Category: Speeches

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to ensure the UK meets (a) the EU target to 50 per cent of municipal waste by 2020 and (b) the proposed EU target to recycle 65 per cent of such waste by 2030.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK recycling rate has increased from 11% at the turn of the century, to 44.9% now. This progress is thanks in large part to the hard work of Local Authorities and householders.

    The Government is committed to meeting the 2020 EU recycling target of 50% of household waste.

    Local Authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate waste collection and recycling services in their areas and we work with them and the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) to promote best practice.

    I have asked WRAP to look at what further measures can be taken to improve recycling rates and, in particular the benefits and opportunities there are from having greater consistency in the materials collected and collection systems to enable Local Authorities to recycle more, and to make it easier for householders to put the right materials in the right bin.

    The UK is still assessing the implications of the proposed recycling targets for 2030.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of his Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The number of a) resignations and b) proportion of officials resigning in my department in each of the last 6 years was as follows:

    2010-11
    a) 53
    b) 2.7%

    2011-12
    a) 39
    b) 2.1%

    2012-13
    a) 37
    b) 2.1%

    2013-14
    a) 44
    b) 2.6%

    2014-15
    a) 42
    b) 2.5%

    2015-16
    a) 44
    b) 2.6%

  • Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department has made in its review of Atos contracts.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Atos contracts with an annual spend over £10 million with central Government are currently being reviewed. Data collection was completed by the end of April. Interviews with departments and Atos are taking place. Interviews are expected to be completed by mid-June 2016.

    The Cabinet Office will write to the PAC summarising the findings of the review and it will be completed in summer 2016.

  • Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Grant on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the UN Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, published on 2 June 2016, what steps he is taking to engage with (a) the Saudi-led coalition and (b) his counterparts in the UN Security Council on the listing in that report of the Saudi-led coalition.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what targets he has set for recruiting female soldiers into the Armed Forces Reserve; and how he plans to track those soldiers’ performance through the recruiting process.

    Mark Lancaster

    There is a combined UK Regular and Future Reserve 2020 target to increase female personnel to 15 per cent of total intake by 2020. Progress against this target is reported on a biannual basis in the Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics. The information can be found in table 26 at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2016

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) adults and (b) children undertake appropriate health checks to prevent diabetes complications.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) supports local authorities to implement the mandated NHS Health Checks programme. A routine part of NHS Health Checks involves assessing a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes and, for those at risk a diagnostic test is carried out for confirmation of diabetes.

    The NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme aims to reduce the risk of sight loss among people with diabetes through early detection and timely treatment, if needed, of diabetic retinopathy.

    The Healthy Child Programme ‘Pregnancy and the first five years of life’ provides five core reviews for all pregnant women and young children and provide a framework for health promoting and primary prevention activities around behaviours such as breast feeding, healthy nutrition, physical activity and healthy weight which will influence a child’s future health including onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The reviews are followed up with early intervention and targeted support for families where additional needs have been identified. The Healthy Child Programme ‘0-19’ provides advice and guidance including healthy weight management, nutrition, physical activity and support children with additional health needs including diabetes.

    Improving outcomes for those with diabetes is of great concern to the Government. We will announce our plans in due course.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how many children and young people are admitted to hospital due to mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    Hospital Episode Statistics data already gives details on the number of admissions to hospital by age group and by condition, including mental health conditions. We are also investing in new data sources on both prevalence and service use. From January 2016, the new Mental Health Services Dataset will begin to provide data for both adults and children on outcomes, length of treatment, the source of referral, location of appointment and demographic information.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they make available for stand-alone academies facing budget deficits and the possibility of becoming bankrupt.

    Lord Nash

    Academy trusts are required to set balanced budgets each year, and it is the trustees’ responsibility to manage the funding for their school effectively and appropriately.

    Where stand-alone academy trusts are facing genuine financial difficulties, there are a number of ways they can access support to help them return to financial stability. These include:

    • Accessing the recently launched suite of tools and information designed to improve financial health and efficiency within schools
    • Working with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to agree a recovery plan to identify savings and ensure value for money
    • In the most serious cases, the EFA may agree to provide an advance of funding that is repayable over an agreed timeframe
    • If appropriate, working with Regional Schools Commissioners to consider joining a multi-academy trust
  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his EU counterparts the EU undertaking a rule of law procedure against Hungary; and what representations he is making to his counterparts on recent reforms by the Hungarian government.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Commission said on 2 December 2015 that the conditions for starting a Rule of Law framework procedure against Hungary had not been fulfilled. The UK Government expects all member states of the EU to respect human rights, including freedom of speech and of the media, and to respect the rule of law.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of the Government’s proposals for community pharmacies on rural communities.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course. This will include the impact on rural communities.