Category: Speeches

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to encourage increased international donor support for Yemen.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is the fourth largest donor to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its humanitarian support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis with medical supplies, food, water, and emergency shelter.

    We continue to call on other donors to step up. In July 2015 the Foreign and Development Secretaries wrote to international donors to raise the profile of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and encourage more funding to the response. In September, the Development Secretary co-hosted a meeting on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis at the UN General Assembly, at which donors (including the UK) pledged an additional £85 million.

    We will continue to encourage donors to give generously to the newly launched UN humanitarian appeal for 2016.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will carry out an investigation into whether there was a breach of Privy Council rules in relation to the story in The Sun of 9 March 2016 relating to HM The Queen and the referendum on EU membership.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by the Lord President of the Council on 14 March 2016, Official Report, columns 653-654. and to the Cabinet Secretary’s letter to the hon. Member for Ilford North (Mr Streeting) 11 March 2016. I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that manufacturers of disposable wipes follow water industry guidelines and use the do not flush logo.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government is encouraging the water industry to act collectively, through initiatives such as 21st century drainage. This continues its work with the manufacturers of flushable products to agree appropriate labelling and campaigns to inform the public what should, and should not, be flushed down the toilet.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the amount of financial support provided to young carers in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 166,000 young carers in 2011.

    The Government has changed the law so that all young carers have been entitled to an assessment of their needs for support since April 2015, regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide, or how much time they spend caring. Around 60%, of young carers are thought to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years will attract pupil premium funding to the schools that they attend.

    We do not specifically estimate the amount of financial support provided to young carers.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each age group were diagnosed with back pain in each of the last five years.

    David Mowat

    The data requested is not collected.

  • Seema Kennedy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Seema Kennedy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Kennedy on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the independent Mental Health Taskforce set out in the Five Year Forward View of February 2016.

    Mr Jeremy Hunt

    An implementation plan for the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health was published in July which will see Mental Health spending increase by £1billion by 2020.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to fully integrate physical activity into the care pathways of all long-term conditions where it has a proven beneficial effect.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published various pieces of guidance covering long-term conditions, and this guidance promotes physical activity where is it shown to have a beneficial effect.

    In addition to this, Public Health England (PHE) has highlighted the important role of physical activity in the prevention, treatment and management of many long-term conditions in Everybody Active Every Day, a national evidence-based framework for action to reduce inactivity in England launched in 2014.

    Since then there has been sustained action to support the integration of physical activity into clinical practice.

    This has included:

    – The launch of a new set of teaching resources designed to integrating into the curriculum on physical activity for medical, nursing and allied health professional university departments. To date these have been taken up by 15 United Kingdom medical schools, 4 UK Schools of Health (dietetics/physio/OT and AHPs) and 5 international schools of Allied Health Professionals;

    – The launch of a series of nine e-learning modules on physical activity in the treatment and prevention of long term conditions on the BMJ E-learning platform alongside e-learning on Motivational interviewing techniques, funded by PHE;

    – The launch of a new info-graphic to support healthcare professionals to understand and put into practice the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines on physical activity for adults, a further graphic is in development to support the guidelines for children and young people;

    – An expanded pilot of the general practitioner clinical champion programme by PHE;

    – Continued work with the Richmond group of charities who are building on the work of Macmillan and Breakthrough Breast Cancer to support integration of physical activity into clinical practice and care pathways and also raise the understanding amongst the third sector and wider communities of its important role; and

    – Continued work with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Chartered Institute of Physiotherapists and other professional bodies to raise the awareness across the profession, and ensuring that physical activity is considered as a key part of the Making Every Contact Count approach across health and social care.

    Further work is being considered for 2016/17 around how better to support the commissioning of evidence-based exercise referral programmes for specific conditions as recommended by NICE.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s policy is on the inclusion of a broad definition of permanent establishment in the UK-Malawi tax treaty.

    Jane Ellison

    As is usual in any negotiation, the text of a tax treaty remains confidential between the two governments during the negotiations. It is not therefore possible to comment on the contents of a treaty before it is signed.

    The majority of the UK’s double taxation treaties are based on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention. However, some developing countries prefer to follow the United Nations Model, whose provisions differ in some respects from the OECD Model, including in the “permanent establishment” article. Many of the UK’s treaties with developing countries contain at least some of these provisions. A treaty will be signed only when both governments are satisfied with its contents.

    It has long been the UK’s policy to include robust anti-abuse provisions in its tax treaties to ensure that they operate as intended and in particular that residents of third countries cannot indirectly benefit from their provisions.

    The text of the new treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016 Malawi raised some further points for consideration, which we will work together on. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published. Parliament will scrutinise the revised agreement, as part of the affirmative Statutory Instruments procedures, before the treaty can enter into force.

  • Biography information for Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Biography information for Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Emily Thornberry on Work and Pensions.

    1

    is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456074/nino-registrations-adult-overseas-nationals-june-2015.pdf

    “

    Statistics on employment of UK and EU nationals is already published by the Office for National Statistics. The latest information is available at:

    http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/december-2015/table-emp06.xls

    Information on benefit receipt by current nationality is not available. The department has published statistics on working age benefit recipients claiming within 6 months of National Insurance Number (NINO) registration. This information is known as “Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants” and is included in the “Statistical Bulletin on National Insurance Number Allocations to Adult Overseas Nationals.”. The latest benefits data

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22026, what proportion of the £47 million paid to local authorities under the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme was subsequently paid by local authorities to households which were not entitled to flood compensation payments.

    James Wharton

    Local authorities are responsible for the administration and delivery of the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme.

    They determine how to use the money to best meet local need and ensure value for money. My Department does not collect detailed information on the payments that have been made through the Scheme. However, officials are aware that of more that 15,000 payments made to households, fewer than 50 have been found to be incorrect. Those have been returned to the local authority in question.