Category: Speeches

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to address the rise in levels of homelessness and rough sleeping in England.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative. We are also developing a new national £10 million Social Impact Bond fund to help to help homeless people with the most complex needs such as mental health difficulties or addiction.

    At Budget we went one step further and announced we will launch a new £100 million programme for low-cost move on accommodation, including for rough sleepers leaving hostels. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    We are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

  • 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 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the draft recommendation from NICE not to recommend the drug Strensiq for the treatment of hypophosphatasia for critically ill infants who are otherwise likely to die, what other treatment options are available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Strensiq (asfotase alfa) for the treatment of paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia under its highly specialised technologies programme.

    NICE’s draft guidance, published in December 2015 for consultation, did not recommended asfotase alfa. However this is not NICE’s final guidance to the National Health Service.

    NICE’s draft guidance states that there are currently no other treatments available that specifically prevent or delay the progression of hypophosphatasia.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the status of British academics wishing to be included in cross-European research project applications funded by the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    I have been in close contact with Commissioner Moedas on the topic of cross Europe research funding. The Commission have been very supportive of the UK perspective that while the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU funding and collaboration arrangements continue unchanged. And as we announced on the 13th August, the Treasury will underwrite funding for approved Horizon 2020 projects applied for before the UK leaves the European Union.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many citizenship applications from EU nationals have been rejected as a result of changes to the rules on the evidence required to demonstrate permanent residence since those changes came into force.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No statistical information is available showing the reason for rejection of citizenship applications.

  • Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his estimate is of the number of human rights activists and community leaders killed in Colombia during the first eight months of 2015.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The latest report from the NGO coalition ‘Somos Defensores’ recorded 51 murders of human rights defenders in the first nine months of 2015, compared to 55 for the whole of 2014 which indicates a worrying upward trend. Despite recent significant developments on the peace process we remain concerned by this increase in violence and threats against human rights defenders there. I again raised the issue of human rights with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister, Patti Londono, on 29 September. Officials in London met British NGOs on 9 November, to understand their concerns in greater detail.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20640, how many miles of track will be electrified by the end of Control Period 5 under the timetable for project delivery contained in Sir Peter Hendy’s review of the rail upgrade programme.

    Claire Perry

    Pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20640, we remain committed to our modernisation programme of over 850 miles of electrification.

    Sir Peter Hendy’s review of the rail upgrade programme details that the vast majority of programmes and projects will go ahead for delivery by 2019 (the end of Control Period 5).

    However, some schemes are more immature in their development and, whilst schemes in this category will have significant delivery within Control Period 5, these schemes will span more than one control period.

    Electrification provides long-term efficiencies for the railways, but it is just one element of a wider set of railway upgrades to provide better journeys for passengers and freight users.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have died as a result of abuse or neglect in each of the last 10 years.

    Edward Timpson

    The death of any child is a tragedy. We want all children at risk of abuse or neglect to be identified early, to have timely and proportionate assessments of their individual needs, and to have the right services provided at the right time.

    The death of each child must be reviewed and the Department collects information on the outcomes of these reviews. Since 2010-11, the Department has published annual statistics on the numbers of reviews of child deaths and the numbers of reviews where the category of death was abuse or neglect. In 2010-11, there were 47 reviews completed of deaths of children due to abuse or neglect; 43 in 2011-12; 46 in 2012-13; 62 in 2013-14; and 60 in 2014-15.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many social media accounts promoting extremist content were recommended for closure by her Department in each of the last 12 months; and what proportion of such content related to Daesh.

    Mr John Hayes

    We have seen an increase in the scale and pace of terrorist communications by groups like ISIL, encouraging vulnerable young people to travel to conflict zones like Syria and Iraq. This Government takes seriously the threat from online terrorist and extremist propaganda, which can directly influence people who are vulnerable to radicalisation.

    Since 2010 over 140,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed by industry from various online platforms at the request of the dedicated police Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Approximately 55,000 removals were made in 2015 alone. Removal requests are now at over 1,000 a week and approximately 70% of CTIRU’s caseload is Daesh related.

    We are pressing industry to take a lead in tackling the abuse of their services by terrorist and extremist groups.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage its bilateral partners to adopt a co-ordinated early childhood development approach to provide nutritional, medical and educational support for children.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    There is strong evidence that supporting children in their early years with health, education, nutrition and stimulation interventions maximises their learning potential and yields long term benefits. In January DFID held a high level meeting in London, bringing together Ministers and policy makers from developing countries, academic experts and development agencies to explore how to provide cross-sectoral support to young children at scale. Drawing on the evidence base, DFID is exploring with country governments how to co-ordinate early childhood support and how to adapt our existing programmes to encompass early childhood development principles.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to act on the concerns raised by the National Audit Office in its 23 March report regarding the lack of transparency in spending by Local Enterprise Partnerships in order to ensure taxpayers get value for money.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government welcomes the findings in the report and the helpful scrutiny of our approach. Section 151 officers from the accountable local authorities for each of the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships have already written to the Department for Communities and Local Government confirming that their assurance frameworks adhere to our national standards, including on transparency. Government will continue to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships to ensure this system remains robust.