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Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of the shipping industry on the proposed referendum on membership of the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership. We have been keeping Parliament informed of our progress and engaging with a range of stakeholders, including business. We are not aware of any approaches made directly from shipping industry representatives.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on lowering the Tier 2 visa scheme’s minimum salary threshold for chefs.

    James Brokenshire

    Acquiring this information on visa applications from chefs would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas & Immigration for the Tier 2 category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.

    The Home Office regularly receives representations to lower the criteria (including the salary requirement) for sponsoring chefs under Tier 2, the skilled worker route. Tier 2 is, however, reserved for graduate level occupations. We continue to welcome the very top chefs who promote innovative and authentic cuisine here in the UK — and these types of skilled chefs are on the shortage occupation list. The salary threshold applied to chefs was based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.

    We have been clear, however, that the restaurant industry needs to move away from an unsustainable reliance on migrant workers. We want to nurture more home-grown talent and encourage young people in this country who want to pursue a skilled career. This means the restaurant sector offering training to attract and recruit resident workers to meet their staffing needs.

    The industry is starting to make progress in this area, recruiting and training more chefs in the UK, and this needs to continue.

  • 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 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make new stem-cell therapy available on the NHS for patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government continues to support research through a range of funding agencies into new treatments for multiple sclerosis. Clinical trials are currently underway to test the potential of stem cell treatments for multiple sclerosis. Before any treatment could be made available on the National Health Service it would have to meet normal standards of safety and effectiveness.

  • 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 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the lung cancer drug Zykadia to be available on the NHS.

    George Freeman

    Zykadia (ceritinib) is licensed for use in the treatment of Zykadia (ceritinib) in the United Kingdom.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising Zykadia for previously treated anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small-cell lung cancer.

    In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received on the involvement in human rights abuses of police officers from the United Arab Emirates who have been trained by UK police officers.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not received any representations on the involvement in human rights abuses of police officers from the United Arab Emirates who have been trained by UK police officers. If we have concerns about alleged abuses we would make these clear to the Emirati authorities, as part of our broader strategic engagement.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the NHS is excluded from the current Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership draft documents, and whether they will publish the legal advice they previously commissioned, in full or in summary, regarding the risk to the NHS of litigation by US private health companies.

    Lord Price

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart on ensuring that elections in that country are open and transparent.

    James Duddridge

    I have repeatedly urged the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Raymond Tshibanda, to ensure that elections in his country are open, transparent and are conducted in line with his country’s Constitution. Most recently I wrote to Mr Tshibanda in April this year to follow-up on my meeting with him in the margins of a UN debate on the Great Lakes region held in March 2016. I also met Mr Tshibanda at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January 2016. In all my interactions with representatives of the Congolese Government I have stressed the importance of a peaceful, democratic transition of power in the DRC. My Hon Friend, the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Nick Hurd MP), Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for International Development), visited the DRC in March 2016.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes specialist nurses are employed by the NHS.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS Digital provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills such as diabetes nursing and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what budget was allocated to the Flexible Support Fund in the most recent financial year for which data is available; and how much of that budget remained unspent.

    Priti Patel

    The budget allocated for Flexible Support Fund in 14/15 was £136m [excluding the support contract which was a further £20m]. Spend was £72m, leaving an underspend of £64m

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure there are enough neonatal nurses to enable neonatal units to meet markers of good practice 2.2.5, 2.2.6 and 2.2.7 in the Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services, published by the NHS and his Department in October 2009.

    Ben Gummer

    A key standard set out within NHS England’s service specification for specialised neonatal critical care is that hospitals trusts who do not meet the staffing levels recommended by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, must be working towards an agreed plan with their respective Regional Specialised Commissioning Teams to meet and maintain the nurse staffing levels in line with the Department’s Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services.

    The increasing demand for neonatal care has resulted in additional challenges for some trusts in meeting the recommended nurse to patient ratios. However, 71 (54%) of the 131 neonatal critical care services now meet required staffing ratios and NHS England Regional Specialised Services Commissioning Teams continue to work with their respective hospital trusts to improve this situation.