Category: Speeches

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will meet with Millom Without Parish Council to discuss options to ensure that the North West Coast Connection Project does not affect the landscape of the west of the Lake District National Park.

    Jesse Norman

    As my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be responsible for determining the application for consent for the proposed North West Coast Connection Project, it would not be appropriate for him to meet with Millom Without Parish Council to discuss the merits of the project.

    The application for this project is expected to be submitted by National Grid to the Planning Inspectorate in 2017. During the pre-application stage, the Parish Council and other interested parties can get involved in the consultation process. When the application is lodged, the Parish Council will be able to make representations on it. The Planning Inspectorate can provide advice about the planning process for the project and advice about the process in general is available on its website: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/application-process/the-process/

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which budget will supply funding for the estimated running costs of the Institute of Apprenticeships.

    Robert Halfon

    The Institute for Apprenticeships will be funded by the Government using public funds. It is expected that part of its budget will be provided by funding freed up from savings across the Department.

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the names are of the in-patient mother and baby units specialising in caring for women during the perinatal period that were open in 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    Mother and Baby Units open in 2010:

    1. Newcastle Beadnell Ward, St George’s Park, Morpeth, Northumberland
    2. Leeds Mother and Baby Unit, Leeds Partnership Foundation Trust
    3. Manchester Anderson Ward, Wythenshawe Hospital
    4. Nottingham Perinatal Psychiatric Services, Perinatal Inpatient Unit
    5. Derby Mother and Baby Psychiatric Unit, Derby City General, Uttoxeter Rd, Derby
    6. Leicester Mother and Baby Unit, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital (closed 2014)
    7. Stafford Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St George’s Hospital Foundation
    8. Birmingham Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
    9. Welwyn Garden Thumbswood, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Howlands, Welwyn
    10. Hackney Mother and Baby Unit, Mermaid Ward, City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health, Homerton Hospital, Homerton Row
    11. North Middlesex Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Coombe Wood Annexe, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health
    12. Beckenham Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Rd, Beckenham, Kent
    13. Bristol New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital
    14. Basingstoke Fairways House, Parklands Hospital (Moved to Winchester in 2013)
    15. The Eastbourne Clinic Mother and Baby Unit, Eastbourne, East Sussex (this unit was open in 2010 but not referenced in report closed 2014)
    16. Mother and Baby Unit, Godden Green Clinic, Godden Green, Sevenoaks, Kent (closed in 2010)
    17. York Mother and Baby Unit, Bootham Park Hospital (closed temporarily in 2010 and remained closed)

    Source: National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report 2010

    This information updates previous information submitted in relation to the number of mother and baby units open in 2010. Previous answers were drawn from the Specialised Mental Health Services (all ages) Definition No 22 (2009), which states that “there are 10 MBUs in England” but does not include a list of the 10 units.

    The updated answer is taken from the 2010 National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report. The Department recommends using the latter as the source of information on services in 2010 as this report provides more detail, specifying the name and location of the units.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13471, if he will assess the proposed standardised packaging of tobacco against the revised one in, two out framework criteria published by the Better Regulation Executive in its publication entitled, Better Regulation Framework Manual, published in March 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    Government policies, including standardised packaging of tobacco products, are assessed against the Better Regulation Framework in place at the time.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 11.10 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how the £55 billion budget for High Speed 2 has been split between phase 1 and phase 2 of that project.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Spending Review 2015 set out a long-term budget of £55.7bn (2015 prices) for delivering HS2. Of this, approximately £27.2bn has been apportioned to Phase One and £28.5bn to Phase Two.

  • 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 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of when treatments for diabetes involving the use of skin cells will become available.

    Jane Ellison

    Whilst we welcome any new forms of treatment or technology that may improve patient care, it is however too early to say whether current research on the potential to modify human skin cells into working pancreas cells will result in possible treatments for people with diabetes.

    Skin cells have also been studied for the application of promoting healing in diabetic foot ulcers. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline NG19 Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management, published in August 2015 recommends that, on the advice of the multidisciplinary foot care service, dermal or skin substitutes can be used in addition to standard care when treating diabetic foot ulcers.

    https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng19/chapter/1-Recommendations

    Health and care professionals are expected to take NICE guidance on the treatment of relevant conditions fully into account when deciding how to treat a patient.

  • 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 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) ex-intravenous drug users and (b) former-sex workers will be included in the review of blood donations by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

    Jane Ellison

    The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is carrying out a review of blood donor selection criteria. Currently a working group is being formed. The process will fully involve stakeholders, similar to the previous 2011 SaBTO review, and contacting stakeholders inviting their contribution to the review will begin imminently. The terms of reference will include input from stakeholders and be published once approved by SaBTO which will be at their next meeting. The review will be holistic and evidence relating to the risks of blood-borne infections in people who have previously injected drugs or received money or drugs for sex will be included. The review will be incremental, with published progress reports and any intermediate advice.

    It is anticipated that the group will publish its final report in 2017.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the South Korean government on animal welfare as part of the preparations for the Winter Olympics in 2018.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I wrote to Ambassadors in the Asia Pacific region in January 2016 to review our approach and assess what progress could be made in the future. Our Ambassador has raised the issue of cruelty related to the dog meat trade with the South Korean authorities, explaining that UK Parliamentarians and the public would like to see regulation that would bring this to an end. As we approach the Winter Olympics in 2018 we will continue to monitor and raise as appropriate.

  • Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what guidance she plans to provide to the oil and gas industry on the definition of satisfactory commercial return used in her Department’s report, Maximising economic recovery strategy for the UK, published in January 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The published MER UK Strategy included, in its annex, a definition of “satisfactory expected commercial return”. Any guidance for industry would be an Oil and Gas Authority matter and they will work with industry to support effective implementation of the MER UK Strategy. The Secretary of State does not intend to issue further guidance.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her contribution of 4 May 2016, HC Deb Official Report, column 166, whether the unaccompanied children who come to the UK will be eligible to apply for their parents to join them under refugee family reunion rules.

    James Brokenshire

    Under the family reunion provisions in the Immigration Rules children are not eligible to sponsor parents or grandparents. Allowing them to do so would create a perverse incentive for children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave existing family units in their countries of origin and risk hazardous journeys to the UK in order to act as sponsors. This would go against our safe guarding responsibilities.

    Our refugee family reunion policy allows a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18 of those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to reunite with them here, providing they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin.

    There is provision to grant visas outside the Immigration Rules, which caters for those who do not qualify under the rules, where there are exceptional circumstances.