Category: Speeches

Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the current Commissioner for Birmingham City Council’s children’s social care services started work; how long his appointment is for; what progress reports he has provided to the Secretary of State; and whether those reports are in the public domain.

Lord Nash

Andrew Christie was appointed Commissioner for children’s social care services in Birmingham in December 2015. The statutory Direction that appointed him lasts until September 2016. He reports regularly to the Secretary of State. These reports are not in the public domain.

01/01/2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of the practice of forced organ harvesting in China set out in the report published in June by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann, and in the film The Bleeding Edge.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) stated to the House of Commons on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round which is scheduled to take place in October. My officials most recently raised the issue with the Chinese authorities on 1 September 2016.

The Kilgour/Matas/Gutmann report is an important source of information about China’s organ transplant system, which we take seriously, but we are unable to substantiate all the evidence presented in the report. We have not assessed any evidence from ‘the Bleeding Edge’, as we understand it to be a semi-fictional feature film.We encourage the Chinese authorities to provide more information about the sources of organs for transplant, and about the implementation of existing Chinese regulations in this area.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has begun the formal negotiation process for any new trade deals; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier

I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for International Trade (Greg Hands), gave on 21 October to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson), UIN 49161.

01/01/2023

David Crausby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the per capita spending was on transport projects in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) London in each of the last five years.

Andrew Jones

a) Data on spend per head on transport projects is not available at the level of Greater Manchester.

However, Greater Manchester has benefitted from significant transport investment over the last five years, for example, £140.8 million of Integrated Transport Block funding, £143.2 million for Highways Maintenance (2010-11 to 2014-15), £32.5 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for the ‘Let’s Get to Work’ scheme, £32.49 million for the Manchester Cross City Bus Package (due for completion in November 2016) and £44m announced in July 2014 as part of the Local Growth Fund for 12 new light rail vehicles on Metrolink.

(b) Spend per head on transport in London for the last five available years was as follows:

Identifiable expenditure on transport in London 2009-10 to 2013-14

Type of expenditure	2009-10 outturn	2010-11 outturn	2011-12 outturn	2012-13 outturn	2013-14 outturn
Total expenditure
Per head (£)	747	660	597	479	511
Capital expenditure
Per head (£)	448	413	362	301	332
Current expenditure
Per head (£)	300	247	235	178	180

Source: HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis, 2014

Spending on London’s transport networks benefits not just London residents but commuters and others travelling into London. London is the biggest city in the UK and a global capital. 850,000 commuters come into London per working day, and there are about 4 billion passenger journeys every year.

The figures in recent years can be skewed by capital projects with uneven patterns of expenditure such as Crossrail and Thameslink (which also create jobs elsewhere).

01/01/2023

Julian Sturdy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects Orkambi to be appraised by NICE.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing technology appraisal guidance on the use of Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in people who are homozygous for the F508del mutation. NICE’s anticipated publication date for this guidance is July 2016. Further information is available at:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-tag530

01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were moved from receipt of employment and support allowance to jobseeker’s allowance because they did not meet the new points standard in each quarter of 2015.

Priti Patel

This is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Lord Krebs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Krebs on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the Lead Advisory Group, reported by the Chairman in his letter of 3 June 2015 to the Secretary of State, that 10,000 children are growing up in households where they could regularly be eating sufficient game shot with lead ammunition to cause them neurodevelopmental harm and other health impairments”.”

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Food Standards Agency has identified that lead shot game is unlikely to be a significant source of exposure for the majority of consumers but recognises that it may be a significant additional contribution for frequent consumers and vulnerable groups. The FSA has advised that those consuming high levels of such game should reduce their intake, especially vulnerable consumers such as children and pregnant women. The FSA is considering what further action is required to raise awareness of their advice, particularly with vulnerable groups such as parents and carers of young children.

01/01/2023
Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are being supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 where their parents have no recourse to public funds.

Edward Timpson

Information on children supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is published in the annual Children in Need Census statistical first release. This data collection does not identify the number of children supported where their parents have no recourse to public funds.

Information in the form requested is therefore not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the incidence and nature of human rights violations in South Sudan.

Mr Philip Hammond

The UK is deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in South Sudan. A range of reports indicate that sexual violence and attacks on civilians remain widespread and that war crimes and/or crimes against humanity may have been committed, if established in a court of law. Bilaterally we are raising our serious concerns directly with the Government of South Sudan and pressing for action. At the regional level we are calling on the African Union to rapidly establish the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. And internationally we are pressing for a UN arms embargo to be put in place. We also undertook extensive lobbying to help secure a new Commission for Human Rights for South Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council in March.

01/01/2023
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the position taken by the European Parliament that products containing glyphosate should be banned where alternative weed killers exist, and for use in public parks and playgrounds.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government recognises the importance of effective pesticides and believes that they should be authorised where the scientific evidence shows they do not pose unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.

The European Food Safety Authority concluded that glyphosate met these standards and UK experts agree. We therefore consider that glyphosate should be approved. If this happens, all authorised products which contain glyphosate will be individually re-assessed at a Member State level to ensure that they also meet safety standards.

The scientific assessment carried out so far does not suggest that blanket restrictions to prevent certain uses across the EU are justified. The Government therefore does not favour the inclusion of such restrictions in any future approval of glyphosate. It should be for Member States to consider whether restrictions are needed for particular glyphosate products in particular circumstances. This would form part of the normal product re-assessment process.

01/01/2023