Category: Speeches

  • Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pauline Latham on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to encourage greater education about sun safety and skin cancer in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    We recognise the importance of teaching children and young people about the importance of sun safety and the risks of skin cancer. The primary science national curriculum emphasises the need for pupils to recognise the different ways in which light from the sun can be dangerous and how they should protect their eyes. Skin cancer and other health issues can also be covered in the key stage 4 science curriculum when pupils can be taught about the impact of lifestyle factors on the incidence of non-communicable diseases. Schools can choose to include cancer awareness in their Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education lessons. The non-statutory programme of study for PSHE education enables schools to teach young people about cancer prevention, checking for cancer and other illnesses, and how to overcome worries about seeking help.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance on “Skin Cancer Prevention” in January 2011.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that issues around financing the provision of the Hinkley Point C power station will delay the commencement of that project.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Good progress continues to be made so that Hinkley can provide clean, affordable and secure energy that families and businesses can rely on into the future. The financing of Hinkley Point C is a commercial matter for the parties involved.

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

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland who have accessed abortion services commissioned by a clinical commissioning group by registering on a temporary or permanent basis with a general practitioner in England.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to respond to the Office of Rail and Road’s recommendations following Which?’s super-complaint regarding train companies and the compensation process for passengers affected by train delays.

    Claire Perry

    I welcome the publication of the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) recommendations following Which?’s super-complaint. It is vital that customers who suffer delays understand their rights to compensation and have access to it in a timely way. Industry must now do much more to make that process quick and user-friendly. We are already working with the Association of Train Operating Companies and the ORR to bring about improvements, and my Department will respond to the ORR’s report in the summer of 2016.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for how many court and tribunal cases his Department did not send a legal representative in each year since 2009-10.

    Harriett Baldwin

    As far as I am aware there were no cases of this kind in the period 2009-10 to the present.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning cuts in water supply to areas of the West Bank.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv discussed this issue with the Israeli authorities on 27 June. We have stressed the need for Israel to take immediate and practical measures to improve the current situation and ensure fair distribution of water in the West Bank and Gaza.

    During the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood’s) visit to Israel in February, he stressed to the Israeli government and Prime Minister Netanyahu that there was an urgent need for practical, incremental steps to improve the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

  • David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what forecast she has made of which countries in receipt of UK aid will no longer require UK aid in (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years.

    Rory Stewart

    UK aid is supporting Britain’s interests through building a safer more prosperous world and helping countries achieve a timely sustainable exit from poverty. It is not possible to accurately predict which countries will require aid in those timeframes, but assessments of the likely trajectory of poverty in a country informs how we allocate resources. Programmes are largely focused on countries where extreme poverty currently affects a significant proportion of the population; is projected to persist over the medium term; where DFID has a comparative advantage; and, where the country itself is unable to finance their own development needs.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is developing programmes to tackle the (a) interconnectivity of domestic abuse and disability and (b) interconnections between other vulnerable groups.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    My Department recognises that those with disabilities may be more at risk of experiencing violence, and our work to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) takes into account issues of violence, including domestic abuse, against those with disabilities. We recognise the importance of considering disability in our programming, through for example the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (to which we contributed £2 million in 2015, a £6 million investment over 3 years), which has this year made a grant to a project focused specifically on access to justice of girls and women with disabilities who have experienced VAWG in Zimbabwe.

    DFID supports a comprehensive social inclusion approach to leaving no one behind and to understanding the interconnections between other vulnerable groups including people with disabilities, older people, youth, children, marginalised girls and women, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities, indigenous people, different faith groups, refugees and internally displaced persons and migrants. Many face multiple forms of discrimination and disadvantage with women and girls with disabilities particularly at risk as they live with double discrimination. DFID’s programming investments are based on an extensive poverty analysis at the country level which includes an assessment of the level of access, opportunity and influence of different geographic and social groups. DFID is currently engaging in a Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Review where country offices and partners are being asked to increase their work on ensuring we reach the most disadvantaged groups such as those experiencing multiple discrimination.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, if he will publish an impact assessment on his policy to lower motor insurance costs.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Ministry of Justice will launch a public consultation in the New Year on the details of the policy.

  • Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 9 March (HL5261), whether they have considered setting an explicit target for private-sector and financial corporation debt, and if not, why not.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As mentioned in the answer of 9 March, the Government does not set a specific target for private sector debt. However, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established as a policy committee of the Bank of England, is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks which arise from beyond the core banking sector (such as private sector debt). The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.

    For example, the countercyclical buffer is a macroprudential instrument which is designed to protect the banking sector from periods of excess aggregate credit growth that can contribute to system-wide risk. The countercyclical buffer rate in the UK is currently set at 0%, and is reviewed on a quarterly basis.