Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the Russian government to return the 2010 Polish presidential air plane wreck to Poland.

    Mr David Lidington

    Immediately after the Smolensk tragedy, the UK Government extended our deepest condolences to the Polish government and people for the loss of their President, his wife and 94 others. The conduct of the investigation into the crash and the return of the wreckage is a matter for Poland and Russia, and we have received no requests to intervene.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the outcome was of his Department’s application of the Family Test to the decision to impose a new contract on junior doctors.

    Ben Gummer

    On the 11 February 2016 my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State made an oral statement, Official Report, columns 1763-1765 in which he announced that he would proceed with the introduction of a new national contract for doctors in training, following advice that there was no realistic prospect of reaching agreement with the British Medical Association.

    The Secretary of State will carefully consider the draft final terms of such a contract in light of any applicable duties and the Family Test.

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

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion by Professor Bee Wee, National Clinical Director for End of Life Care, in the National Survey of Patient Activity Data for Specialist Palliative Care Services MDS Summary Report for the year 2013–14, that there is still a need to improve the quality and use of data in the palliative care sector”; and what action they are taking to address that issue.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are committed to ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

    The Government’s forthcoming response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care, which will be published shortly, will set out our vision for high quality, personalised care and the steps we will take to achieve this. The response will also address each of the Review recommendations, including on care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce geographic variation in access to surgical and transcatheter interventions for heart valve disease.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is working with professionals across the healthcare system to look at ways in which services and outcomes for patients with heart valve disease can be improved further, for example, by encouraging practitioners to follow clinical guidelines.

    Service specifications and policy for the surgical and interventional treatment of heart valve disease are published by NHS England’s Cardiothoracic Clinical Reference Group. These define what NHS England expects to be in place in order for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. NHS England is working on the next iteration of the specifications, which will include important standards relating to mitral valve surgery.

    In addition, NHS England is holding a clinical summit on 15 June 2016, which will bring together cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to examine the issues relating to heart valve disease, including variation. Outputs from discussions will be used to inform the future commissioning approach within specialised commissioning.

    Information on the number of people with an undiagnosed heart valve condition is not collected centrally. Patients with undiagnosed heart valve disease, once diagnosed, may require a range of treatments, including surgery. Therefore it is not possible to estimate what the aggregate costs might be.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of television advertising of junk food before the 9pm watershed on the health of children and young people.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Our forthcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet will be working over the coming days and weeks to establish their priorities and how we deliver on these commitments.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that the UK should send a new delegation to the European Parliament in June 2019 if Brexit has not been completed, or whether as part of their negotiations they will they seek to extend the term of the present delegation.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Until the UK ceases to be a member of the EU, the Government intends to continue to play its full role, observing the obligations and abiding by the procedures that membership brings.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the time taken for Montserrat to respond to his Department’s consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership.

    James Duddridge

    I refer the Right Honourable Lady to the answer given by my Hon Friend the member for Hertfordshire South West (David Gauke), the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to questions 10437, 10438 and 10448, which sets out the criteria we expect the Overseas Territories to meet in relation to their central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system. We are in discussions with the Montserrat authorities on this and are offering technical assistance as they develop their proposals.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on the veterans’ accommodation fund in each year since 2010.

    Mark Lancaster

    The £40 million Veterans Accommodation Fund was open for applications in 2014 using LIBOR money to support projects providing veterans accommodation. Successful projects were announced between July 2014 and July 2015, with a total of 16 projects supported. For details of the funding allocated to the successful projects I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 2 June 2015 and 23 November 2015 to the hon. Member for St. Helens North (Mr McGinn) to Questions 428 and 16834.

    In addition, the Chancellor announced in March 2015 a new £25 million Aged Veterans Fund staged over five years; this is also provided from LIBOR fines and charities can apply for funding to help veterans born before 1950. The Aged Veterans Fund is now closed for applications, but it will reopen in 2016.

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the recommendations of James Ewins’ review of the overseas domestic workers visa.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is considering carefully James Ewins’ recommendations and will announce its response in due course

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many freedom of information requests were (a) granted and (b) refused by his Department in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Departmental Freedom of Information performance statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice since 2010. These include the number of requests that were granted in full, partially withheld and fully withheld. They are available at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

    “