Category: Speeches

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority after its authorisation of a licence for gene editing of human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 on the process of ethical approval being granted for such a licence.

    George Freeman

    The Department has not had any discussions with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) after its authorisation of a licence for gene editing of human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 about the process of ethical approval being granted for such a licence.

    The Francis Crick Institute, which made the licence application to the HFEA, is intending to place copies of the information given to patients or donors explaining this research on its website, once the final draft has been agreed.

    There is no statutory requirement for ethical approval to be in place before an HFEA research licence can be granted. However, the HFEA has developed guidance for its licensing committee that such approval should be in place before a licence is granted and research is allowed to proceed.

    In 2012, none of the three licences granted had ethical approval in place and a condition was therefore placed on each licence that licensed research could not proceed until such approval was in place. In 2013, five research licences were granted, all of which had ethical approval in place. In 2014, seven licences were granted, all of which had ethical approval in place. In 2015, one of the 15 licences granted did not have ethical approval in place and a condition was therefore placed on the licence that licensed research could not proceed until such approval was in place.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29817, whether her Department holds information on the number of children who have been further assessed after the strength and difficulties questionnaire score suggested that there may be a problem with that child’s mental health.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Department does not hold information on the number of children who have undergone further assessment following the completion of a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

    The Government has made available £1.4 billion over five years to implement the blueprint set out in Future in mind to transform children’s mental health services, including for those looked after and other vulnerable groups. Together with the Department of Health and working with NHS England and others we are establishing an expert group to develop care pathways that will support an integrated approach to meeting the mental health needs of looked-after children.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce a duty on shareholders of a significant size to address executive pay and company performance and increase those shareholders’ reporting requirements to pension trustees.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

  • Lord Bird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Bird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bird on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Office for National Statistics report on the levels of (1) persistent, and (2) overall, poverty rates in the United Kingdom, what new actions they intend to take to eradicate poverty and the causes of poverty in this Parliament.

    Lord Freud

    This Government’s welfare reforms are focused on supporting people to find and keep work whilst ensuring that we are protecting the most vulnerable. At the end of the Parliament we will be spending over £60bn – 3% of GDP – supporting people on low incomes.

    We know that work is the best route out of poverty. Evidence shows that almost three-quarters of poor workless families who found full employment escaped poverty; and that the highest poverty exit rate of 75% was for families that moved from part to full employment. The number of children living in workless households is down by 449,000 since 2010

    Our new life chances approach to poverty and disadvantage will include a set of indicators to measure progress in tackling the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational attainment and family stability.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to support all businesses in the UK to best take advantage of the opportunities presented by the EU referendum result.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We remain committed to making Britain the best place in Europe to start and grow a business and build an economy that works for all. The best way of supporting business is to ensure that the economic fundamentals are strong. Employment is at a record high, there are almost a million new businesses in our country since 2010, and the budget deficit has been reduced by almost two thirds.

    The BEIS ministerial team have during the summer met businesses, investors, workers and local leaders in all four home nations, as well as travelling to India, China and Japan.

    Furthermore, and for the first time, each local enterprise partnership area and each of the devolved Administrations will have a specific Minister in my Department assigned to them. Personal relationships matter in business, and that should start with the Business Department.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department has made on reducing costs for consumers in making financial claims.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    Information on the number of people who have lost more than 25 per cent of their financial claims compensation to the claims management company (CMC) handling their claim is not held centrally.

    Our priority is to protect consumers who choose to use CMCs. We have consulted on proposals to cap the level of fees that CMCs providing financial claims services can charge consumers. These proposals aim to help consumers get more of the compensation due to them. We are carefully considering the consultation responses and the Government will publish its response in due course.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assistance the Government has given to (a) Kent Police, (b) Kent County Council, (c) other operational organisations and (d) businesses to cover costs and losses during the implementation of Operation Stack in 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    To date, no additional financial assistance has been provided by the Department for Transport to Kent Police, Kent County Council, or other operational organisations / businesses in relation to Operation Stack being implemented during 2015.

    However, we are working closely with Highways England on the best approach to address their additional costs brought about by the implementation of Operation Stack.

    Any financial assistance relating to Kent Police and UK businesses is a matter for the Home Office and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills respectively.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what commitments the UK has made to supporting refugees from Syria who are in Europe.

    James Brokenshire

    Each EU Member State is responsible for the welfare of asylum applicants and refugees on its territory. The UK government bears no responsibility for supporting asylum seekers or refugees who are on the territory of another Member State. However, the Government has played a leading role in building capacity in Member States under particular migration pressure, both bi-laterally and through EU agencies such as the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The UK has contributed over 1,000 expert days to EASO led support missions to countries such as Greece and Italy, more than any other Member State.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department is taking steps to implement International Labour Convention No.189 on Domestic Workers.

    Nick Boles

    The UK already provides comprehensive employment and social protection for workers, including domestic workers. This includes the right to National Minimum Wage, right to work a maximum number of hours a week, paid holiday, health & safety protections, maternity/paternity leave and the right to be protected from discrimination.

    These core rights are enforced for all workers who are legally entitled to work in the UK. The Government is also focused on improving protection for vulnerable domestic workers by ensuring that immigration and border staff are trained to recognise potential victims of abuse; that overseas domestic workers are provided with guidance on their rights and how to obtain help; and that employers know their responsibilities.

  • Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent children being detained in police cells overnight because no suitable local authority accommodation is available.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are protected and treated appropriately while in police custody. This is why in January last year, the Home Secretary commissioned a multi-agency Working Group on Section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which concerns the transfer of children from police custody to local authority care when charged and denied bail. The purpose of the group is to better understand the problems with the operation of the law and to develop solutions to enable forces and local authorities to meet their respective statutory responsibilities. The group is currently finalising a package of measures and will present these to the Home Secretary once the work is complete.