Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders have been sentenced and imprisoned in the UK after having been returned to the UK under an European Arrest Warrant in the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant and these can be found here: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics/wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics/608-wanted-by-the-uk-european-arrest-warrant-statistics-2009-april-2015-1

    “

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.228 of Budget 2016, what the timetable is for the restructuring of the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise.

    Harriett Baldwin

    At Budget 2016, the government published its response to the Public Financial Guidance Review and launched a consultation seeking views on the government’s plans to restructure the statutory financial guidance providers – the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise. This paper, which closes on 8 June 2016, sets out a new delivery model for public financial guidance and seeks views on how, within this model, the proposed services could best be offered. The new delivery model is designed to better complement the financial guidance provided by the third sector and the industry and provide more targeted support for consumers.

    The government will consider the responses to this consultation over the summer, and in parallel, work closely with the affected organisations to finalise the delivery structure. A detailed timetable will be set out with the final response, which will be published in the autumn. The government has been clear that the three affected organisations will continue to provide guidance to consumers until at least 2018.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has provided assistance to the Indonesian government on reforming discriminatory legislation against (a) religious minorities and (b) other minority groups.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We have offered assistance and expertise to the Indonesian government on its Bill of Protection for Religious Communities. More broadly, our Ambassador in Jakarta has raised the issue of freedom of religion or belief with the Minister of Religious Affairs, Indonesian civil society, and religious leaders. Our Deputy Head of Mission in Jakarta has also raised these issues with the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many UK Government officials and from which departments attended the Bonn intersessional UN climate meeting in (a) May 2016, (b) October 2015 and (c) June 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    There were 25 Government officials in the UK delegation at Bonn in May 2016; 25 Government officials in the UK delegation at Bonn in October 2015 and 44 Government officials in the UK delegation at Bonn in June 2015. The UK delegation included officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Scottish Government at each of these sessions. Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Met Office were present at the meeting in Bonn in June 2015.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterparts on recent incursions by Spanish vessels into British Territorial Waters around Gibraltar.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has made clear publicly that the UK will continue to protect and promote Gibraltar’s interests. This includes challenging and protesting against all incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. The Foreign Secretary has also reaffirmed our sovereignty assurances to Gibraltar never to enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their wishes, nor to enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what position the UK’s representatives at the (a) Trade Policy Committee and (b) Foreign Affairs Council have taken on the replacement of the Investor State Dispute Settlements mechanism with an Investment Court System in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

    Anna Soubry

    On 16 September, the European Commission published a draft of its proposed text for the investment protection provisions in the EU-US free trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

    In discussions on these proposals with the European Commission and Member States, UK representatives have expressed support for the European Commission’s ongoing initiative to reform the investment provisions used in its trade and investment agreements. UK representatives have also raised questions of detail on how the proposed text will continue to safeguard governments’ right to regulate lawfully and in the public interest, while ensuring that UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments.

    The final content of the investment protection provisions in the EU-US free trade agreement will be subject to the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the US. The inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not threaten the right of the UK or Devolved Administrations to regulate or determine public policy. The Commission has published a proposal for reforms to investment protections in this agreement, which includes a clause setting out governments’ right to regulate.

    The UK will work with the Commission on this proposal to ensure that UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments while allowing governments to regulate lawfully and in the public interest.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health who sit on internal or external working or steering groups with representatives from Action on Smoking and Health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Acting Deputy Director and Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) attended a dinner, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to celebrate the Luther. L. Terry award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry which was presented to the UK on 19 March at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH). Representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), as past recipients of an award in 2012, were also present.

    The Acting Deputy Director presented at the WCTOH in March 2015 and the Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) presented at the E-cigarette Summit in November. Representatives of ASH also presented at these independent events.

    The Deputy Director for Tobacco Control is a member of Public Health England’s Tobacco Control Implementation Board, which also includes a representative from ASH in its membership.

  • 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, if he will assess the expected cost to UK consumers who elect to cancel booked package holidays to Sharm el Sheikh and other destinations in the Middle East scheduled to depart during the months of December 2015 and January 2016 where such cancellation is not penalty-free; and if he will make it his Department’s policy to issue travel advice which will allow penalty-free cancellation for travel booked to depart during those months.

    James Duddridge

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice provides information and advice so that British nationals can make their own better informed decisions about foreign travel. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills is responsible for regulation of the travel industry and it is not the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to intervene in the regulation of this market. British nationals who have booked package holidays should contact their travel company if they wish to cancel their booking. These holidays will be subject to the terms and conditions of the booking and the provisions of the Package Travel Regulations, which cover among other things changes between the time of booking and the time of travel. Where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against travel since a holiday has been booked, such as Sharm el Sheikh, it is unlikely that a penalty will be incurred.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The number of press and public relations staff employed in the central Department on 1 January 2016 was sixteen (all full-time employees). Four of those staff have annual salaries over £50,000 and none are over £100,000.

    The total of 16 staff compares to an equivalent figure for the central Department in 2009/10 of 19.

    The total expenditure on press and PR staff and related services in 2014-15 was £1,266,000.

    Overall communications expenditure by the central Department in 2014-15 was £22 million lower than in 2009-10. Across Government the government communications profession reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.

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

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the overall quality of (a) primary health, (b) hospital and (c) community services for older people.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services.

    The CQC published its State of Care 2014-15 report in October 2015. It reported that 85% of the general practitioner (GP) practices CQC have rated are good or outstanding. The CQC inspects GP practices against six population areas, which includes older people.

    The latest results of the GP Patient Survey, published on 7 January 2016, indicate that patients over 75 have consistently higher rates of satisfaction with their GP services than other age groups.

    Overall care quality of providers is assessed regularly by Monitor and the CQC. And there are large scale national audits reporting on specific areas that are likely to be more relevant to older people for example the National Hip Fracture Data Base and the National Audit of Intermediate Care.

    The CQC’s State of Care 2014-15 report (October 2015) reported that 35% of acute hospitals were rated as good or outstanding.

    NHS England published in 2014 “Safe, compassionate care for frail older people using an integrated care pathway: Practical guidance for commissioners, providers and nursing, medical and allied health professional leaders”. This document summarises the evidence of the effects of an integrated pathway of care for older people and suggests how a pathway can be commissioned effectively using levers and incentives across providers.

    The CQC registers and inspects community providers and community trusts to ensure that they follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. 59% of adult social care providers were rated as good or outstanding in the CQC’s October report.

    The trends in patient satisfaction for community services are tracked and reported monthly through the Friends and Family Test (FFT). FFT is an important feedback tool that gives patients the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience and helps the National Health Service to drive improvement in the services it provides.

    The latest FFT results from September until November 2015 showed that 95% of respondents would recommend the services they have used in the community services settings.