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Category: Speeches

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European GNSS Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    As we leave the EU, our country is embarking on an important negotiation. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already said, we are not going to provide a running commentary on every twist and turn of the negotiation.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that higher education institutions make appropriate provision for disabled students who do not have complex needs.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher education institutions are responsible for meeting their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including for students with dyslexia.

    The legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments applies to all disabled students. In addition Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) are available where the needs of the student cannot be met by the institution by way of such a reasonable adjustment. A consultation on DSAs closed on 24 September and the Government response will be published in due course.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work his Department is undertaking with partner countries to address the inequalities experienced by Bedouin Arab communities in Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned about the inequalities faced by Bedouin Arab communities in Israel. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv is particularly focused on issues related to housing and supports several Arab town planning projects in Green Line Israel. These projects provide professional training and practical solutions for dozens of urban planners and engineers in Arab towns, helping them to overcome planning obstacles. This year our projects include: establishing an engineers’ task-force, professional advice for Arab local authorities in planning matters and a piece of research into planning obstacles.

    We continue to lodge our concerns about ongoing evictions and demolitions with contacts at Israel’s Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Agriculture and to encourage the development of a policy based on genuine consultation, which secures the buy-in of the community. We have pursued this with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief advisor on Arab affairs, who told us that the state has invested 1.2 billion NIS in Bedouin education, employment and infrastructure.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants will be informed of the change in their support on the fifth birthday of their youngest child; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    For all claimants where a change in circumstance is known (such as children turning 5), their requirements will be fully reviewed with the Work Coach and they will prepare the claimant for this transition in advance.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances embryonic stem cell lines that have been derived from human embryos subjected to genome editing by means of CRISPR-Cas9 would be considered to conform to good manufacturing practice and classed as clinical grade by either the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority or the UK Stem Cell Bank.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has licensed one human embryo research project involving the use of genome editing CRISPR-Cas9. One objective of this project is to derive human embryonic stem cells. As outlined in the HFEA Inspection Report, there is no intention for these stem cells to be used in human application. In these circumstances, there is no need to assess whether they conform to good manufacturing practice and are classed as clinical grade.

  • Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord MacKenzie of Culkein – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord MacKenzie of Culkein on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many improvement notices have been served by the Health and Safety Executive in relation to the failure of healthcare institutions and authorities to ensure that safer sharps are used so far as is reasonably practicable.

    Baroness Altmann

    There have been thirty-two improvement notices served ( up to December 2015) to healthcare institutions in England, Scotland and Wales since the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013 came into effect in May 2013. Of these, twenty-six were specifically for the failure to use or provide safer medical sharps where reasonably practicable, three were for failure to provide appropriate training, two were for failure to take specific actions in the event of a sharps injury and one addressed all of these failings.

    Before an improvement notice is served the inspector will discuss the breaches of law with the duty holder and explain why a notice is being served. The inspector will also ensure that the duty holder understands what they need to do to comply, and has the opportunity to explore alternative approaches. A timescale for compliance will also be agreed.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what occasions (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers in his Department have received hospitality from the government of China in the last five years.

    Matthew Hancock

    This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) men and (b) women who were remanded in custody (i) before conviction and (ii) after conviction did not go on to receive a custodial sentence for each offence type in the last year for which information is available.

    Mike Penning

    The number of sentenced offenders who were remanded in custody at the Crown Court before and after their conviction, and the proportion who did not receive a custodial sentence, by gender and offence group, in 2015, can be viewed in the attached table.

    The number of sentenced offenders who were remanded in custody at magistrates’ courts before their conviction, and the proportion who did not receive a custodial sentence, by gender and offence group, in 2015, can be viewed in the attached table.

    Data for post-conviction remand at magistrates’ courts is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve the performance of multi-academy trusts in which disadvantaged pupils perform below the national average for attainment and improvement.

    Edward Timpson

    Academies working together in Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are able to share resources and expertise to support disadvantaged pupils. The department’s analysis shows, as does that of the Sutton Trust, that there are MATs that can perform significantly above average despite high percentages of their pupils being disadvantaged.

    We remain committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere and where there is underperformance, the academy system enables us to take swift action to tackle it. In addition, we are targeting £2.5 billion a year of pupil premium funding to support the most disadvantaged pupils.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to ensure that UK students will retain the ability and funding to study at universities elsewhere in the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    Future arrangements for migration, student funding and UK students studying abroad will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.