Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to dredge rivers to prevent further flooding; and if her Department will review any current restrictions on dredging in place to permit more dredging in the future.

    Rory Stewart

    Dredging is one of a number of tools that can be used by the Environment Agency and landowners to manage flood risk. Dredging and clearing channels are important parts of the Environment Agency’s maintenance regime and it assess the benefits carefully on a location by location basis. This is done in consultation with local communities and organisations such as Internal Drainage Boards as appropriate.

    Subject to parliamentary approval,new regulations will make it easier for farmers to maintain watercourses. Defra have worked with the Environment Agency to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect the environment. An exemption to allow farmers to dredge and clear debris from up to 1.5 kms of certain watercourses is due to be part of the new Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) for flood risk activities planned for April.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with (a) ministers in the Scottish Government and (b) women’s organisations on devolving competence for abortion legislation to Scotland.

    David Mundell

    I have regular discussions with the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister on all aspects of our implementation of the Smith Commission Agreement, including the devolution of responsibility for abortion law to the Scottish Parliament. UK and Scottish Government officials will continue to work closely on this issue.

    I have had discussions with representatives of women’s organisations on this matter. However, with the transfer of responsibility to the Scottish Parliament, it is primarily for the Scottish Government to take forward engagement with interested parties. Scottish Government Ministers have met with representatives of a number of stakeholder organisations to discuss the devolution of abortion law and the delivery of abortion services in Scotland.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what 10 Downing Street’s wellness strategy is.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office takes the well-being of its employees seriously and provides a range of support, including the recent launch of the Cabinet Office Listening Service, resourced by staff who have been trained in active listening and emotional support. The service can provide upfront support to Cabinet Office staff dealing directly or indirectly with specific issues in their personal or working life or to help them to cope with mental health issues of any kind including depression, anxiety or stress. Listeners can also signpost individuals onto other relevant services such as the external Employee Assistant Programme which offers counselling, impartial advice and access to online health and wellness related resources.

    The department has established an employee led WorkWell community to further develop and implement a strategy for wellness. Progress to date includes establishing resilience training for senior leaders and their teams, signing up to the Time to Change pledge on mental health, providing access to coaching and training in skills to improve wellbeing such as mindfulness. WorkWell are also seeking to increase awareness of opportunities to improve physical wellbeing at work including provision of on-site health checks.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance note on public sector pay and terms published by his Department on 5 February 2016, whether he plans to place that guidance on a statutory footing; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    There are no current plans to place the guidance note on public sector pay and terms on a statutory footing.

    The note is a reminder of the rules that are in place and the Government’s expectations on public sector employers.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research HS2 Ltd has (a) produced and (b) commissioned since 17 July 2013 on the potential effect of the construction of High Speed 2 on the aquifer in Eddisbury.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 Ltd have not produced any detailed work specifically examining the potential effect of the construction of High Speed Two on the aquifer in Eddisbury.

    HS2 Ltd has commissioned desktop studies using existing survey work for the whole of the route from Crewe to Manchester which will examine interactions with landfill and mining and other ground conditions.

    Following a route decision in autumn 2016 HS2 Ltd will begin production of a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation for protecting children from in-game selling and promotions when playing games online.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers are properly protected and that children’s vulnerability and inexperience is not exploited by aggressive commercial practices. We welcomed the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) investigation into whether children have been unfairly encouraged to spend money in online games and apps, in breach of consumer laws. The OFT’s subsequent Principles for Online and App-based Games, which are based on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), were published in January 2014. The Competition and Markets Authority subsequently referred 3 games to the Advertising Standards Authority for further enforcement action. The Government continues to take a close interest in this issue.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from police forces in England and Wales on reports of an increase in racist incidents after the EU referendum; and if she will make a statement.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office has been working with the police at national and regional levels to monitor the increase in reported hate crime over the past few weeks and to ensure that local forces have the necessary assistance and guidance to respond.

    Police forces are responding robustly to recent incidents, and victims can be reassured that their concerns about hate crime will be taken seriously by the police and courts. Any decisions regarding resourcing of front-line policing are a matter for chief constables in conjunction with their police and crime commissioner.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    As of 12 October 2016, there were 11 EU directives awaiting transposition into UK law. These are detailed in the table below.

    Directive

    Tittle

    2013/51/EURATOM

    Directive 2013/51/EURATOM of 22 October 2013 laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption.

    2014/97/EU

    Commission Implementing Directive 2014/97/EU of 15 October 2014 implementing Council Directive 2008/90/EC as regards the registration of suppliers and of varieties and the common list of varieties.

    2014/96/EU

    Commission Implementing Directive 2014/96/EU of 15 October 2014 on the requirements for the labelling, sealing and packaging of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production, falling within the scope of Council Directive 2008/90/EC.

    2014/98/EU

    Commission Implementing Directive 2014/98/EU of 15 October 2014 implementing Council Directive 2008/90/EC as regards specific requirements for the genus and species of fruit plants referred to in Annex I thereto, specific requirements to be met by suppliers and detailed rules concerning official inspections.

    2015/412/EU

    Commission Directive 2015/412/EU of 11 March 2015 amending Directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their territory.

    2015/996/EU

    Commission Directive (EU) 2015/996 of 19 May 2015 establishing common noise assessment methods according to Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

    2015/1480/EU

    Commission Directive (EU) 2015/1480 of 28 August 2015 amending several annexes to Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the rules concerning reference methods, data validation and location of sampling points for the assessment of ambient air quality.

    2015/1787/EU

    COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/1787 of 6 October 2015 amending Annexes II and III to Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption

    2015/2193/EU

    Directive (EU) 2015/2193 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants

    2016/11/EU

    Commission Implementing Directive 2016/11 of 5 January 2016 amending Annex II to Council Directive 2002/57/EC on the marketing of seed oil and fibre plants

    2016/317/EU

    COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/317 of 3 March 2016 amending Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC, 2002/56/EC and 2002/57/EC as regards the official label of seed packages
  • Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many suicide attempts were recorded by health bodies in England for each year from 1995 to 2015; what that number was as a proportion of the population; what the ethnic backgrounds were of those people attempting suicide; and how many of those people were previously known to mental health services.

    Alistair Burt

    In 2012 the Department announced investment of over £1.5 million over three years on suicide prevention research and development.

    Data on the funding allocated to suicide prevention is not available from 1995. The tables below show the funding that was allocated from Department of Health programme budgets to suicide prevention between 2011/12 and 2015/16 and self-harm prevention from 2012/13 – 2015/16. Prior to this, funding allocated to suicide prevention was held within broader mental health strategy budgets.

    Funding allocated to suicide prevention between 2011/12 and 2015/16

    Year

    Funding allocation

    2011/12

    £75,000

    2012/13

    £100,000

    2013/14

    £100,000

    2014/15

    £130,000 *

    2015/16

    £90,000

    Total

    £495,000

    * Includes £70,000 allocated by the Department to Public Health England to publish Help is at Hand, suicide bereavement support document.

    Funding allocated to self-harm prevention between 2012/13 and 2015/16

    Year

    Funding allocation

    2012/13

    £330,000

    2013/14

    £330,000

    2014/15

    £330,000

    2015/16

    £330,000

    Total

    £1,320,000

    Source: Department of Health

    Information on the number of suicide attempts recorded by health bodies in England is not held centrally.

  • Lord Moynihan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Moynihan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moynihan on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 19 November (HL Deb, col 331), whether the investigation into the email exchange between the Chief Executive of the UK Anti-Doping Agency and the Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association is complete, and if so,what action has been taken on the findings.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Viscount Younger’s comment referred to the investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Independent Commission into the Sunday Times allegations on blood doping, which remain ongoing -not to the comments made by the Chief Executive of UK Anti-Doping.