Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the human rights situation in Turkey during negotiations on the proposed EU-Turkey refugee deal.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) on 8 March 2016 which detailed his discussions, including on human rights issues, with his EU counterparts during negotiations on the proposed EU-Turkey deal. In addition, in the conclusions adopted by the European Council at its meeting on 17-18 March, the EU reiterated that it expects Turkey to respect the highest standards when it comes to democracy, rule of law and respect of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the effect of tax avoidance and evasion on developing countries as part of his preparations for the forthcoming UK Anti-Corruption Summit.

    Mr David Gauke

    Treasury ministers are in regular dialogue with cabinet Colleagues on a range of issues.

    The UK has been at the forefront of the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project to tackle tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by multinational enterprises. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation. A dedicated work stream was set up to target the issues which developing countries identified as their highest priorities, including unnecessary tax incentives and tools to undertake BEPS-risks assessments.

    The BEPS project was completed on 5 October 2015, and the focus is now on implementing the internationally agreed proposals. The UK is chairing a group of over 90 countries who are working together in 2016 to develop the Multilateral Instrument, which will simultaneously update the global network of over 3000 bilateral treaties to implement some of the changes resulting from the BEPS project. The group includes emerging economies and developing countries as well as OECD members. The vice-chairs of the group of representatives from China, Morocco and the Philippines, highlighting the importance of the multilateral instrument to developing countries and their central involvement in its design.

    As a result of our G8 Presidency, more than 90 countries have agreed to automatically exchange taxpayer financial account information. These global agreements will provide a step change in the ability of countries to tackle tax evasion as participating countries will be automatically sending and receiving information about the offshore financial accounts of taxpayers.

    All countries will be able to benefit from these changes to the international tax system, but some will require additional support if they are to do so. International organisations are therefore producing practical toolkits to help developing countries implement BEPS standards and the Government is funding international organisations to assist developing countries in obtaining technical assistance on issues such as transfer pricing. The Government funds the Global Forum and World Bank to support developing countries in implementing exchange of information systems and last year the Government announced a partnership with the Ghana revenue authority to pilot the new standard on automatic exchange of information. The Government also funds tax capacity building in the vast majority of its priority developing countries bilaterally and multilaterally, as well as through peer-to-peer technical assistance from HMRC.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the proposed locations and planned commencement dates of construction for the establishment of new universities referred to in the Queen’s Speech.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Government is legislating to increase choice and competition in the higher education sector. These measures will enable the establishment of high-quality new universities where there is a need in terms of student and employer demand.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 June (HL759), in which areas of reform in Turkey they believe there has been significant backsliding”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government has stressed to the Government of Turkey the importance of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the independence of the judiciary. In meetings with the Turkish Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and others during a recent visit to Turkey the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan) emphasised the UK’s unequivocal condemnation of the coup attempt and our support for Turkey’s democratic institutions. The Minister of State also emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law and urged continued focus on the Daesh threat, emphasising the need to protect British tourists.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Southern Railway has paid in compensation to Network Rail since the start of that franchise.

    Paul Maynard

    Under their track access agreement, compensation for unplanned disruption passes between Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail based upon which party is responsible for each disruptive incident. The Department does not see the breakdown of the compensation paid by each party. The net figures covering the years 2011-12 to 2014-15, are published on Network Rail’s website (‘Payments for disruption on the railway made under schedule 8’) at the following address:

    http://www.networkrail.co.uk/transparency/datasets/

    “

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on what grounds the decision was taken to refuse Crown consent for provisions within the Environment Bill currently passing through the Welsh Assembly.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Welsh Government has sought the consent of the Secretary of State to impose the biodiversity duty in the Environment (Wales) Bill on Ministers of the Crown. This request is the subject of ongoing discussions between the UK Government and the Welsh Government.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of green belt land in the Purbeck District Council area has been redesignated in the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by community land trusts.

    The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England and any changes to the designated area since the previous year. The statistics record the change by local planning authority.

    Of the local planning authorities for which information was requested, the following have made changes to the Green Belt in the last five years:

    East Dorset reduced the area of designated Green Belt in 2014-15 by 160 hectares to 16,720 hectares, a reduction of 1 per cent; and

    Purbeck increased the area of designated Green Belt in 2012-13 by 460 hectares to 8,200 hectares, an increase of 6 per cent.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of whether paragraph 20 of Schedule 9 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 accurately reflects the real costs borne by a claimant who takes a boarder into their home.

    Priti Patel

    There has been no such assessment.

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects that a paperless NHS will be achieved.

    George Freeman

    The National Information Board framework Personalised Health and Care 2020 published in November 2014 outlined by 2020 all care records will be digital real-time and interoperable. Progress is being made and the recent announcement of significant investment in digital technology will help support the National Health Service to achieve this commitment.

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

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings of the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, on timely access to patient education, what steps he is taking to provide patients with rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis self-education and self-management tools.

    Jane Ellison

    National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Audits help drive improvement by providing local trusts with individual benchmarked reports on their performance against a range of measures, feeding back comparative findings to help participants identify necessary improvements for patients

    The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:

    www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory

    To help clinicians to identify the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and make prompt referrals to specialists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in 2009. This best practice guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and emphasises the need for early diagnosis with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of RA. For those diagnosed with the condition, the guidance also recommends they should be offered the opportunity to take part in educational activities, including self-management programmes.

    The NICE RA quality standard (QS), published in 2013, is based on the NICE guideline, and one of the seven quality statements recommends that people with suspected RA are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral. However, whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to these standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

    Regarding the establishment of early arthritis clinics, the configuration of services, including decisions to such arthritis clinics, is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that, as of November 2015, there were 563 full time equivalent rheumatology consultants employed in the NHS. This is an increase of 119 (26.8%) since May 2010. The recruitment and retention of staff is matter for local NHS services.