Category: Speeches

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the government has initiated legal action against any law firms for abuse of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team inquiry.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into two firms – Leigh Day & Co, and Public Interest Lawyers – as a result of concerns about their conduct in the Al-Sweady Inquiry and associated litigation. Among other things, it is investigating how these firms obtain instructions from claimants in Iraq – a matter that is directly relevant to the unprecedented number of allegations with which the Iraq Historic Allegations Team is contending.

    The Government welcomes the SRA’s decision to refer Leigh Day & Co to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and awaits its decision with regard to Public Interest Lawyers. We will decide what further action may be appropriate in the light of the results of this process.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether further authorisation from him will be necessary for any future airstrikes in Libya carried out by US forces from UK bases.

    Michael Fallon

    Authorisation for the United States to use UK bases to launch the airstrike against a Daesh training camp in Libya was given on 18 February 2016. Authorisation would be required for any operations of this nature involving the use of UK bases.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the disability employment gap.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We are committed to halving the disability employment gap. In the last year, the number of disabled people in work has increased by 152,000. At the Spending Review, we announced a real terms increase in funding to help disabled people and people with health conditions to get into work and remain in work. This includes:

    • Increasing the reach of Access to Work, providing support to an additional 25,000 people by 2020/21
    • The Work and Health Unit which has secured £115million of funding, including at least £40million for a work and health innovation fund. The Work and Health Innovation Fund will pilot new ways to help working age disabled people and people with health conditions get in, stay in, and return to work as well as benefit from improved health outcomes.
    • A new Work and Health Programme, restructuring our current provision to focus on providing the best possible support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities, as well as those who are long-term unemployed.
    • Engaging employers through our Disability Confident programme to see the business opportunities for employing disabled people.
    • Making the best use of the new funding of up to £100million per year that we announced in the Budget 2015 for additional practical support to provide the right incentives and support to enable those who have limited capability, but who have some potential to prepare, for work to move closer to the labour market, and when they are ready, back into work.
  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the next set of National Diet and Nutrition Service data will be published.

    Jane Ellison

    The next report of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, covering data collected over two years from 2012-13 to 2013-14 for the United Kingdom as a whole, is in preparation and is expected to be published in late 2016. The report is an Official Statistic and the publication date will be pre-announced in advance in accordance with the Official Statistics Code of Practice.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38441, what additional resources have been allocated to the management of prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection in the last 24 months.

    Andrew Selous

    The sentence of IPP was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offences committed after April 2005. They were abolished in 2012 by the Coalition Government.

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not disaggregate spending on IPP prisoners from spending on all prisoners.

    It is a priority for us to help remaining IPP prisoners progress towards release, when it is safe to do so, including by giving them opportunities to complete relevant interventions and work to reduce their risk of harm and risk of reoffending.

    The ongoing work to improve progression opportunities is continuing to achieve results, with 512 IPP releases approved by the Parole Board in 2015, the highest number of annual releases since the sentence became available in 2005.

    The release dates of prisoners serving IPP sentences, once they have completed their tariff, is entirely a matter for the independent Parole Board. The Board will direct release only if prisoners’ risks have been reduced to a level that may be safely managed in the community.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support in finding work is available to British citizens returning to the UK after a long period overseas.

    Damian Hinds

    Eligibility for support in finding work is determined by eligibility for benefits and then need, rather than length of time abroad.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September 2016 to Question 45999, how many of the 34 days in which all six Daring-class Type 45 Destroyers were berthed together at HMNB Portsmouth were consecutive.

    Harriett Baldwin

    There were four separate periods during July and August 2016 when all six Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers were alongside together at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth for consecutive days. These were for two days, two and a half days, four days, and twenty five and a half days.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what analysis his Department has conducted or commissioned on the number of doctors likely to retire in the next five years; and what assessment his Department has made of whether sufficient numbers of doctors are in training to maintain current service levels.

    Ben Gummer

    The Centre for Workforce Intelligence medical workforce modelling, estimates that around 13,500 consultants and general practitioners (GPs) in England will retire in the five years from 2015 to 2019 inclusive.

    Taking account of expected retirements the consultant and GP workforce is projected to grow by around 9,400 posts by 2019, or 2.2% per annum, which is a considerably faster rate of growth than that projected baseline demand for healthcare services (reflecting population growth and the ageing of the population) over this period.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stewart Jackson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have received funding from government schemes to assist first-time home buyers in (a) Peterborough and (b) England in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    The Government does not hold annual figures for the number of first time buyers who have received funding since 2010. However since the launch of The Help to Buy: Equity loan in April 2013, funding has been made available to support 46,133 first time buyers in England, of whom 601 were in Peterborough. Funding has also has been made available to support 19,971 first time buyers in England, of which 154 were in Peterborough, through the Firstbuy and Homebuy Direct schemes.

    To support more first time buyers, the Government announced at the Spending Review plans to extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme until 2021, launch London Help to Buy and build 200,000 starter homes, to be sold at a 20% discount to young first time buyers. The Government is also launching Help to Buy: ISA, giving savers a bonus to help them purchase their first property.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were treated by gamma knife radiosurgery machines (a) in England and (b) at each hospital in the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England does not routinely collect, or hold, information on the numbers of gamma knife treatment platforms in use in England. However, NHS England can confirm that, as at summer 2015, there were at least seven providers equipped with gamma knife machines in England:

    – BUPA Cromwell*

    – London Gamma Knife Centre*

    – Queens Square Radiosurgery Centre*

    – Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    – Leeds Gamma Knife Centre*

    – Thornbury Radiosurgery Centre Ltd*

    – University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

    NHS England took over responsibility for commissioning intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery/stereotactic radiotherapy services in April 2013. This is supported by a national service specification, together with a number of clinical commissioning policies. The service specification sets out that there are three acceptable treatment platforms to deliver the service, of which Gamma Knife is only one. National Health Service providers, that are commissioned to deliver the service, are responsible for determining which platform(s) to use.

    Notes:

    1. *Denotes independent sector providers.
    2. As the information is not routinely collected by NHS England, the above may not be fully reflective of the current position.