Category: Speeches

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the vulnerability to flooding of (a) rail and (b) road networks; and what steps his Department is taking to protect such infrastructure from the risk of floods.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    My Department is constantly working to maintain and improve the resilience of transport to a full range of hazards.

    Network Rail are well aware of the risks from flooding and other severe weather events, and measures to improve the resilience of the network, including addressing specific concerns and recommendations arising from previous flooding events, are integral to their current 5 year programme of investment, maintenance and renewals.

    Local highway authorities have a duty to maintain their network and prepare for severe weather with regards to local roads. The Government has allocated a record £6.1 billion to fund local highways maintenance between now and 2021, continuing the increase in funding that started during the last Parliament.

    Highways England are responsible for operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network, and will invest £78 million over the next 5 years on a range of measures to improve flood resilience and water quality on the network.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to exempt supported accommodation from plans to cap social rents at local housing allowance rates.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood on 3 February 2016 to Question UIN 24910

    “

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals in Merseyside and Cheshire carry out planned surgical procedures at weekends.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is shown in the table below. An elective procedure is a non-urgent procedure that is planned in advance, not all elective procedures are surgical.

    The following National Health Service and independent sector hospitals in Merseyside and Cheshire1 reported elective procedures at weekends.

    Provider

    Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

    BMI – The South Cheshire Private Hospital

    Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    East Cheshire NHS Trust

    Fairfield Hospital

    Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust

    Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

    Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    Nuffield Health, The Grosvenor Hospital, Chester

    Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust

    Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

    Spire Cheshire Hospital

    Spire Liverpool Hospital

    Spire Murrayfield Hospital

    Spire Regency Hospital

    St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust

    The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust

    The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

    Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre

    Notes:

    1. Merseyside and Cheshire has been interpreted as two Area Teams. This indicates the area team within which the organisation providing treatment was located. This data is limited to providers in the area teams:

    Q44 – Cheshire, Warrington and the Wirral Area Team

    Q48 – Merseyside Area Team

  • Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to provide long-term funding for the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education.

    Nick Gibb

    Every young person should learn about the Holocaust and the lessons it teaches us today. In recognition of its significance, the Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the national curriculum.

    Since 2008, the Department for Education has funded UCL Institute of Education’s Centre for Holocaust Education which has seen more than 7,000 teachers benefit from their programme since 2011.

    The Department has renewed the funding for 2016-17 and will continue to do all it can to promote, support and fund teaching of the Holocaust.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that FTSE 100 executive pay is a matter solely for shareholders or also for a wider group of affected stakeholders such as pension holders, customers, and the customers of similar companies.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to encourage Gulf States to allocate asylum spaces for Syrian refugees.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We recognise and welcome the substantial contribution made by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to the humanitarian aid response for Syria and the numbers of Syrians already in the Gulf. The Gulf states are now home to almost one million Syrians, and have pledged more than $3 billion in humanitarian assistance. Kuwait co-hosted the London Donor Conference in February 2016 where Gulf states pledged $739 million.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK’s departure from the EU is not delayed by general or presidential elections in other EU countries.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Prime Minister has been clear that we will not be triggering Article 50 before the end of 2016, and the detailed work now underway to prepare for our negotiation over exit is complete. Once we have triggered Article 50, a clear process and timeline then applies. We intend to work closely with other Member states to deliver a smooth and orderly departure in line with that process.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings (a) Ministers of her Department and (b) officials of HM Prison Service have had with drone manufacturers in each quarter of each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Details of all ministerial meetings with external companies are published on gov.uk. Information on officials’ meetings is not held centrally.

    We remain vigilant to all incidents involving drones and take the threat they pose to prison security very seriously. We have already introduced new legislation to further strengthen our powers, so that anyone found using a drone in an attempt to get contraband into prisons can be punished with a sentence of up to two years imprisonment. We take a zero tolerance approach to smuggling of contraband into prisons and work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure those caught are prosecuted.

    A range of methods to counter the threat posed by drones are continuously being trialled and evaluated for their effectiveness across the prison estate.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will support Jet2.com’s Onboard Together campaign to reduce disruptive behaviour on aircraft.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Last month I met with the management of Jet2.com to discuss their work on reducing disruptive behaviour on aircraft. The Government supports the aviation industry’s efforts to find solutions to the issue of disruptive passengers. The Government encourages collaboration across the industry to tackle the problem, including airlines, airports, retail outlets and the police working together to ensure consistent approach and messaging.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to control the number of polecats.

    Rory Stewart

    Wildlife management is a devolved matter, so I can only respond on behalf of England.

    Defra’s general policy is that individuals should be free to manage wildlife within the law. In the first instance controlling polecats is the responsibility of the owner or occupier of the property where the problem occurs.

    Polecats are protected by the Bern Convention, which means the UK is obliged to protect their populations from unsustainable management and methods of control which are indiscriminate or capable of causing their local disappearance or serious disturbance. We meet our obligations through the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

    Whilst polecats are not protected from killing or taking, those who wish to kill or take polecats may not use methods prohibited by those pieces of legislation (for example poisons, traps, snares or nets), unless they acquire a licence from Natural England permitting them to do so.