Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many flights were undertaken in fixed wing aircraft or helicopters to transport or carry Defence Nuclear Materials in the last five years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In the last five years, 23 flights carrying Defence Nuclear Materials (DNM) were undertaken. All flights were between the UK and the United States on fixed wing aircraft under the control of UK Armed Forces. No such flights passed over Scotland, or involved the use of helicopters.

    I am withholding details of the physical state, mass and radiological quantity of DNM transported as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice national security.

    The transport of DNM is carried out to the highest standard in accordance with stringent safety regulations. In over 50 years of transporting DNM in the UK, there has never been an incident that has posed any radiation hazard to the public or to the environment.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many applicants to the Pubs Code Adjudicator role declared actual or potential conflicts of interest.

    Anna Soubry

    It is standard Government practice not to provide such information. The Government only provides such information about the successful candidate.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to prevent vehicle lease or hire companies receiving fines for non-payment of the Dart Charge in place of the driver of the vehicle.

    Andrew Jones

    As required by legislation, Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle, which can be lease and hire companies. Lease and hire companies are then able to transfer the liability for the PCN to the vehicle’s driver at the time the contravention occurred by providing Highways England with the relevant details.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she discussed soil carbon targets when she met Miguel Arias Cañete, Climate Action and Energy Commissioner, at their meeting on 12 May 2016 on emissions targets not included in the Emissions Trading System.

    Amber Rudd

    My meeting on 12 May with Commissioner Cañete was one of a number we have had to discuss a wide range of EU Climate and Energy issues.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if a public consultation on motoring offences and penalties will be conducted as part of the Government’s announced sentencing review.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    Both the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Transport are aware of concerns about a number of issues relating to serious driving offences and the maximum penalties those offences carry. The Government are committed to making sure that the courts have sufficient powers to deal with driving offences appropriately and proportionately within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation before the end of the year which will look at driving offences and penalties.

    The new Justice Secretary will meet the new Transport Secretary to discuss further in due course.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to implement the changes to funding for community pharmacies, announced in December 2015.

    David Mowat

    We have consulted on these proposals and are continuing to engage with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. The responses received have, and will continue to be, considered very carefully so we make sure we get it right for patients, the public, the National Health Service and pharmacy.

    We are aiming to implement the package from December 2016.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to improve awareness of the health implications of drinking during pregnancy.

    Jane Ellison

    The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a United Kingdom-wide review of all alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives.

    The Guidelines Development Group, a group of independent experts, was tasked with developing the lower-risk drinking guidelines for the UK CMOs to consider. The group have researched and developed a proposal on the guidelines, including a UK wide approach for guidance on alcohol and pregnancy. We will be consulting on these shortly.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account he has made of the reason for the failure to meet ambulance response time targets for Red 1 999 emergencies between June 2015 and September 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Ambulance services are experiencing a significant increase in demand compared with previous years.

    NHS England and trusts are responding to this challenge with a number of measures including the Ambulance Response Programme which enables trusts to provide a more clinically appropriate response to patients.In 2014/15, there were 1,048,500 more ambulance journeys compared with 2009/10 (2,800 per day). There are now almost 2,000 more paramedics compared to 2010.

  • Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will change local authority public health team regulations to ensure that (a) public mental health no longer falls under the heading of miscellaneous and (b) there is parity of esteem between physical and mental health in the activity of such teams.

    Jane Ellison

    We accept entirely the centrality of mental health and wellbeing to public health and the need for parity of esteem across health services. While it is right for local authorities (LAs) to determine their own local priorities and account to their own electorates, the Department’s Public Health Outcomes Framework – which defines areas for improvement across the public health system, and to which LAs must have regard – includes a number of indicators that relate directly to mental health. Public Health England collects and publishes LA-level data for all these indicators and will continue to support and advise LAs on the evidence base for effective mental health interventions.

    We have no plans to require LAs to report spending on public mental health. LAs’ public health functions cover a wide range of activity, and it is important for central government to limit its demands for information from local government to a minimum. LAs would also be unable to disaggregate their spending on, for example, a drug or alcohol misuse service in order to isolate a sum that could be attributed purely to the mental health aspect of the service.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to publish performance data for academy chains.

    Edward Timpson

    In March 2015 the Department published a consultative statistical working paper proposing performance measures for multi-academy trusts[1].

    In addition, the Department’s school performance tables now allow parents and others to more easily see which academies are within a multi-academy trust and the information for each academy, including their academic performance and Ofsted judgements[2].

    Ofsted also carries out focused inspections of groups of academies within multi-academy trusts and these outcomes are published[3].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-in-academy-chains-and-las-performance-measures

    [2] http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/

    [3] http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/local-authority-school-improvement-arrangements-inspections-and-focused-school-inspections

    “