Category: Speeches

  • George Kerevan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    George Kerevan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports the Government has received on involvement by the China National Nuclear Corporation in the illegal supply of 5,000 ring magnets to Pakistan of a type suitable for use in gas centrifuges to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There were media reports in the mid-1990s of a transfer of 5,000 ring magnets by the China National Nuclear Corporation to Pakistan. China strongly denied government awareness or involvement. In 2004 China joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group, of which the UK is also a member, which agrees guidelines for the transfer of potentially sensitive nuclear-related technologies and material between states.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with UK universities on their views on the UK’s future engagement with the EU.

    Mr David Davis

    As we prepare for negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU, the Government will continue to consult with a broad range of stakeholders in order to secure the best possible deal for the whole UK. Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what account his Department took of the suspension by the Department for International Development of a security sector management programme in Ethiopia in deciding to oversee an executive MSc programme in such management.

    Mike Penning

    The Regional MSc in Security Sector Management was restarted in financial year 2015-16 following discussions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development (DFID) reviewing the aims, objectives and performance of the previous DFID-funded programme. The new MSc differs from the previous programme as it draws students from across the region and wider African Union countries, thereby contributing to the National Security Council (NSC) objectives of enhancing regional peace and security in East Africa and building the African Union’s capacity to reduce, manage and resolve conflict and crises in Africa. The MSc is now funded from the Conflict Security and Stability Fund, which better reflects the security focus of the syllabus.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of substantive replies to hon. Members her Department has answered within the targets it has set for such correspondence since May 2015.

    Karen Bradley

    The proportion of substantive replies to hon. Members answered within target since 1 May 2015 is 95%

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to replace fire authorities.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government has recently consulted on proposals intended to enable greater emergency services collaboration. This includes proposals to enable Police and Crime Commissioners, where this is local support, to take responsibility for fire and rescue services in their area.

    The consultation closed on 23 October and the Government is currently considering the responses received.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the latest assessment available to the Department of Health or NHS England of the annual loss of bed days to the NHS owing to the inability to discharge people from acute hospitals who do not need clinically to be occupying a bed in those hospitals; what is the estimated cost of such occupancy; and what assessment has been made of the cost-effectiveness of the NHS purchasing accommodation directly in nursing or residential care homes for such patients when a local authority is unable to do so.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The latest figures show that between April and October 2015, there were 1,041,587 delayed transfer of care. The Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service or of the cost-effectiveness of the NHS purchasing accommodation directly in nursing or residential care homes for such patients when a local authority is unable to do so.

    It is recognised that such delayed discharges do use resource which could be deployed elsewhere, and all parts of the NHS and those with responsibility outside it, are continually looking for ways in which to reduce the number of delays.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether current railway legislation permits a managing director of a railway undertaking to hold a senior management position on the infrastructure management company on which that railway undertaking operates.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Current railway legislation does not prohibit an arrangement of this sort. However, railway legislation contains safeguards designed to prevent conflicts of interests arising in respect of infrastructure management and the management of railway undertakings, particularly as regards the allocation of track access rights and the determination of charges. It would be for the infrastructure manager to satisfy themselves that such an arrangement complies with all relevant legislation.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current average waiting time is for an application for leave to remain.

    James Brokenshire

    The average waiting time for a postal leave to remain application during the period of 05 October 2014 to 27 February 2015 was 82 calendar days. These dates have been selected to sit alongside published data and are based on operational performance reporting. The average is based on the average waiting times between the date a postal application is submitted and the length of time taken to despatch the decision to the applicant for all leave to remain routes.

  • 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 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time taken on investigations into still births.

    Ben Gummer

    The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Green-top Guideline 55 on Later Intrauterine Fetal Death and Stillbirth (2010) guidance for obstetricians and midwives states that all stillbirths should be reviewed in a multi-professional meeting using a standardised approach to analysis. This will enable the identification of substandard care and establish whether any future preventative measures are required. Results of the review should be discussed with the parents.

    The Government is investing £500,000 to develop and roll out by March 2017 a new web-based system to be used consistently across the National Health Service so staff can review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death.

    All stillbirths should also be reported to the MBRRACE-UK collaboration (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK) which undertakes national surveillance of late fetal losses, stillbirths and infant deaths.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to make autism awareness a compulsory part of initial teacher training.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government does not prescribe a curriculum for initial teacher training (ITT). Providers of ITT must ensure that their courses allow trainees to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards in full; this includes ensuring that trainees are equipped to “adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils”. The standards require trainees to demonstrate that they “have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs”. It is for individual providers to decide how best to ensure that their programmes meet the requirements of the standards.

    Following a review of ITT quality by Sir Andrew Carter, the Secretary of State appointed a leading head teacher, Stephen Munday CBE, to lead an independent expert group tasked with developing a framework of core initial teacher training content. This will provide further guidance for ITT providers and trainees on how the Teachers’ Standards should be applied to the initial training phase. We expect to receive the group’s report shortly and will consider their recommendations carefully and determine how they should be taken forward.

    The Teachers’ Standards can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283566/Teachers_standard_information.pdf

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