Category: Speeches

  • Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the arrangements for preserving departmental archives, including the role of the Cabinet Secretary.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Each government department is responsible for managing its own records up to the point when such records are transferred to the National Archives. This complies with the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the management of records issued under section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    The Cabinet Secretary has commissioned two recent reviews of record management practices. The first covered the arrangements for the annual release of departmental papers to the National Archives and was published in November 2014. The second, which was published earlier this month, focuses on the transition from paper-based to electronic record keeping; HM Government has accepted all the recommendations of the review and will begin to implement the actions he recommends through the course of 2016.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of her Department’s budget has been spent on the Troops to Teachers scheme to date; and on what that budget was spent.

    Nick Gibb

    To date, £4.3m has been spent on the programme, the majority of which has been initial, one-off start-up costs. The funding has been allocated to trainee salaries in addition to programme costs to deliver the degree qualification and teacher training requirements.

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

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the results, by health region, for the data in the most recent National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA), as shown in figure 8 of the NPCA Second Year Annual Report, regarding the proportion of (1) men with locally advanced disease undergoing radical prostate cancer treatment, (2) those operations with a hospital length of stay of over three days, and (3) those operations requiring emergency readmission within 90 days.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The proportion of men diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer between 2010 and 2013 (the Audit period) who had radical treatment, and the proportion who had a hospital length of stay over three days and who required an emergency readmission within 90 days following an operation, are presented by health region in the attached headed Table 1.

    It should be noted that the results presented are based on an analysis of data from the English Cancer Registry linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics. These data were collected before the start of the National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) in April 2013.

    The number of radical prostatectomies undertaken in men diagnosed between 2010 and 2013, and the proportion of men who had a hospital length of stay over three days and who had an emergency readmission within 90 days following an operation, are presented in the attached headed Table 2. The results of 56 men included in the data set used to generate Figure 8 in the NPCA Annual Report 2015 could not be included in Table 2. Of these men, 37 were treated in National Health Service trusts that treated fewer than five patients during the Audit period; and for 19 patients it was not possible to identify the NHS trust where they had undergone treatment without incurring disproportionate cost.

    The first results for the patient-reported outcomes of men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1 April 2014 and 30 September 2014, and who underwent radical treatment (prostatectomy, external beam radiation, brachytherapy, cryotherapy, and high-intensity focused ultrasound), will be included in the NPCA’s Annual Report 2016, which is due to be published in the last quarter of 2016. These results will include incontinence rates.

    Men who had radical prostate cancer treatment were invited to complete a questionnaire about their experiences of care as well as about treatment outcomes, 18 months after the date of diagnosis. It was decided that questionnaires should be sent out at this time after diagnosis because it can take more than one year for men who have radiotherapy, in combination with androgen deprivation therapy, to complete their treatment. Subsequently, it will take at least three months for men to fully recover from the transient side effects of the radiotherapy. In order to include all men and to measure the final treatment outcome – rather than outcomes still affected by the transient side effects – an 18-month period was chosen.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) total and (b) per capita consolidated local transport budget for London is for (i) 2015-16 and (ii) 2016-17.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Transport for London (TfL) receives its funding from a wide range of sources, with the largest single contribution (around £4.6 billion in 2015/16) coming from fare-payers. This Department pays a transport grant to TfL, via the Greater London Authority, which was £1.516 billion in 2015/2016 and which will be £1.418 billion in 2016/17. We do not routinely publish a per capita breakdown of this grant, because spending on London’s transport infrastructure benefits not only London residents but also commuters and others travelling into the capital. There are also differences in the funding and regulatory framework between London and the rest of the country, making like-for-like comparisons difficult.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether children of a first marriage are disadvantaged compared with the children of subsequent marriages under current inheritance tax rules.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Inheritance tax is generally levied on estates rather than on beneficiaries. Although any legacies to a spouse or civil partner will be exempt, the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiaries usually has no effect on the inheritance tax liability of an estate under the current rules. The children of first marriages and of subsequent marriages, and indeed other beneficiaries of the deceased, will generally be treated in the same way.

    The Government considered whether children of a first marriage would be disadvantaged compared with children of subsequent marriages when developing legislation for the new residence allowance. This is being phased in from April 2017 for individuals who leave their home to their children, grandchildren or other direct descendants. The definition of direct descendants includes a person who was at any time a step-child of the deceased so it would apply equally to children of first and any subsequent marriages.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37538, on cycling, what the central and total expenditure per head by region, excluding Cycling Ambition City funding, was in 2015-16.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Information on 2015/16 is provided in the table below, but in context it should be noted that in the five years from 2011/12 to 2015/16, the overall spend per head on cycling in England from the public purse has trebled. And it is this Government which is delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy will establish for the first time the strategic framework for increasing cycling and walking in England – the first step towards achieving long-term change.

    Regional figures per head for 2015/16 are available centrally for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, Cycle Rail and Transport for London, and expenditure per head per region for these programmes for 2015/16 is included in the table below. We have also now compiled information on regional spend on Bikeability, which is also reflected in the table below.

    Note that the Department does not hold a record of regional breakdowns of cycling spending under the Integrated Transport block, Highways England and Local Growth Fund programmes. The figures below therefore do not provide a total regional spend per head and spend on the ground will be significantly greater.

    Region

    Regional spend per head (£)* for selected programmes

    2015/16

    Includes Cycling Ambition

    Excludes Cycling Ambition

    East Midlands

    DfT spend

    1

    1

    Total spend

    1

    1

    East of England

    DfT spend

    1

    1

    Total spend

    1

    1

    North East

    DfT spend

    6

    5

    Total spend

    7

    5

    North West

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    4

    2

    South East

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    2

    2

    South West

    DfT spend

    3

    3

    Total spend

    4

    3

    West Midlands

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    3

    2

    Yorkshire & Humber

    DfT spend

    2

    2

    Total spend

    3

    2

    London

    Total spend

    18

    18

    *Figures have been rounded

    “

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service family accommodation homes have not met the Decent Homes standard in each of the last five years,

    Mark Lancaster

    Data on Service Family Accommodation (SFA) houses that did not meet the decent homes standard in each of the last five years is not held as the Ministry of Defence (MOD) only started assessing houses against this standard in April 2016.

    As of 12 July 91.6% of SFA houses met or exceeded the decent homes standard.

    The information on the historical condition of SFA demonstrated a steady increase in condition against the ‘Standard for Condition’ metrics. Under this system 96% of SFA was at the top two standards for condition which broadly equated to the decent homes standard.

    Any family currently living in a property that does not meet the decent homes standard has the option to move, but will not be forced to move. The MOD does not allocate properties below the decent homes standard to families.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the correlation between people who commit crimes against animals and go on to commit crimes against the person.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Home Office has made no specific assessment of the correlation between people who commit crimes against animals and go on to commit crimes against the person.

    In March this year the Government published the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy. The strategy sets out the evidence that points to six key drivers of crime: drugs; alcohol; the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System; character (or an individual’s propensity to offend); opportunity; and profit. The strategy can be accessed at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509831/6.1770_Modern_Crime_Prevention_Strategy_final_WEB_version.pd

    “

  • Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of disabled people participating in apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    Thousands of disabled people have benefitted from apprenticeships. In 2014/15, 44,090 of those starting an apprenticeship declared a disability or learning difficulty (LDD). This compares with 26,390 in 2009/10.

    To provide an incentive to employers to offer more opportunities, apprenticeship training for 16-18 year olds is fully funded by Government. Government also fully funds apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Apprentices aged 19 to 24 without an EHC Plan, who have a learning difficulty and/or disability can benefit from additional funding through Learning Support.

    Advice is also available to help employers and training providers understand disabilities and how to better support disabled apprentices. We have funded NIACE to produce an employer toolkit http://www.employer-toolkit.org.uk/ for employers that want to develop a more inclusive and accessible apprenticeship offer.

    An Apprenticeships Equality and Diversity Advisory group helps government understand and address any apprenticeship equality and diversity issues in order to reduce barriers and make apprenticeships as inclusive as possible.

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to recommendation 85 in the Independent Cancer Taskforce’s report entitled, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes, a strategy for England 2015 to 2020, published in July 2015, what plans he has to recruit internationally to address workforce deficits.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations in the independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 to 2020, and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE as NHS National Cancer Director to lead on managing implementation. She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, including on workforce, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work.

    We announced in September that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.