Category: Speeches

  • Mike Weir – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Weir – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on travellers with bookings to (a) Sharm el Sheikh and (b) other destinations in the Middle East of the period within which the right to penalty-free cancellation can be ascertained being within 14 days of travel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 4 November 2015, we amended our Travel Advice to advise against all but essential travel by air to Sharm el-Sheikh. We have not changed our Travel Advice for the resort itself.

    The FCO Travel Advice, available at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, provides objective information and advice to help individuals make better-informed decisions about their travel. The Egypt page has been regularly updated to reflect developing events since the crash of the Russian airliner on 31 October. We regularly review our Travel Advice and all changes are made after careful analysis. Our only consideration is the safety of British Nationals.

    The FCO is working with DfT and Egyptian counterparts to put in place permanent and sustainable measures to allow British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh to resume as soon as possible.

    Refunds and cancellation penalties are a matter for the airlines. We are liaising closely with airlines to share information about the progress of our discussions with Egypt.

  • Richard Benyon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Richard Benyon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (a) providing more funding through and (b) improving the effectiveness of the feed-in tariff incentive regime for smaller on-site anaerobic digestion in order to encourage cost-effective on-site treatment of food and farming residues and to reduce carbon emissions from the production of food.

    George Eustice

    The Government is committed to cost-effective decarbonisation of our electricity supply as well as protecting consumer bills by controlling costs passed on to consumers through their energy bills. Officials in Defra and the Department of Energy and Climate Change are currently working closely together in considering levels of support for anaerobic digestion through the Feed-in Tariff scheme and a consultation will be published in the coming months.

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter to her Department from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 22 December 2015 on the subject of constituents’ British Nationality, reference ZA1837.

    James Brokenshire

    A response was provided on 5 February 2016.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passengers have received payments from Southern’s enhanced compensation scheme since it’s introduction as a result of the disruption caused at London Bridge from work on the Thameslink Programme.

    Claire Perry

    We do not hold this information as the operator is under no obligation to provide it to us.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to ensure that no bank accounts of military personnel are closed as a result of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive while they are on active service; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    There is no reason why the bank accounts of any military personnel would be closed as a result of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, whether or not they were on active service, unless financial institutions suspected individuals of fraudulent activity.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Security at the Home Office in the sitting of the Investigatory Powers Bill of 26 April 2016, column 549, PBC (Bill 143) 2015-16, how many details of medical records the security and intelligence services hold; what the definition of medical records was for the purposes of that contribution; and whether the intelligence and security services attain medical records directly from those who hold them.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Investigatory Powers Bill significantly strengthens the safeguards in relation to the security and intelligence agencies’ retention and use of bulk personal datasets through the requirement for warrants subject to the ‘double-lock’ of Secretary of State and judicial approval.

    The security and intelligence agencies do not hold medical records as part of their bulk personal datasets. Medical records are a collection of confidential medical information about the mental or physical health of individuals compiled by a medical professional and held by a medical institution.

    The agencies may only acquire information where it is necessary for the proper discharge of their statutory functions and the retention of each bulk personal dataset is subject to strict handling arrangements to ensure that they are only retained where it is necessary and proportionate to do so.The Government cannot provide further details on the datasets that the agencies hold or how they are acquired as to do so would undermine the agencies’ ability to protect national security and prevent and disrupt serious crime.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the budget is for GP services in (a) Southampton, (b) NHS West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), (c) NHS North Manchester CCG and (d) West Hampshire CCG in 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    The budget for general practitioner services in NHS Southampton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS West London CCG, NHS North Manchester CCG and West Hampshire CCG for 2016-17 is published in the primary care medical allocations data and can be accessed via the following link:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/pc-medical-allocations.pdf

    (Source: NHS England)

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  • Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish his evaluation of the National Stroke Strategy for England and the Government’s approach to outpatient rehabilitation services for stroke survivors.

    David Mowat

    There has been no formal evaluation of the National Stroke Strategy. However there is a continuous evaluation of the quality of stroke care via the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP). This measures most of the key indicators defined as important in the strategy and findings are freely available on the SSNAP website:

    https://www.strokeaudit.org/

    The Government’s approach to outpatient rehabilitation services for stroke survivors is to encourage clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission evidence based care such as early supported discharge and longer term neurorehabilitation. There are some areas where these services are incomplete and NHS England is working with CCGs and the Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints to address this.

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  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police have better training for people in custody suites suffering with mental health issues.

    Brandon Lewis

    It is the role of the College of Policing to set the standards for training and professional development for police forces in England and Wales. The College has recently published Authorised Professional Practice on mental health. This guidance will support all police officers, including custody staff, in responding effectively to people suffering with mental health issues. It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, to ensure officers and police staff receive appropriate training and that they have regard to this Authorised Professional Practice when discharging their responsibilities.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average reduction in entitlement to universal credit was which resulted from a claimant taking up paid work in the most recent month for which figures are available.

    Priti Patel

    The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

    The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

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