-and-other-support

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