Category: Speeches

  • Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what definition of lobbying” is used by the Department of Health in its grant application process.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department does not provide definitions of specific words used in the grant application processes, used by Voluntary Sector organisation. The Department policy clearly states that grants will not be awarded if there is any indication within the application that some or all of any funding awarded will be used to support political activities.

    Grants Hub issued award letters have a standard term in the award letter which reinforces that no aspect of the activity being funded by the Department should be party political in intention, use or presentation.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of (a) salaries, (b) pension contributions and (c) indemnity costs and other associated costs of running a GP practice.

    Alistair Burt

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes an annual report on general practitioner (GP) earnings and expenses. The most recent report was published in September 2015 and covered 2013/14.

    The report showed that the average income of a contractor GP working under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract, or a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract in the United Kingdom in 2013/14 was £99,800. The average total expenses for GMS or PMS contractors in the UK in 2013/14 was £173,800.

    Source: GP Earnings and Expenses 2013/14, Health and Social Care Information Centre. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many full-time equivalent trade negotiators his Department has in post (a) in total, (b) with at least a year’s experience, (c) with at least five years’ experience and (d) with at least 10 years’ experience.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade has a strong and capable trade policy team with many years of negotiating expertise. We will continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere in order to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 404 of the Education Act 1996, what her Department’s policy is on the teaching of sex and relationships education in proposed new grammar schools.

    Edward Timpson

    Our plan is that the curriculum requirements that apply to existing grammar schools will apply to any proposed new grammar schools.

    The requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996 for schools to have a statement of their policy on the provision of sex education applies to maintained schools, and the requirement to teach sex education (under section 80 of the Education Act 1996) applies to maintained secondary schools only. Grammar schools operating in the maintained sector are required to teach sex education and must adhere to the requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996.

    Academies, including grammar schools which are academies, must teach a broad and balanced curriculum and in respect of sex education, they must – like maintained schools – have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education guidance issued in 2000. The guidance stipulates that schools must have an up-to-date policy in relation to their sex and relationship education provision. The guidance can be access via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sex-and-relationship-education

    “

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned date for the (a) start and (b) finish of the A509 Isham bypass is; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The latest information provided by Northamptonshire County Council, the promoters of the A509 Wellingborough Development Link which contains the proposed Isham Bypass, is that subject to the successful completion of any remaining design and legal process, and approval by my Department, work could start on site in April 2017 and the scheme open in October 2018.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the (a) likely level of unmet mental health needs of looked-after children and (b) care outcomes of such children with such unmet needs.

    Edward Timpson

    The major study on this issue, ‘The mental health of young people looked after by local authorities in England’, conducted by the Office for National Statistics in 2002, found that 44% of children with a mental disorder were in contact with child mental health specialists, and a third had accessed special education services.

    The Government recognises the need to improve the provision of mental health services for children, including looked-after children, care leavers and those who are adopted from care, because they face a higher risk of developing mental health difficulties. In line with the proposal in ‘Future in mind’, Clinical Commissioning Groups across all areas have submitted Local Transformation Plans for children’s and young people’s mental health and wellbeing to NHS England. These plans, which are currently being assured, should cover the whole spectrum of services for children and young people, including interventions for those with existing or emerging mental health problems.

    A new mental health services dataset is being implemented which, from 2016, will begin to allow benchmarking of local services at national level. This will begin to provide better data on outcomes, the source of referral, waiting times and demographic information, including whether a child is looked after. This will enable further analysis of whether vulnerable children and young people are able to access services.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the humanitarian effect of the Israeli government’s policy on demolition orders.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We believe these demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of any real or personal property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. This is why Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials regularly raise the matter with the Israeli Government, emphasising our concerns.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the duration of ambassadorial postings (a) where HM Ambassador is a speaker of the official language of the country to which he is posted (b) where HM Ambassador’s primary foreign language is not that of the country to which he is posted.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The majority of Heads of Mission have a tour length of three or four years, unless they are posted to a hardship or conflict post where the tour may be shorter. Around 100 Heads of Mission roles require language skills and are designated “speaker slots”.

    We offer language training to Heads of Mission where this is required. The FCO Language Centre was re-opened in September 2013 to renew the focus and investment in languages as a core diplomatic skill to ensure that we get the right people with the right skills in the right jobs to deliver our foreign policy objectives. The Language Centre gives us a strong platform to grow our language skills as an organisation and develop a pipeline of talent to fill language slots on a continuous basis. It is essential that all our Heads of Mission have the necessary skills, including languages, to do their jobs. Many of our Heads of Mission will return to Posts where they have existing language capability, in these cases we will provide top up or refresher training. Our Head of Mission Appointment Boards take into account language skills as part of the overall assessment of suitability for a role. In some cases the best candidate may not already speak the language and for these roles we will provide longer training to reach the requisite level. We encourage all those who have undergone language training to maintain their language skills throughout their careers.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many community hospitals have closed in each year since 2005.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the range for the value of liabilities arising from the sale of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    Government policy is to move the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in to the private sector. Following a sale, GIB’s contractual liabilities will be funded by its new shareholders. To the extent that HM Government retains a minority stake, the Government will contribute funds towards those contractual commitments on a pro rata basis for UK based investments.

    Separately, as part of the sale process, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has entered into an agreement with Poyry (provider of electricity market reports and price forecasting) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)(electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)to share information with potential bidders to help them to undertake due diligence. This agreement requires BIS to provide an indemnity to Poyry in relation to any resulting liability Poyry might incur. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out details of the indemnity in his written ministerial statement of 21 March (HCWS633) including his view that the likelihood of it being called upon is low. A Departmental minute explaining the procedure followed and describing the liabilities undertaken has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.