Category: Speeches

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps he plans to take to ensure that local government pension scheme members are consulted on proposed guidance on the ability of local government to account for non-financial factors in pension scheme investment decisions; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that that proposed guidance will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government’s response to the consultation, which will set out our next steps in relation to these issues, will be published shortly.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the amount of funding that will be made available to each part of the UK for rural development purposes through EU schemes in the post-2020 Multi Annual Financial Framework.

    George Eustice

    No decisions on post-2020 funding have been taken yet. The post-2020 Multi Annual Framework negotiations will be led by HMT.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he plans to meet with UK automotive sector representatives to discuss that sector’s role in future trade deals.

    Mark Garnier

    The UK has a highly successful automotive industry. I and the government are determined to ensure that success continues.

    Ministers will be seeking input on future trade deals from the UK automotive sector through regular dialogue with individual companies and the Automotive Council.

    The Government will engage fully with a wide range of stakeholders over the coming weeks and months as we prepare for the negotiation with the EU and beyond.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the potential UK liability for EU disallowance penalties in relation to late payment by the Rural Payments Agency of Basic Payments in the 2015-16 CAP round.

    George Eustice

    Following the announcement made by the European Commission on 8 June, the UK will not be subject to late-payment penalties in relation to 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payments made by the Rural Payments Agency during the period 1 July to 15 October 2016.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been allocated via the academy conversion grant in each of the last five financial years.

    Lord Nash

    There have been 3,327 converter academies opened during the current and preceding four financial years, each receiving the standard conversion support grant of £25,000 to spend on the conversion process.

    Further details are in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Converter academies opened

    2014-15

    608

    2013-14

    573

    2012-13

    786

    2011-12

    1,100

    Total

    3,327

    Figures for 2015-16 are not available at this stage.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has a policy on standardising the dose branding of aseptic pharmaceutical products across all health trusts.

    George Freeman

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is working with other groups to promote the risk-reducing benefits of dose banding.

    NHS England, through its Medicines Optimisation Clinical Reference Group work programme, is working with key stakeholders to identify/agree national standard dose bands for chemotherapy. A national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation goal has been agreed to support the implementation of the dose bands during 2017-18.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the protection affordable from the public purse for the procurement and commercial arrangements for the Type 45 Destroyer; and whether those arrangements permit appropriate designation of responsibility for design and performance failures.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Standard terms governing the allocation of liabilities were put in place for the Type 45 programme. All six Type 45 Destroyers have now passed the point in time from which these terms ceased to apply. A number of early modifications were implemented under the Type 45 Destroyer Contract for Availability arrangement with BAES Systems at no additional cost to the Ministry of Defence.

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans (a) his Department and (b) NICE has to reform the process for the appraisal of cancer drugs.

    George Freeman

    NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) including changes to the approach for the appraisal of cancer drugs. The consultation outlines a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit. The consultation closed on 11 February 2016 and a consultation report will be published on NHS England’s website in due course.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 34 of the report, Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates, published on 16 March 2016, which producers will be exempt from the soft drinks industry levy.

    Mr David Gauke

    The levy will not apply to small operators under a certain volume threshold. We will consult on the level of the threshold and whether and how to apply a tapered relief.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the press notice, entitled Nuisance calls: funding available for innovative solutions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Small Business Research Initiatives competition for generating solutions to address the problem of nuisance calls.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition has resulted in six successful feasibility studies for innovative call blocking technology to tackle nuisance calls. Further funding is required to test and develop these products before they can be launched on the open market. We will work with our delivery partners to consider how best we can support the next phase of this work.