Category: Speeches

  • James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the renovation of the official residence and offices of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary-General’s official residence is fully maintained and allowance is made in the existing Secretariat budget to provide ongoing general maintenance. It is custom to refurbish the premises on the appointment of a new Secretary General thus giving a cycle of approximately eight years. The budget for the renovation of the official residence was agreed by the Board of Governors at its meeting in June 2015, before the appointment of Patricia Scotland. Nevertheless, we welcome the Secretary-General’s statement that "any work on Hill Street must represent value for money and no extravagance."

    We also welcome steps by the Secretary-General to create a Commonwealth Hub through the shared use of existing premises at Quadrant House. Incorporating the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Foundation will help bring these organisations together alongside the Secretariat. It will also help the Secretariat to reduce overheads while obtaining value from existing resources and developing new partnerships to better deliver outcomes.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12901, on mental health services, whether the figures in that Answer include children and young people.

    Alistair Burt

    The figures set out in the answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12901 include children and young people. The number of times people aged under 18 were taken to police custody as a place of safety under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act fell from 256 in 2013/14 to 161 in 2014/15 (37% reduction)[1].

    [1] National Police Chief’s Council: http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/fall-in-use-of-police-custody-for-those-in-mental-health-crisis

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what conditionality is attached to disbursements from the Joint Security Fund; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    The Spending Review set out the allocation of the Joint Security Fund for the Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies totalling £3.5bn over 5 years.

    The Joint Security Fund will be used to deliver the investments set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The allocation of funding is conditional on annual spending limits that were agreed at the Spending Review. As with all public expenditure, Managing Public Money sets out how public funds must be spent, including the principles of regularity and propriety.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been undertaken of the effect on sexual and reproductive health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015-16 and the measures in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 relating to the public health system.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s Framework for Sexual Health Promotion in England (2013) sets out our ambitions and objectives to improve sexual health for all people. It takes account of the commissioning arrangements from 2013 including the new role for local authorities (LAs) as commissioners of most sexual health services. Later this month Public Health England (PHE) will undertake a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health. It has also produced sexual health and reproductive health profiles to help LAs and others monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their populations and the performance of local public health related systems.

    It is for LAs to decide on what research and evidence they need to inform their tenders for sexual health and reproductive health services in line with procurement requirements and good practice. In 2014 PHE published Making it Work, a guide to commissioning for sexual health across the whole system, to improve the sexual health of both individuals and the wider public.

    We have made no formal assessment of the effect on sexual health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to LAs for 2015/16, although PHE continues to monitor relevant outcomes data for every LA in England. Decisions on local public health spending are a matter for LAs. They are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services that meet the needs of their local population. Officials meet regularly with sexual health organisations who would raise any concerns if LAs were not meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services.

    The Framework for Sexual Health Improvement includes as a priority reducing unwanted pregnancies and highlights the need to increase access to long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods and emergency contraception for women of all ages. We have no plans to evaluate the effect on general practitioner surgeries of LA commissioning of LARCs.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the government of Egypt on the convictions of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot in that country for contempt of religion.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the cases of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot and are following both cases closely. We have raised the importance of freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression with the Egyptian authorities on a number of occasions and will continue to do so.

    We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise their faith. The Government of Egypt has clearly stated its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and of the need for religious tolerance; it is important that these rights are respected.

    In November 2015, My Rt Hon and noble Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Anelay and I met Non-Governmental Organisations to consider what more could be done to help Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East. I also met with the Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State to discuss this. In December the UK, in partnership with the Egyptian Grand Imam, launched a new scholarship for Al-Azhar graduates to pursue doctoral studies at British universities. The scholarship aims to promote mutual understanding among a new generation of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England and NICE on the Cancer Drugs Fund consultation; and whether he discussed with those bodies whether proposals on the future of that fund would (a) increase and (b) restrict access to cancer medicines.

    George Freeman

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has been kept informed as this work has been progressed.

    NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the powers of appointment of university vice-chancellors for staff working in Confucius Institutes on their university campus.

    Joseph Johnson

    Universities are autonomous from Government and responsible, by law, for all decisions about who they appoint as staff.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to extend Clean Air Zones to more cities.

    Rory Stewart

    The Air Quality Plan we published last December set out a comprehensive plan for reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide through a new programme of Clean Air Zones, alongside national action and continued investment in clean technologies.

    We are working closely with the cities of Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton, where we are requiring Clean Air Zones to be introduced. Other local authorities can introduce Clean Air Zones should they wish to do so using their powers under the Transport Act 2000.

    We will consult on a framework for Clean Air Zones later this year which will set out the important principles that need to be consistent from city to city. Setting out the principles in this way will support both those authorities required by Government to implement a Clean Air Zone and those who, after analysing their own situation, consider a Clean Air Zone to be an appropriate measure to bring in.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral evidence given by Peter Roberts to the Defence Committee on 7 June 2016, HC 221, at Question 22, what the timetable is for (a) procurement of the Type 26 frigates and (b) cutting steel on those frigates; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 May 2016 to Ouestion 37138 to the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Julian Lewis).

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the potential effect on (a) public safety and (b) animal welfare of restricting fireworks displays to regulated organised displays only.

    Margot James

    Limiting firework displays to regulated organised displays only is not supported, on public safety grounds, by the current available evidence. Official statistics, from NHS Digital, demonstrate that there is a downwards trend in hospital admissions in England, arising from the discharge of fireworks, with 114 such admissions in 2014/15. The Government will continue to focus on reducing accidents and nuisance by encouraging industry, retailers and others to promote responsible use through guidance and public education.

    The Government accepts that fireworks can have a detrimental effect on some animals. However, we consider that if users follow guidance on the correct and sensible use of fireworks, and owners of animals take appropriate precautions, these can help to avoid or reduce any detrimental effects.