Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will instruct the Infrastructure and Projects Authority to provide 90 per cent confidence intervals for each of the figures in Table 7.1 of the Final Report of the Airports Commission, published in July 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 52 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what mechanisms he plans to use to ringfence the £40 million Discover England Fund.

    Tracey Crouch

    To date all English funding has been ringfenced within the British Tourist Authority. This will continue.The £40m Discover England funding will be separately maintained and accounted for to ensure it is used in support of product development in English destinations, and in accordance with the process and criteria to be published shortly. The progress and spend of the fund will be monitored through regular reports.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23898, what (a) estimate he has made and (b) target he has set for the number of the liaison psychiatry services in A&E departments which will meet (i) Core, (ii) Core 24, (iii) Enhanced 24 and (iv) Comprehensive standard as set out by the NHS South West Strategic Clinical Network by 2020.

    Alistair Burt

    The latest available data, based on the 2nd annual national survey of liaison psychiatry carried out by the University of Plymouth on behalf of NHS England in April 2015, provides the following estimates of service grading in line with NHS South West Strategic Clinical Network’s service model specification:

    Service model

    Number of acute hospitals

    None

    11

    Sub-core

    134

    Core

    21

    Core 24

    10

    Enhanced 24/Comprehensive

    3

    The Government announced a £247 million investment over four years to 2020/21 to expand provision of liaison mental health in acute hospital settings. NHS England estimates that this will bring at least 50% of acute hospitals to the ‘Core 24’ service grading.

  • 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, how long the review on blood donations by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs is expected to take.

    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.

  • Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings he has had with Network Rail in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Patrick McLoughlin

    I and my ministerial team regularly meet with senior officials of Network Rail to discuss a wide range of key issues facing the company.

    We recently discussed progress against the recommendations made by Dame Colette Bowe. In my letter to her on 25 November 2015, I committed to publishing a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and Network Rail. This is the formal framework which resets the rail enhancements framework. It will improve and strengthen the governance and day-to-day management of the process for planning and overseeing rail enhancements, providing clearer accountability for associated costs and project management. It is deposited in the libraries of the House and available on the GOV.UK website.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many lifetime disqualification orders have been issued under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in each year since that Act was passed.

    George Eustice

    There are no central records of disqualification orders issued by the courts under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Each individual court would have the details of any disqualification order they have made.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to allow pensioners to draw down all funds within any public pension schemes that existed before 2016-17.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Members of funded public sector defined benefit pension schemes can take advantage of the pension freedoms by transferring their pension savings to a private defined contribution pension scheme before cashing in their pension. Members of unfunded public sector defined benefit schemes cannot transfer to access the pension freedoms. In unfunded defined benefit public service pension schemes, there is no fund of assets with which to finance transfer payments. Instead, they are funded from contributions and through general expenditure.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Nick Gibb

    All directly employed staff, agency workers and outsourced contractors who work for the Department for Education and its executive agencies are paid at least the Living Wage Foundation rate.

    No staff or agency workers are employed via zero-hours contracts and only 23 of 164 outsourced contractors are employed on this basis.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities on the possible expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick airports; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    There have been no discussions with local authorities on the possible expansion of Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

    The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to her Written Statement of 21 October 2015, HCWS 257, on energy investments, how many waste transfer contract documents for Hinkley Point C have been agreed; where such contract documents are being published; and how many such documents will be withheld for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Two waste transfer contracts are proposed (but have not yet been entered into) for Hinkley Point C, one for intermediate level waste and one for spent fuel. In line with the published Waste Transfer Pricing Methodology, we would expect to publish as much of the waste transfer contracts as possible, except for material of a sensitive nature, if the Secretary of State decides to enter into the Contract for Difference and the waste transfer contracts are signed. We would expect to make these documents available on the www.gov.uk website.

    “