Category: Speeches

  • Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-03-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to educate women on alcohol avoidance whilst pregnant.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    On 8 January 2016, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers published a new guideline on pregnancy and drinking – that if a woman is pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to the baby to a minimum. A copy of the guideline is attached. The Department will be working with the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to ensure that their members are fully informed about the content of the guidelines and are able to explain them to the women they care for and help them make informed decisions. Public Health England (PHE) is also working with professional organisations to enhance the awareness and confidence of midwives and health visitors to educate and inform women about avoiding alcohol while pregnant.

    PHE’s Start4Life social marketing programme delivers advice and practical guidance to parents and parents to be to help them adopt healthy behaviours and build parenting skills to give their child the best possible start. This includes looking after their own health, and addresses the implications of drinking during pregnancy. Start4Life uses a range of products to inform and influence its audience’s behaviour around alcohol consumption including the Information Service for Parents, Start4Life website, and leaflets and posters.

    Through voluntary actions by alcohol producers, independent research showed that in 2014 90.7% of bottles and cans carried warning labels about drinking in pregnancy, compared to just 17.6% of products six years before.

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30709, when he expects his Department’s response to the call for evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges to be published.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges, with a view to announcing its next steps shortly.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take in the light of the findings of the independent review of the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    These are matters in the first instance for NHS Improvement. The Verita report, Independent review of the handling by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright, was commissioned by the NHS Trust Development Authority – a forerunner organisation – independently of Government.

    NHS Improvement is commissioning a governance review to consider issues highlighted by the Verita report. A copy of the terms of reference for the new governance review are attached.

    Verita was originally requested (under specific terms of reference) to review and provide a dedicated report on the handling by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright. Governance issues that fell outside of those terms of reference will be considered in the new review, to ensure thorough investigation.

    The new review will take into account evidence provided by Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright and others in the course of the Verita review.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what budget has been allocated to his Department for all future years.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The new Department for Exiting the European Union is equipping itself to oversee negotiations to leave the EU and establish the future relationship between the UK and EU. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are now under consideration.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with non-governmental organisations on tackling the taboo around women’s periods and its effect on women in refugee camps.

    James Wharton

    DFID is working with our partners to ensure that sexual and reproductive health needs of girls and women affected by crises are prioritised. This includes their right to experience menstruation with dignity. In 2015 alone, UK funding to UNFPA supported their efforts to distribute almost 60,000 menstrual hygiene kits to women and girls living in conflict situations. The UK has committed that, in humanitarian crises, DFID calls for proposals will require the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to be considered. The UK also supported a joint statement led by UNFPA, highlighting the importance of sexual and reproductive rights in crises, at the World Humanitarian Summit in May this year.

    DFID is working globally with a network of civil-society organisations, private sector companies, donors, academics, and international agencies to address stigma and increase access for all women and girls to the education, support, products and services they need to manage menstruation with dignity.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the career progression of people aged 16 to 24 who have completed an apprenticeship since 2010.

    Nick Boles

    The Department assesses the impact of apprenticeships on career progression in a number of ways including measuring longer term wage and employment outcomes, short term employment outcomes and self-reported impacts. We also measure progression of advanced apprentices to higher education. Where possible the data are broken down by age band. Links to the relevant reports are provided below.

    Wage returns and employment outcomes for Further Education, including apprenticeships are published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-comparing-labour-market-economic-benefits-from-qualifications-gained

    Experimental data showing the learning and employment outcomes of learners completing further education training between 2010 and 2013 is published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-further-education-outcome-based-success-measures-experimental-data-2010-to-2013

    Short term employment outcomes and self-reported impacts are published in the Evaluation of apprenticeships: learner survey which is published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-learner-survey-2014

    Progression of advanced apprentices to higher education broken down by year and age band is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progression-of-apprentices-to-higher-education-second-cohort

    “

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to address the level of UK household debt.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen to 144 per cent in Q2 2015, from a peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. The FPC recently re-affirmed its view that, given the actions it has taken, household indebtedness did not pose an imminent threat to financial stability.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on rebuilding projects in Libya since 2011; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID’s work in Libya falls under two main objectives: humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict; and the promotion of long-term stability in support of the political agreement. DFID has not funded any rebuilding (infrastructure) projects in Libya to date.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the quality and experience of inspectors of the decision by the Care Quality Commission to outsource services to Remploy.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Experts by Experience provide an important role in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspections programme, working alongside the CQC’s professional inspectors. Experts by Experience provide valuable insights and judgements, talking to people who use the service and observing the environment and the quality of care hospitals and care homes provide.

    In December 2015, the CQC announced the successful winners of the new contracts to provide Experts by Experience, Choice Support and Remploy Ltd. The Experts by Experience service has been an outsourced service since its inception. The CQC’s professional inspectors are not outsourced and are unaffected by these contracts.

    The delivery of these services from 1 February 2016 by Remploy is as a result of a compliant procurement of these services. The procurement process included a rigorous evaluation of each of the tendering organisations response to delivering the service requirements against quality standards for service delivery.

    The CQC’s decision to award these new contracts focussed on expanding the numbers of Experts by Experience involved in the CQC’s inspections, ensuring that the high quality contribution Experts by Experience have provided to date is maintained and delivering value for money.

    The CQC is the independent regulator for health and adult social care in England. It is responsible for its own staffing requirements, including any decisions on contracts around the supplying of Experts by Experience for its inspections of providers. In line with Cabinet Office approvals processes, the Department:

    – gave approval for the CQC to invite tenders for the Experts by Experience programme; and

    – reviewed and approved the CQC’s business case, to enable the CQC to proceed with finalising new contracts for Experts by Experience.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the difference between a local authority being able to recover (1) its expenses, and (2) its reasonable costs, in matters relating to its duties around housing legislation.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Local housing authorities incur a range of costs when carrying out their statutory homelessness duties. They have powers to require households to pay reasonable costs towards both the accommodation that it secures for them and property storage costs, however they cannot require households to pay actual costs where these are more than those determined to be reasonable. Authorities determine what constitutes a reasonable cost by taking account of a household’s personal circumstances, its finances and the nature of the accommodation.