Category: Speeches

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children in (a) Burnley and (b) Lancashire have mothers who are serving prison sentences.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The specific information requested is not held. However, the Ministry of Justice has recently published statistics on child dependents of female offenders. These statistics can be located at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/female-offenders-and-child-dependents

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of mixed race stem cell donors; what discussions he has had with the Anthony Nolan Trust and others on diversifying stem cell registries; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and the Anthony Nolan Trust, ensure that all patients regardless of ethnicity can gain maximum benefit from the United Kingdom’s registry of volunteer bone marrow donors and from its inventory of altruistically-donated cord blood.

    In March 2015 the Department gave £3 million of funding to NHSBT and the Anthony Nolan Trust to continue their work saving and improving lives through stem cell and cord blood donation. Part of this funding will support the collection of an additional 3,000 Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) adult donors.

    The provision of cord blood stem cells remains an important part of the overall strategy and this year will see a continued expansion of the cord blood bank with a target that 40% samples are collected from the BAME community.

    The Department continues to support the work of the National BAME Transplant Alliance that helps to coordinate the work of BAME organisations working to promote all forms of donation including bone marrow stem cells.

    The Department is currently working with Anthony Nolan and NHSBT to consider possible future funding in the light of the spending review and set against other spending priorities.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of (a) agency workers and (b) directly employed staff in the civil service at each grade in each year since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    All this information is publically available on GOV.UK.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of UK membership of the EU on each policy area and function of local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    None.

  • Baroness Gale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gale on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the NHS of NHS England cutting the role of National Clinical Director for Adult Neurology, and the end of national funding for neurological work by clinical networks.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, has undertaken a review of the National Clinical Director (NCD) resource designed to focus clinical advisory resources on areas where major programmes of work are currently being taking forward, or areas identified as priorities for improvement. As a result of the review, NHS England has proposed to change the way in which clinical advice is received in speciality areas in the future, streamlining and strengthening its clinical advisory mechanisms in support of the Five Year Forward View and the National Health Service’s key improvement priorities.

    Whilst there will no longer be a specific NCD role for neurology, NHS England will continue to secure expert clinical advice from its Clinical Networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. Access to advice will be through clinical leads and members of the NHS England-funded neurology clinical networks, the Neurology Clinical Reference Group and Royal Colleges. It is expected that these new arrangements will be in place shortly.

    During 2016/17, the focus of NHS England’s improvement efforts delivered through Strategic Clinical Networks will be on a smaller range of key national priorities, including cancer, mental health, diabetes, maternity and urgent and emergency care (with a focus on cardiovascular disease transformation). Whilst there is no additional funding nationally, clinical and local networks of care can determine what can be done at a local or regional level if it is considered a local or regional system priority. Nationally, the policy team is considering how key aspects of the work on neurology can be taken forward through alternative mechanisms and partners.

    In addition, the Neurology Intelligence Network (NIN) is a joint partnership programme between Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to support the generation and dissemination of neurology related health intelligence. PHE currently funds the on-going design, development and management of the NIN.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish its response to its public consultation on housing benefit reform and supported housing.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In conjunction with the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Work and Pensions has recently conducted an evidence-based review of supported accommodation in GB and we expect to publish the report shortly. Alongside this work, as part of our policy review, we will continue to work with and listen to all relevant stakeholders, including the supported housing sector in order to develop a workable and sustainable funding regime.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which EU (a) legislative and (b) other proposals his Department is leading negotiations on for the Government in the Council of the EU.

    Dominic Raab

    This Department is currently leading negotiations on the following legislative proposals:

    • Proposal for a Council Decision on a Union position in the EU – the Republic of Albania Stabilisation Council on the participation of the Republic of Albania as an observer in the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ work and the respective modalities, within the framework of Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007.
    • Proposal for a Council Decision on a Union position in the EU – the Republic of Serbia Stabilisation Council on the participation of the Republic of Serbia as an observer in the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ work and the respective modalities, within the framework of Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2007.
    • Ongoing consideration of the European Union’s Accession to the European Convention of Human Rights following Opinion 2/13 of the CJEU.

    The following are ongoing negotiations within my department’s remit that the UK does not participate in. My department, however, monitors the negotiations to ensure that these proposals do not negatively impact UK interests.

    • Council Regulation on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law and the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions in matters of Matrimonial Property Regimes.
    • Council Regulation on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law and the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions in matters of the Property Consequences of Registered Partnerships.
    • Directive on Provisional Legal Aid for Suspects or Accused persons Deprived of Liberty and Legal Aid in European Arrest Warrant Proceedings.
  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals have been tasered by the police in England since 2012 and what protected diversity characteristics applied to each individual.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Home Office publish police use of TASER ® X26 statistics annually on GOV.UK. These releases contain statistics on police use of TASER ® X26 from the 43 Home Office police forces in England and Wales up to 2015. Protected diversity characteristics do not form part of this collection. The table below shows total police use of TASER ® X26 across England and Wales since 2012.

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Total use of TASER ® X26 since 2012

    Number of times TASER ® X26 was used

    8,161

    10,380

    10,095

    10,401

    39,037

    Source: Home Office

    Following the former Chief Constable David Shaw Use of Force Data review, published in July 2016, a new data collection is being implemented by the police which will allow for some protected characteristic data from 2016. We expect the data collected to be published locally by police forces and a sub-set of the data to be included in the mandatory annual data return for forces in 2017/18 for publication as Official Statistics. The current TASER publications can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/use-of-taser-statistics

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations she has received on fixed odds betting terminals.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government announced a review of Gaming Machines on 24 October which will look at evidence in regards to stakes and prizes of gaming machines; the number and location of gaming machines; and social responsibility measures to protect players and communities from gambling-related harm, including gambling advertising.

    This review will include a close look at the issue of sub-category B2 gaming machines (more commonly known as Fixed Odds Betting Terminals – FOBTs) and specific concerns about the harm they cause, be that to the players themselves or the local communities in which they are located. This is the correct mechanism in which to look again at this issue.

    There is now an opportunity for anyone with an interest in this matter to submit evidence for consideration. The Call for Evidence period ends on 4 December 2016.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) assess and (b) help improve security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport; and what assessment he has made of the incidence of corruption amongst staff at the airport.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As Department for Transport (DfT) leads on aviation security, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is helping to ensure that they are able to work closely with Egyptian counterparts to address security at Sharm el Sheikh airport. A team of DfT aviation security experts travelled to Sharm el Shaikh on 4 November to assess security at the airport and ensure measures were in place to enable travellers to return safely to the UK. The FCO is also working with DfT and Egyptian counterparts to put in place a plan to ensure measures in place at Sharm el Sheikh are sustainable. The investigation into the cause of the aircrash is ongoing.