Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants have been (a) transferred, (b) seconded and (c) given cross-departmental roles with which Department’s since the recent changes to the machinery of government.

    Rory Stewart

    Since the recent changes to the machinery of government (18th July 2016) DFID has:

    • Transferred 6 civil servants to other Departments.
    • Seconded / loaned 7 civil servants to other Departments.
    • Engaged 2 civil servants in cross-departmental roles.
  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the Sudanese government reports of attacks on Christians and proposals by the Sudanese government to demolish church property in the Bahri region of Khartoum.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Freedom of religion or belief in Sudan, including allegations of the destruction of churches, continues to be an area of concern for the UK. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum consistently raise it with the Government of Sudan as part of our ongoing human rights dialogue, most recently during the visit of a senior Sudanese delegation to London on 10 October. More widely, we continue to call on the Government of Sudan to ensure all legislation is consistent with the commitment to their citizens in the Interim Constitution of 2005 within which religious freedom is enshrined.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are currently on an NHS referral to treatment waiting list.

    Jane Ellison

    The latest referral to treatment waiting times published by NHS England on 8 October 2015 shows there were just over 3.3 million people waiting to start consultant-led treatment at the end of August 2015.

    In 2013/14, there were 1.3 million more operations compared with 2009/10.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they give local authorities on (1) the minimum desirable frequency of waste collections for (a) recyclates, (b) food waste, and (c) other residual waste, and (2) the criteria that they should use when deciding such frequencies.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Decisions on collection arrangements and frequency are for each Local Authority to make, taking into account local circumstances including the practicalities, characteristics of the area, providing the service that local residents want, and the need to protect public health and the environment.

    Defra has funded the Waste and Resources Action Programme to provide advice and support to Local Authorities on good practice for waste and recycling, and to help Local Authorities promote their services more effectively and make them convenient. We are also encouraging greater harmonisation of waste collection and recycling services across different local authority areas.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether those who have suffered the loss of a child at birth under the current litigation regime will still be able to claim compensation under a fixed recoverable costs regime.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is currently preparing to go out to public consultation on the introduction of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) for clinical negligence claims.

    We can confirm there are no plans to limit the amount of damages awarded for clinical negligence claims and so parties will still be able to claim compensation under a FRC regime.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to new Ingeus advisers in advising clients with mental health issues; and what plans are in place to ensure all Ingeus advisers are given such training.

    Priti Patel

    The Department does not prescribe how providers delivering welfare to work provision train their staff.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the five times increase in the annual upfront fee charges for private hire operator licences by local authorities on small and self-employed operators.

    Andrew Jones

    Local licensing authorities can charge fees for private hire vehicle operator licences that recover the cost of administering the licensing system.

    Renewing a licence every five years, rather than more frequently as may have been the case in the past, reduces a financial and administrative burden on many of the small and medium size enterprises that make up the private hire vehicle industry.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-UK children of each nationality are currently looked after in (a) foster care and (b) residential homes.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not collect information on the nationality of looked after children. Information is available on their ethnic origin and this has been published in national table A1 of the statistical first release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption, 2014 to 2015’, which is attached and available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015.

    “

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will apply the principles of the Responsibility to Protect to the situation in Iraq and Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) imposes an obligation on all states to protect their populations, and for the international community to assist. The Asad regime has consistently ignored this obligation, using extreme violence against its own people and preventing access to humanitarian aid. The British Government is also appalled at the brutality of Daesh abuses against all communities. In line with R2P, we continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and we are working with the international community to find ways of providing justice to those who have suffered. Ultimately, the only way of safeguarding people is by defeating Daesh and establishing a lasting peace in both Syria and Iraq.

    The UK is working through the International Syria Support Group to support and facilitate UN brokered intra-Syrian negotiations to end the conflict through political transition to a government that represents and protects its people, and are a leading member of the Global Coalition against Daesh. Our counter-Daesh strategy is working. Daesh have lost about 40 per cent of the territory it once held in Iraq – and significant territory in Syria. Thousands of people have been freed from Daesh’s abusive rule and have been able to return safely to their homes.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Office of Road and Rail’s recent proposals for the East Coast Main Line services take fully into account the needs and expectations of passengers using stations south of Doncaster, in particular Newark, Grantham and Lincoln.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) has granted Virgin Trains East Coast’s application to run additional services on the East Coast Mainline.

    It will be for Network Rail and the relevant train operators to work together through the normal industry processes, under the oversight of the ORR, to ensure that the future mix of services provides an effective level of connectivity to meet the needs of passengers from these and other stations on the route.