Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is (1) the average hourly rate, and (2) the range of charges, for official veterinary surgeons employed in abattoirs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In 2014/15 the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) full cost normal time hourly charge rate for an Official Veterinarian (OV) in Great Britain was £37.30. Discounts are applied to FSA charges and as a consequence the average hourly rate of charge for an OV was £16.81.

    The range of normal time hourly rates charged for FSA OVs in Great Britain in 2014/15 was £0.00 to £37.30.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was paid in prescription charges in England and Wales in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not have an audited figure for the total amount paid in prescription charges in England in the community for 2015-16. However, provisional data for this 2015-16 financial year indicates that, up to the end of February 2016, £402.7 million was paid. An additional £124.4 million was also paid up to the end of March 2016 through the purchase of prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs). For 2014-15, which is the latest year for which we have an audited figure, revenue from prescriptions charges dispensed in the community, including PPC revenue, totalled £503.9 million. Approximately 90% of prescriptions are dispensed in England without charge.

    Prescription charges were abolished in Wales in 2007, and the Department does not have data on prescription charges collected in Wales for prescriptions issued in England.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016, on BIS consultation, HCWS30, in which ways operating split-site and split-team working would put a strain on organisational effectiveness.

    Joseph Johnson

    Policy teams in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) are currently split across multiple locations around the country with teams and management chains divided across this landscape.

    As the Department becomes smaller, BIS needs a different model in which it is easier for all policy staff to operate without having to work around or compensate for the logistical challenges of a split site model. The Combined Headquarters model will mean all policy staff are co-located and within close proximity to one another and to Ministers. This will enable more face to face interaction between and within teams, within management chains and with Ministers.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health workers are attached to GP practices in England.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    This information is not collected by the Department.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to tackle global climate change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK played an important role in securing the global climate Agreement reached in Paris in December 2015. The UK has started its domestic process to enable ratification of the Paris Agreement and will complete this before the end of the year.

    The UK also played a key role in securing a major global climate deal to combat aviation emissions, reached at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization on 6 October 2016.

    We will provide at least £5.8bn from the UK aid budget between 2016 and 2020 as climate finance which will continue to support developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This should help promote green investment required to meet the well below 2 degree goal set in Paris.

    Domestically we are delivering against the Paris climate deal through our UK Climate Change Act which commits us to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050. One of the first acts of this Government was to pass the fifth carbon budget into law – it is equivalent to a 57% reduction on 1990 levels by 2030.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Lancet Commission on liver disease, published in November 2014.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is responsible for the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes for people with liver disease. It is adopting a broad strategy to reduce premature mortality, including mortality from liver disease, and is working jointly with stakeholders to make sure that patients with liver disease are supported. In addition, Public Health England is working with stakeholders to develop a liver disease framework and is also working closely with the Lancet Commission.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many training places have been made available for the UK’s international partners in his Department’s military training facilities in each year since 2010.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The number of International Defence Training places provided to partners at UK training establishments over the last five Financial Years (FY) is as follows:

    2010-11 – 3,418

    2011-12 – 3,087

    2012-13 – 3,048

    2013-14 – 2,674

    2014-15 – 3,078

    We provide International Defence Training places on a wide variety of military training courses. The allocation and take-up of places is a flexible process, driven partly by demand, and managed through arrangements particular to each course. Allocations are generally not programmed more than a year in advance. We cannot quantify in advance the total number of training places which will be offered in each year but intend to increase the training we offer to international partners. We have identified additional places on a number of specific courses including, for example, at the Defence Academy and the Royal College of Defence Studies.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Northern Ireland were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for their part in offences connected with fuel laundering between 1 January and 30 June 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is not a prosecuting authority. Where cases do proceed to the criminal courts in Northern Ireland the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI) carries out the prosecution.

    HMRC’s records do not differentiate between the forms of fuel fraud it investigates and so they cannot identify arrests and convictions solely for fuel laundering. In the period between 1 January and 30 June 2015, there were 4 successful prosecutions and convictions relating to oils fraud.

    HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently introduced, jointly with the Republic of Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which public sector organisations will not be covered by the public sector exit payments cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

    Greg Hands

    The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

    The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

    The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

    The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

    Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulances were called out as a result of NHS 111 calls made in 2015 in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley.

    Jane Ellison

    The data is not held centrally.