Category: Speeches

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of employer enquiries to the Employer Checking Service resulted in a response confirming that the subject of the enquiry had the right to work in each of the last five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The proportion of checks to the Employer Checking Service resulting in a response confirming that the subject of the enquiry had the right to work, by calendar year are as below:

    2011 41.2%

    2012 43.8%

    2013 51.1%

    2014 56.6% 56.0%

    2015 61.4% 58.2%

    2016 (to date) 67.3%

    “

  • Michelle Donelan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Michelle Donelan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2015-10-30.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the effect on revenue to the Exchequer of allowing devolved local authorities to keep 100 per cent of the business rates raised from car parks in (a) the UK, (b) England and (c) Wiltshire in each of the next three years.

    Greg Hands

    On 5th October we announced plans to reform business rates in England, a change that will see local government retaining all revenue for the first time since 1990. The new powers will come with new responsibilities and the phasing out of grants from Whitehall to ensure that the reforms are fiscally neutral. Over the course of the next eighteen months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme. Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas.

  • 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 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 30 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, when he plans for three new logistic ships to come into service.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 December 2015 to Question 17447 to the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens).

    “

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the hospital bills sent to the Palestinian Authority for medical treatment of Ahmad Dawabsha.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this issue. However, the Government of Israel has confirmed to us that they covered the cost of the medivac. We had also previously understood from contact with the Dawabsheh family that their hospital fees were being met by Israel.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the most recent estimate is that his Department has made of the (a) civilian public sector, (b) civilian private sector and (c) military personnel required to work on the decommissioning of the Vanguard class submarines; and how many of those workers will be employed on decommissioning.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The UK’s Vanguard Class submarines will begin to leave service by the early 2030s as the Successor submarines are introduced into service. The detailed planning necessary for this work has yet to commence and it is not therefore possible at this time to make an assessment of the workforce that will be required.

  • Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients of the pause in listing new drugs accessible through the Cancer Drugs Fund introduced in June 2015.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have made no such assessment.

    As part of its work to reprioritise the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) in 2015-16, NHS England took the decision not to consider new drugs for inclusion on the national CDF list.

    NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Fund. The consultation outlined a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit.

    Clinicians continue to be able to apply for cancer drugs not on the national CDF list through the Individual Cancer Drugs Funding Request procedure.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason a number of the Committed Obligations agreed between NXET Trains Limited and his Department on 15 July 2014 regarding the Essex Thameside franchise are redacted in the published version of the agreement.

    Claire Perry

    Where text has been omitted from the document, this is because the Director General Rail or Secretary of State has decided to exclude the text in accordance with the provisions within the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept the recommendation of the report of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 that a number of steps be taken to amend the draft new contract for doctors in training to address the position of part-time doctors in order to advance equality of opportunity between men and women doctors.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The contract published on 31 March is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement and pay progression will be linked to level of training rather than arbitrarily to time served.

    All junior doctors should have the same terms and conditions – a level playing field – which is ultimately what employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) want and everyone deserves.

    When the Secretary of State published the Equality Analysis on the new contract for doctors and dentists in training in the NHS (“Doctors”) on the 31 March 2016 on the GOV.UK website he made it clear that, as a result of considering the Equality Analysis, in accordance with his duties and obligations, he had asked for a number of changes to the draft contract to address specific issues for certain groups with protected characteristics. This has been done and the contract has been duly amended. These changes included changes that benefited staff who work part time. The new contract is not discriminatory it ensures that all junior doctors receive equal pay for work of equal value. The BMA’s own lawyers have advised that nothing in the new contract is discriminatory. Nevertheless the equality duty is an ongoing duty and it is intended that monitoring will continue after the introduction of the new contract in accordance with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010.

    A copy of the Equality Analysis is attached.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the regulation of drones to protect the public from their misuse.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given on 9 May 2016 UIN 36085 regarding the regulations addressing the criminal use of drones, and to my answer given on 9 May 2016 UIN 36086 regarding privacy.

    The Government is planning to consult on a range of measures on drones over the summer, and will then seek any further appropriate legislative measures through the Modern Transport Bill.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if Sport England will take steps to ensure that children’s fitness and activity levels do not decline from their term-time levels in the summer holidays.

    Tracey Crouch

    We want to ensure that all children, regardless of background, ability or where they live, are able to engage in sport and physical activity in a way that interests and benefits them. Through the Government’s sports strategy Sporting Future, published in December 2015, Sport England will now invest in sporting provision for children aged five and over – previously the starting age was 14 years old.

    In addition, Sport England’s new strategy, Towards an Active Nation, published in May 2016, sets out their plans to make a major new investment of £40 million into projects which offer new opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together. Sport England will continue to work with organisations across the sport sector as it implements its strategy.