Category: Speeches

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the changes there have been to structures on the River Thames in the last 10 years.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Town Planning is the responsibility of London’s boroughs, with a strategic role for the Mayor of London. In this capacity the Mayor has produced a London View Management Framework, which seeks to protect London’s most important views, including along the Thames, from inappropriate development. The Government intends, through the Housing and Planning Bill, to devolve further powers to the Mayor of London over safeguarded wharves and protected vistas to enable him to better manage development on the Thames. Furthermore, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government retains call in powers, which he can use to prevent development that would harm any of the three World Heritage Sites that are adjacent to the Thames.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 23 November (HL3565), what advice they will give to local authorities affected by significant withdrawal of residential care providers in particular areas from publicly-funded adult social care in the event that this prevents those authorities from stepping in to ensure people’s needs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has worked with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Local Government Information Unit to publish guidance to support local authorities to develop effective contingency plans for provider failure- Care and Continuity: Contingency planning for provider failure. The guidance is attached.

    It is expected that local authorities will keep these plans under review and update them as necessary to reflect current market conditions and risks.

    Should there be a significant withdrawal of residential care providers from the publically funded adult social care market putting pressure on local authorities’ capacity to discharge their statutory functions in the short-term, the Government will work with the sector to develop bespoke contingency plans to support local government to manage the situation. This could include supporting work with neighbouring local authorities and ADASS regional networks.

    More widely, the Government will continue to support local authorities to discharge their functions under the Care Act 2014 which require them to shape a sustainable market that meets the needs of their local population.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish results against each of the key performance indicators highlighted in the policy document Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Information on the key performance indicators set out in Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation will be included in the annual progress report to parliament planned for December 2016. It will include results of surveys, including Active Lives and Taking Part, and competitions, like the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be available in the course of the year.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the NHS England plans to publish its consultation on the future of mental health support for veterans of the armed forces, referred to in the NHS England Mental Health Taskforce.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England published its consultation on Developing the mental health services for veterans in England on 25 January 2016.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of provision of double rooms for married couples in care homes (a) in the North West and (b) UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) collects data on numbers of registered care and nursing homes in England, together with numbers of registered places within those homes, as part of its registration and regulation activity.

    We are informed by the CQC that it does not collect data on whether places in homes are provided in single or shared rooms.

    Neither the CQC nor the Department collects data on care and nursing homes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This is a matter for the devolved administrations.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33689, how many teachers of GCSE (a) English and (b) mathematics were employed by the armed forces in each of the last five years.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold figures on the number of teachers employed to teach GCSE English and Mathematics. The Ministry of Defence provides Service personnel with a range of educational, learning, development and resettlement opportunities through a number of training centres and apprenticeship programmes. The main learning centres have English and Mathematics tutors who are employed to teach functional skills in numeracy and literacy and can also support GCSEs. However, teachers are not employed specifically to teach GCSEs.

    Over 95% of recruits are enrolled into an Apprenticeship Programme each year, regardless of their age, which ensures that Service personnel gain a Level 2 in numeracy and literacy. This is the equivalent of a GCSE. In addition, there are Functional Skills Deliverers who work as part of apprenticeship delivery in the training establishments and can support learning for GCSEs. However, they are more focused on providing functional skills.

  • 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 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect and help encourage curlew and lapwing habitats.

    Rory Stewart

    Both lapwings and curlews are priorities for conservation action. For example, the Government’s agri-environment schemes have been designed to encourage habitat management to promote their conservation in targeted areas, specifically to provide suitable nesting and foraging conditions.

    Many of the most important sites for nesting lapwings are managed as nature reserves by Government and non-government organisations. In such cases highly specialised management can lead to high numbers breeding in relatively small areas. Success has also been achieved through agricultural schemes such as the Peppering Project on the Arundel estate.

    Curlews are more widespread and their specific requirements for breeding are less well-understood. Natural England, together with the RSPB, is conducting research to better tailor upland land management to the specific needs of curlews and to support lapwing breeding.

    As part of Defra’s programme of monitoring agri-environment schemes, Natural England has commissioned a survey of breeding waders (including lapwings and curlews) in upland areas in England to measure the effectiveness of these schemes.

    As with all wild birds, lapwings and curlews are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with manufacturers about fires caused by faulty electric tumble dryers.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Whilst the Government continues to meet regularly with representatives from the electrical appliances sector, the enforcement of the relevant legislation is a matter for local Government Trading Standards services. The recent modification programme for tumble dryers announced by Whirlpool is being overseen by Peterborough Council as the Primary Authority. The Government has asked Peterborough Council to provide regular updates on progress.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of recently published research from Breast Cancer Now on the availability of bisphosphonates.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Independent Cancer Taskforce report included a specific recommendation on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for treating people with breast cancer. We understand that NHS England is working to realise the ambitions set out in the report and will publish an update on progress made soon.

    National prescribing arrangements already allow for bisphosphonates to be prescribed for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.

    Updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss, taking into account the latest available evidence, is expected in July 2018.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage the European Commission and the World Bank to promote road safety in their infrastructure funding; and if she will make a statement.

    Grant Shapps

    Road traffic injuries cost developing countries an estimated 1-2% of their gross national product, equivalent to over US$100 billion annually, with a widening of the disparity between advanced and developing countries. Road accidents kill an estimated 1.3 million people and injure up to 78 million people each year.

    DFID is committed to supporting the international community to reach the Sustainable Developments Goals, including Goal 11 which includes improving Road Safety as one of its targets.

    DFID recently increased its funding to the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) hosted at the World Bank and will contribute £4.5 million between 2013 and 2017. The GRSF provides funding, knowledge, and technical assistance that lever road safety investments into transport sector programmes.

    We also work with the European Commission through the Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund for financing transport projects. Through our role on the Global Road Safety Facility and our work on transport with Multilateral Development Banks we require all such projects to include stronger components on road safety.