Category: Speeches

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the role of (a) the Institute of Apprenticeships, (b) the Skills Funding Agency and (c) Ofqual is in relation to the independent assessment of Apprenticeship Trailblazers.

    Nick Boles

    The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will be fully operational from April 2017 and will be responsible for the scrutiny and approval of expressions of interest, apprenticeship standards and assessment plans submitted by employer groups. As in the current system, employers will continue to come together to design new apprenticeship standards, should they choose. The IfA will be responsible for maintaining a public database of apprenticeship standards and may publish information on potential gaps.

    The IfA will also have a role in quality assuring the delivery of apprentice end-point assessments where employer groups have been unable to propose employer-led arrangements.

    It will work closely with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and Ofqual. The SFA registers of training providers and assessment organisations will continue to vet the appropriateness of organisations involved in the delivery of apprenticeships. Ofqual will continue to quality assure any qualifications, where included in apprenticeships.

  • Lord Luce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Luce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Luce on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, if any, fall short of the required standards for the regulation of their financial services.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The regulation of financial services are domestic responsibilities of the governments of the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies and other British Overseas Territories are encouraged by the UK to meet internationally agreed standards and assessed according to the relevant international practice.

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures his Department is implementing to emphasise the importance of hand hygiene in the prevention of infection in hospitals.

    Ben Gummer

    Tackling healthcare associated infections is complex and requires a strong patient safety system that integrates cleanliness, infection prevention and control and antibiotic use. Hand hygiene is an important component and we continuously review and enhance national measures, systems and guidance. For example hand hygiene references in The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for prevention and control of infections and related guidance, were strengthened when it was revised in 2015. It will also form part of forthcoming guidance on reducing Gram negative infections such as E. coli.

    Auditing of hand hygiene is a local responsibility and information on hand hygiene compliance is not collected centrally. Therefore, no national assessment has been made of the potential links between hand hygiene compliance levels and the above infections.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to protect the access of UK farmers to European markets.

    George Eustice

    Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for farming, food and drink and our environment remain in place.

    We are now preparing to negotiate our exit. Defra will be working with the Department for Exiting the EU on the UK’s withdrawal and future relationship, liaising closely with other key departments on future support for farmers, the food and drink industry and the environment. The Government will work with industry and the public to develop these new arrangements.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Pakistani counterpart on the death penalty in that country.

    Alok Sharma

    The UK remains firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. Abolitionist work is high on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) agenda and is part of the day-to-day work of all diplomatic missions to countries that retain the death penalty. The FCO human rights and democracy report 2015 makes clear our views on the death penalty and the resumption of executions in Pakistan.

    The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Philip Hammond), raised the issue of the death penalty with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2015, and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Tobias Ellwood), wrote subsequently to the Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK expressing deep concern about ongoing executions. Together with our EU partners, we continue to raise our concerns about the death penalty with the Government of Pakistan and urge compliance with its international obligations.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the progress of the Breakthrough Generations study towards secondary breast cancer diagnosis.

    Jane Ellison

    We have made no assessment of the progress of the Breakthrough Generations study towards secondary breast cancer diagnosis.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the six pilot areas for Universal Support Delivered Locally were selected for an additional six months extension from September 2015.

    Priti Patel

    Following discussions with the external evaluation team it was agreed that an extension would enable the gathering of more robust evidence.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there is an approved Outline Business Case for the investment proposals for the next phase of work on the Successor submarine programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In line with normal Ministry of Defence processes, a business case for the additional investment referred to in the Strategic Defence and Security Review is going through the formal approvals process.

    Options for the subsequent investment stages, including scope, time and cost are currently under consideration.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the Sellafield Workforce Reform programme on the Sellafield workforce.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Sellafield Change Programme is being put into place to improve business performance and provide greater value for the public purse while maintaining the priority of safe and secure operations. Sellafield Ltd will continue to offer quality employment for many people for many years and is looking at how it can deliver the decommissioning mission as effectively and efficiently as possible and in a way that strengthens the local economy. Sellafield Ltd is engaging the workforce and its representatives on plans to improve the business and specifically on what this will mean for employees.

    Details of the change programme are available at http://www.nda.gov.uk/contracts-and-competition/sellafield-model-change-programme.

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-03-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will investigate the collapse of Bradford and Bingley plc in 2008.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has no plans to conduct an investigation into the collapse of Bradford and Bingley plc in 2008.

    The National Audit Office concluded in its report of 4 December 2009 that the public support provided to UK by the Treasury was justified, given the scale of both the economic and social costs if one or more major banks had collapsed. In providing that support, moreover, the Treasury met two of the government’s principal objectives: protecting depositors’ money in banks and maintaining the stability of the financial system.