Category: Speeches

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to support recommendation 17 of the Mental Health Taskforce report of February 2016, on 24/7 access to mental health services by 2020-21.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department welcomed the publication of the independent Mental Health Taskforce report and we are working with our delivery partners to develop a programme of work to embed its recommendations in our policies. We will provide further details in the summer.

    To support this programme, we announced in January that an additional £1 billion investment will help to transform mental health services by 2020. This investment includes over £400 million for crisis resolution and home treatment teams to deliver 24/7 treatment in communities and homes as a safe and effective alternative to hospitals and £247 million for liaison mental health services in every hospital emergency department.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people accessed personal pensions between (a) April 2015 and April 2016 and (b) April 2014 and April 2015.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government does not have information on all payments from personal pensions taken since April 2014.

    Information on the taxable element of pension flexibility lump sums taken since April 2015 is collated and published quarterly by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). However, this includes other types of private pensions such as occupational pensions, not just personal pensions. This also provides details of the number of people who have taken these payments. The publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/flexible-payments-from-pensions.

    Equivalent information for the period April 2014 to April 2015 is not held, as HMRC only began to collect this information after the introduction of pensions freedom and choice.

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

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS England’s announcement, NHS England backs general practice with a multi-billion transformation plan, published on 21 April 2016, how much of the £2.4 billion a year funding will be allocated to GPs in (a) Tottenham constituency and (b) the London Borough of Haringey.

    Alistair Burt

    Primary care, dental, optometry and pharmacy services are commissioned by NHS England on a London-wide basis, therefore there is no figure available for borough-level funding.

    Primary care medical (general practitioner (GP) services) allocations have been published for the next five years on a clinical commissioning group (CCG) -basis, the uplifts for Haringey are in the attached table.

    The practice-level budgets for the GPs located within the Tottenham constituency total £18.4 million in 2016/17. These budgets are not set for future years but will be based on the practice-specific services and registered populations, as well as the national contract terms agreed in future years. They will benefit from the growth within the Haringey allocation as indicated in the table.

    There is a development under way for a new practice at Tottenham Hale for which the capital cost is £558,000 which will expand capacity within Tottenham. CCGs also commission additional medical services from GP practices from their own resources.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of workers who earn under £11,000 a year and are contributing to net-pay pension schemes.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not therefore hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.

    However, the Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to regulate dance movement psychotherapy.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Government is committed to proportionate regulation of healthcare professions. Whilst statutory regulation is sometimes necessary where significant risks to users of services cannot be mitigated in other ways, it is not always the most proportionate or effective means of assuring the safe and effective care of service users.

    Occupational and professional groups that are not subject to statutory regulation, such as Dance Movement Psychotherapists, may consider setting up a voluntary register. The Professional Standards Authority accredits those registers that meet its standards, providing patients, the public and employers with assurance about the standards and competence of registrants.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has attracted in investment to regenerate the site of the Royal Hospital Haslar; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) Regeneration Investment Organisation is promoting the Royal Haslar Hospital site for international investment. To date, no investment has been attracted into the site by UKTI.

  • Biography information for The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Biography information for The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for The Countess of Mar on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 July (HL1538), whether, in preparing that answer, they took account that of the substances in jet engine oils, only tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate has an exposure standard or short-term exposure limit, and that EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits states that the absence of a workplace exposure limit does not indicate that [a substance] is safe”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The previous answer took account of all the substances referred to in the Cranfield University’s Aircraft Cabin Air Sampling Study regardless of whether they are subject to Workplace Exposure Limits. For example, two of the substances measured (tolulene and carbon monoxide) are the subject of a European standard for safety, health and comfort limits (BS EN 4618:2009). In addition to this, for the substances that do not have a European standard, other limits and guidelines have been considered in assessing the significance of any health risk of exposure to the concentrations measured in cabin air. Several of the substances monitored during the research, for example TBP, TOCP and tetrachloroethylene, have workplace exposure limits (WEL). For substances that do not have a WEL, a number of guidelines were used that have been recommended by the World Health Organisation as well as different groups in the UK and EU. These groups include Kotzias et al, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and Committee on the Medical Effect of Air Pollutants (COMEAP).

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answers of 12 January 2016 to Questions 19955 and 19954, (a) how much funding was allocated to and (b) how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

    Nick Boles

    In 2009-2010 the spend for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) was £1,072,608 and the Inspectorate employed 30 staff, including administrative support and call handling staff.

    In 2010-2011 the spend for EAS was £932,000 with 29 staff employed (as of 1 May 2010).

    In 2010 the Pay and Work Rights helpline was created. This took over complaint handling and provision of advice and guidance for agencies and agency workers, thus reducing the need for EAS support staff who had previously performed this function. Consequently, in 2011-2012 EAS spend reduced to £637,631 with 23 staff employed.

    Following a restructure in the Department and streamlining of processes, in 2012-2013 EAS spend was £551,461 with 16 staff employed.

    In 2013-2014 EAS spend was £532,023 with 12 staff employed (as of the 1st April 2013).

    In November 2013, as part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to review regularly the enforcement of the national minimum wage, a more targeted enforcement strategy for the recruitment sector was announced, focusing on protecting the most vulnerable, low-paid workers. Resources from EAS moved to HM Revenue and Customs’ National Minimum Wage (NMW) team to form a new HMRC team which mainly focussed on enforcing non-payment of national minimum wage in the recruitment sector. This ensured that the most vulnerable workers were protected and created a level playing field for the vast majority of agencies who play by the rules. Two staff remained in BIS to enforce the recruitment sector regulations and prioritised complaints using a risk-based approach.

    As part of the Government programme on illegal working and tackling exploitation, a decision was taken in February 2015 to increase EAS resourcing. In June 2015 the number of full time equivalent staff increased to nine. Actual spend will not be available until the end of the financial year.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to Bahraini government on the treatment of political prisoners in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently raised human rights with his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 4 February. Where we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our dialogue on human rights and reform.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average length of (a) domestic and (b) international calls to the Forced Marriage Unit; and what the cost of these calls were to (i) domestic and (ii) international callers in (A) each financial year since its establishment in 2005 and (B) 2015-16 to date.

    Karen Bradley

    Figures on the number of cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit via its public helpline and email inbox are published annually and are available on GOV.uk. The figures include a breakdown of the countries involved for cases with an overseas element. Information on the origin, average length, and cost of calls is not collated centrally.