Category: Speeches

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the technical assistance programme for the Bahraini police and prisons service in preventing the use of torture in police stations and prisons in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of ongoing allegations against Ministry of Interior personnel, and we have expressed our concerns to the authorities.

    The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also ask the Government of Bahrain to allow a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

    We believe that UK support to Bahrain’s reform programme is the most constructive way to achieve long-lasting and sustainable reform in Bahrain. While it will take time to see the full results, UK support is having a direct, positive impact on areas of concern. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes and project work is routinely monitored and evaluated to inform and improve future assistance.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has allocated funding to defend a legal challenge against his decision to impose a new junior doctors contract.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has an allocated budget to fund the legal services it requires, which would include funding for any challenge in relation to the junior doctors’ contract.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK economy of the use of helicopter funds by the European Central Bank.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Treasury monitor the impact of developments in the global economy, including those in the Euro Area, on an ongoing basis.

    To date, the European Central Bank have not implemented “Helicopter Money”. The ECB President noted on March 10 that the ECB “hadn’t really studied the concept”.

  • Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are giving to the government of Ethiopia to encourage the development of a strong private sector able to sustain economic development and employment.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK Government supports the Government of Ethiopia’s vision of becoming an industrialised, resilient country that is less reliant on aid. DFID Ethiopia is investing in an exciting portfolio of programmes to help deliver this, underpinned by rigorous analysis of the key constraints to growth and private sector development.

    DFID is helping to create 45,000 jobs and raise the incomes of 65,000 people through our support to key Ethiopian priority sectors; increasing the availability of financial products to 350,000 people through support to micro-finance institutions and banks; and helping to increase incomes for over 1.4 million households by providing land certificates to farmers.

    We are also supporting the Government of Ethiopia to use its own resources well to encourage growth and private sector development. We will provide technical advice on public investment to help the Government improve the effectiveness of its spending. This will include bringing in more private sector finance over time, for example through Public Private Partnerships– i.e. a contract between a private party and government which can bring additional financing as well as expertise. In addition, our work on tax will help the Government meet its revenue targets, improve the business environment, limit corruption and increase transparency.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the potential link between potatoes and high blood pressure.

    Jane Ellison

    No such discussions have been held.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Department will have lead responsibility for the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.

    Margot James

    The implementation of the UK’s national action plan on business and human rights is jointly led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

  • Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she plans to support fishing communities to take advantage of British territorial fishing waters after the UK leaves the EU.

    George Eustice

    Our fishing industry is of vital important to coastal communities and leaving the EU creates the opportunity to improve the management of UK industry in the future.

    Defra officials will be working with the Department for Exiting the European Union to look at future policies for fisheries. We will continue to work closely with industry and other key stakeholders to develop these new arrangements.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s spending on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising was in (i) 2014-15 prices and (ii) as a share of her Department’s total budget in each year since 2010-11.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s expenditure in each successive year 2010-11 to 2014-15 and for the categories identified (a) temporary staff; (b) consultants; (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising and as a percentage of each year’s total budget for the core Department is given in the table attached. We have interpreted (c) “non-payroll staff” to mean “temporary staff and “consultants”.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19827, which authority is overseeing the implementation of NICE Quality Standards; and what steps are being taken to (a) monitor progress in developing Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) services against, (b) implement and (c) promote NICE Quality Standard Q581 on IBD.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health and Social Care Act 2012 places a duty on NHS England to have regard to quality standards, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Quality standards are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners and providers what a high quality service should look like in a particular area of care.

    NHS England would expect providers and commissioners to take into account NICE quality standards, including for inflammatory bowel disease, in designing services locally. However, the quality standards do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

  • Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pauline Latham on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on public relations and communications in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not hold the requested information.