Category: Speeches

  • Iain Wright – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the estimated (a) cost of establishing and (b) annual running cost of the Institute of Apprenticeships is; whether his Department has made an assessment of the effects of funding that institute on his Department’s annual programme budget; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    The final size and structure of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be determined by the shadow chair and CEO later in the spring and this will then determine its final running cost. The body will be funded by Government using public funds, as the rest of the governance system is, and it is expected that some funding will be freed up from savings across the Department.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many public and private hospitals lie under the Heathrow final approach flight paths; and how many such hospitals would lie under the proposed flightpaths should the third runway be approved.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including on flight paths, before taking any decisions on next steps. Ultimately, any proposals to alter the airport’s flightpaths would be subject to the Civil Aviation Authority’s Airspace Change Process which includes the need to consult those local communities affected.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 6502, what the reasons are for the time taken to answer that question.

    Anna Soubry

    The hon. Member’s question was approved on time, but an administrative error with submitting the answer through the Question and Answer system meant that the reply was not sent. Procedures have been put in place to ensure that this issue does not reoccur.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15358, what recent progress has been made on the review into the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-Human Primates.

    George Eustice

    We are continuing to consider which aspects of the current Code of Practice might need revisiting.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the result of the EU referendum on the timetable for a decision on Heathrow expansion.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Prime Minister will begin the negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe and will also take the decision about when to trigger article 50 and start the formal process of leaving the EU. The Prime Minister has been clear that article 50 will not be triggered before the end of the year.

    The Government is committed to delivering the important infrastructure projects the country needs, including delivering runway capacity on the timetable set out by the Airports Commission. The Government are giving high priority to this issue and the decision will be made shortly.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will ensure that the United Nations Population Fund’s activities helping women and girls to achieve their potential continue in 2017 and beyond.

    Lord Bates

    The Department for International Development (DFID) strongly values the unique role the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) plays in protecting and promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

    Through our funding commitment of £20 million for 2016/2017, as well as our annual funding to the UNFPA Family Planning Supplies Programme, we will continue to closely monitor the impact and results of the UNFPA to ensure its work reaches and benefits the poorest and most vulnerable women and girls, particularly in fragile states and humanitarian settings. The UNFPA Supplies programme plays an essential role in this. DFID continues to work closely with UNFPA to ensure the programme is reforming and providing access to family planning commodities.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what attacks have been made against the Government Gateway system to date.

    Matthew Hancock

    For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of unsuccessful cyber security attacks.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle disability hate crime.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government takes all forms of hate crime very seriously. Crime that is motivated by hostility or hatred towards the victim is particularly corrosive and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families. We are committed to working with communities in order to keep them safe.

    We have announced that we will publish a new hate crime action plan next year. This will include a number of actions aimed at reducing the number of hate crimes committed against disabled people, and also improving the response to these crimes when they occur.

    I, and other ministers, attended a roundtable on disability hate crime in October. This gave me the opportunity to speak to a range of people, including representatives of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, researchers and service users. A key part of our action plan will include understanding the issues behind hate crime, and this was an important first step towards this. Officials are taking forward actions from this meeting.

    The Government is currently speaking to a number of organisations and individuals to inform the next steps in developing this action plan. This includes work with the Fulfilling Potential Forum, which is led by the Office for Disability Issues within DWP and is made up of around 40 disability charities, including disabled people’s user led organisations.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on HM Government Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty, published October 2011.

    Mr David Lidington

    Progress has been strong. In December 2014, a biennial UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty was passed with a record majority. Fewer than 30 countries now carry out executions and the number of people executed is at an all-time low. There have been set-backs and disappointments, but the long-term trend in the use of the death penalty is undoubtedly downwards. Nonetheless, the British Government’s view remains that the death penalty is an unjustified tool in all circumstances and we continue to campaign for total abolition.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people in need of specialist mental health support as a result of (a) experiences of sexual abuse, (b) non-sexual physical abuse or neglect, (c) emotional abuse or neglect, (d) bereavement or (e) other trauma have been (i) granted and (ii) not granted access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

    Alistair Burt

    The information needed to link individuals who have experienced various forms of trauma with those who have experienced mental health problems is not collected centrally.

    We are committed to improving child and adolescent mental health services, which is why we are investing an additional £1.4 billion in services for children and young people with mental health problems over the course of this Parliament. The guidance issued by NHS England in August last year on Local Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing specified that the plans should address the full spectrum of need including those with particular vulnerability to mental health problems such as those who have been sexually abused or exploited. The bespoke assurance process that was undertaken by NHS England will therefore have addressed the extent to which this has been addressed in local plans.

    NHS England has commissioned a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the Local Transformation Plans, in order to support policy makers, local commissioners and services to understand and use the data that is contained within the plans to drive further improvements. Local Transformation Plans will be reviewed from a narrative, analytical and financial perspective, with thematic reviews carried out in key focus areas that align with Future in Mind principles.

    Sensitive and routine enquiry will be introduced in targeted health services, such as sexual health clinics and mental health services, to help identify those children who have been subjected to abuse and other traumatic experiences.

    NHS England also published a Commissioning Framework for Adult and Paediatric Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Services in August 2015 which outlines the core services in SARCs and referral pathways to other services. These are now being rolled out throughout England and should lead to improved services for those who have experienced sexual assault, including children and young people.