Category: Speeches

Mike Freer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that all professional bodies that provide accreditation for counselling and psychotherapy services for the NHS add their signatures to the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK, published in November 2015.

Alistair Burt

The Department has no statutory powers to compel professional bodies to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). We are working closely with the group who drafted the MoU, currently led by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, which has successfully increased the number of signatories since the document was first published in February 2015. The group will continue to encourage others to sign up to their revised MoU, which will be extended to include transgender people, over coming months.

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) provides independent accreditation of voluntary registers for counselling and psychotherapy services.

Accreditation by the PSA allows commissioners, employers, and service users to assure themselves that the practitioners on these registers meet high standards of training, conduct and competence, and at all times apply high ethical standards to their work.

The PSA accredits the following voluntary registers relevant to counselling and psychotherapy:

Association of Child Psychotherapists;

Association of Christian Counsellors;

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy;

British Association of Play Therapists;

British Psychoanalytic Council;

Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland;

National Counselling Society;

Play Therapy UK; and

UK Council for Psychotherapy.

01/01/2023
Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the number of households which will refuse a smart meter.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government has not made a specific estimate of the number of consumers that will refuse a smart meter. We will monitor this as the roll-out progresses.

01/01/2023
Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Govia Thameslink Railway on the closure of Govia Thameslink Railway ticket offices; and what the dates of those discussions were.

Claire Perry

Officials regularly meet with Govia Thameslink Railway, and their Ticket Office proposals have been discussed.

01/01/2023
Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will consider extending current programme partnership arrangements until a replacement mechanism is introduced.

Priti Patel

I am currently considering the outcomes of my Department’s Civil Society Partnership Review, and will aim to publish it shortly.

In July 2015, the then Secretary of State for International Development announced a 9 month extension of all PPA financing, providing 18 months-notice that all current PPA financing would come to an end in December 2016.

01/01/2023
Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-10-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Cardiff Central constituency and (b) Cardiff County local authority area have had a tax credit claim stopped by Concentrix; and how many such claims were subsequently reinstated by HM Revenue and Customs.

Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data broken down specifically by constituency areas.

HMRC is currently focussed on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing regional analysis, which will be available in due course.

01/01/2023
Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the benefits cap applies to Syrian migrants.

Justin Tomlinson

Syrians entering the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme are able to work and have access to some benefits on arrival. Like other claimants they will be subject to the benefit cap.

01/01/2023
Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using the proposed High Speed 2 corridor as a route for transferring water from the north of England to London; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with water companies or made any specific assessment relating to water transfers along the High Speed 2 corridor. No such project was proposed during the last round of water company water resources management plans.

Defra and the Environment Agency are now working with all water companies to ensure that they consider the range of options for balancing future supply and demand in their next update to their plans to be published in 2019. This includes looking at bulk transfers between companies.

01/01/2023

Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many official animal mascots there are in the armed forces; and what the (a) rank, (b) rations, (c) species and (d) regiment is of such mascots.

Mark Lancaster

Official military animal mascots are a long-standing tradition in our Armed Forces and carry out ceremonial roles and duties. There are a total of nine publicly funded official mascots in the Armed Forces, all of which are attached to the Army. The details are provided below:

Name	Rank	Rations	Species	Regiment
Talavera	None	Pasture forage and concentrate	Drum Horse	The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Alamein (‘Charlie’)	None	Pasture forage and concentrate	Drum Horse	The Queen’s Royal Hussars
Domhnall of Shantamon	None	Dog food	Wolfhound	Irish Guards
None	None	Pasture forage and concentrate	Indian black buck	The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Llwelyn	Fusilier	Pasture forage and concentrate	Kashmiri goat	1st Battalion The Royal Welsh
Shenkin III	Lance Corporal	Pasture forage and concentrate	Kashmiri goat	3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh
Derby XXX	Lance Corporal	Pasture forage and concentrate	Swaledale ram	The Mercian Regiment
Cruachan IV	Lance Corporal	Pasture forage and concentrate	Shetland pony	The Royal Regiment of Scotland
Pegasus V	Lance Corporal	Pasture forage and concentrate	Shetland pony	The Parachute Regiment

As their traditional Regimental Mascot, an Indian black buck, is now an endangered species, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have adopted a British Otterhound as their stand-in Regimental Mascot; he holds the rank of Fusilier and is fed dog food.

01/01/2023

Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of open MRI scanners available to the NHS in each region.

Jane Ellison

We do not hold information centrally about the number of open magnetic resonance imaging scanners in each region and so no estimate has been made.

01/01/2023
Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many organisations in receipt of grant funding awarded by her Department were found to have engaged in activity that influenced or attempted to influence Parliament, government, or the European Commission, or were found to have attempted to influence legislative or regulatory action in each of the last three years.

Andrea Leadsom

In line with government policy, DECC is introducing the new anti-lobbying clause mandated by the Cabinet Office. DECC has previously included a prohibition on use of the grant for activities of a political or exclusively religious nature, and DECC is not aware of any breaches of this condition, although no investigation has been carried out. Most DECC grants are awarded to cover specified costs incurred by the grant recipient in undertaking a particular project and are paid to reimburse those costs on receipt of satisfactory evidence that the relevant costs have been incurred.

01/01/2023