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Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints on what subjects the Independent Monitoring Board of each prison received from prisoners in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

    Andrew Selous

    Independent Monitoring Boards are individual Arm’s Length Bodies, who publish this information on an establishment by establishment basis, each on a different annual cycle.

    Information is available from the annual reports submitted by individual Independent Monitoring Boards, which are published on http://www.imb.org.uk/reports/2015-annual-reports/ There is a page towards the end of reports setting out the number of “applications” by prisoners to see the Independent Monitoring Board in that establishment.

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  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about the effect of bus franchising in the vehicle manufacturing sector.

    Andrew Jones

    I refer my hon Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole to the answer I gave on 15th February, to Question UIN 26533.

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  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that a cost impact assessment, including the potential impact assessment on the mobile seed cleaning industry, is made for any future emergency order relating to the use of neonicotinoids.

    George Eustice

    Any future application for authorisation of neonicotinoids for emergency use will be assessed according to the legal requirements. These cover: the risks from use; whether the use addresses a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means; and the means by which the use will be limited and controlled.

    The requirement for limited and controlled use includes ensuring that the product is demonstrably targeted towards those growers with the greatest need. The applicant would need to establish an auditable supply chain to ensure this requirement was met.

    The assessment of the application would be based on the case made by the applicant. If the requirements outlined above are met, the Government would have no grounds for withholding authorisation.

    However, there is no clear reason why it would be necessary to exclude farm-saved seed in designing appropriate control measures for an emergency authorisation of pesticide use on oilseed rape. We have drawn this issue to the attention of potential applicants.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2016 to Question 31117, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the 2016 paper by Mesher and others, Reductions in HPV 16/18 in a population with high coverage of bivalent HPV vaccination in England: an ongoing cross-sectional study; and whether such findings have been taken into account when assessing the differential impact of the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines on genital wart incidence.

    Jane Ellison

    The findings of Kavanagh and others, 2014, and of Mesher and others, 2016, are consistent with the reductions in human papillomavirus (HPV) 16/18 that were expected in the assessments that informed the Department’s policies. Neither of these papers report findings about genital warts incidence, both report no decrease in HPV types 6 and 11; this is also consistent with expectations in assessments that informed the Department’s policies.

    The answer of 23 March 2016 stated, ‘data reported to Public Health England (PHE) from genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics shows a reduction in rates of genital warts diagnoses at GUM clinics between 2009 and 2014.’ This analysis has been updated with data for 2013 and 2014. The reductions reported were in patients aged 15 years and older. As the introduction of the quadrivalent vaccine was in 2012, to 12 year olds, no impact on genital warts in 15+ year olds within this time period was expected due to this introduction. Use of the quadrivalent vaccine within this age group prior to its introduction in the national immunisation programme was assessed as a possible but highly unlikely cause of the reductions seen.

    The latest data from PHE showing reductions in genital warts diagnoses in GUM clinics amongst ages offered the bivalent vaccine are data for 2014: the future duration of any protection from genital warts associated with the bivalent vaccine has not been (and cannot be) inferred.

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

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to respond to the report from the Prison Reform Trust In care, out of trouble; and whether they will publish an assessment of the position of children in care within the criminal justice system.

    Lord Nash

    As at 31 March 2015, five per cent of 10-17 year olds who had been in care for a year or more had been convicted of an offence or were subject to a final warning or reprimand.[1] Proven offending by young people, including looked after children has fallen significantly in recent years. Since the peak in youth offending in 2007, proven youth offending is down 79%; first-time entrants to the youth justice system are down 82%. Youth offending teams work with the police and other agencies to prevent looked after children from offending and coming in to contact with the youth justice system.

    The Government has asked Sir Martin Narey to review residential care for looked after children and he will make recommendations on criminalisation. Charlie Taylor is leading a review of youth justice. We will respond to those reviews in due course.

    I am grateful to the Prison Reform Trust for their contribution to this important debate. The Minister of State for Children and Families recently met with Lord Laming to discuss the contents of the Prison Reform Trust’s report ‘In care, out of trouble’.


    [1] Department for Education Statistical First Release – 34/2015

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the review on supported housing.

    Gavin Barwell

    DCLG and DWP have jointly commissioned an evidence review of the supported housing sector, which is currently being finalised. The Government is committed to making an announcement in the autumn, setting out its plans for future funding arrangements for the supported housing sector.

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a sovereign wealth fund.

    Simon Kirby

    The government’s current priority is to reduce the deficit and start paying down national debt.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any discussions are taking place about supporting ING Groep NV’s plans to expand their small-business lending programme.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The government wishes to see a diverse and competitive market for lending to small and medium businesses and welcomes new entrants to that market. We are aware of ING’s recent equity investment in an online lending platform. That is a commercial matter for ING which the government has not discussed with the company.

  • 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 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many concurrent planning arrangements for children have been authorised in each of the last six years in each local authority.

    Edward Timpson

    I refer the Honourable Member to the answer to Written Question 19262, published on 14 December 2015, which is as follows:

    ‘Ofsted publishes local authority level information on the number of children in foster placements that are subject to concurrent planning. The information is available via the following links:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fostering-in-england-1-april-2012-to-31-march-2013

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fostering-in-england-1-april-2013-to-31-march-2014

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fostering-in-england-1-april-2014-to-31-march-2015’

    Data prior to 2013 is not available.

    “

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7427, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the implications of holding a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU within eight weeks of elections to the Scottish Parliament.

    David Mundell

    The UK Government has held discussions with representatives from the Devolved Administrations throughout the renegotiation process and the UK’s renegotiation is a standing agenda item at the Joint Ministerial Committee’s Europe meetings.

    The Prime Minister has been clear that the referendum must follow a renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU. Timing will therefore depend on progress of the renegotiation. The Government has made no decisions on the date, except to specifically rule out holding it on 5 May 2016 and 4 May 2017, to avoid coinciding with the various elections, including elections in Scotland, which are scheduled to take place on those days.