Category: Speeches

Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times are for access to talking therapies in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire and (c) Halifax.

Alistair Burt

We do not hold the data in the format requested. What data we do hold is provided in the following table:

The number of referrals entering treatment¹ in the year, with mean and median waiting times to first treatment (days), for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services in 2014/15. Data shown for NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and all Yorkshire CCGs combined².

Organisation code	Organisation name	Total number of referrals entering treatment³	Average (mean) waiting time to first treatment appointment (days)⁴	Median⁵ waiting time to first treatment appointment (days)

	All England	815,665	32	17

	All Yorkshire CCGs combined	71,690	39	21

02E	NHS Calderdale CCG	4,200	14	6

¹In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment (an appointment with a therapy type recorded) in the year.

²CCG is based on general practitioner (GP) Practice. Where GP Practice is not recorded, or cannot be assigned to a CCG, the referral is categorised as ‘Unknown’.

³In order to enter treatment a referral must have a first treatment appointment in the year.

⁴The mean was used as the average.

⁵Means and medians have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Notes:

Waiting time is measured by counting the number of days between a referral being received and the first treatment appointment. For 2014/15, the presence of a valid therapy type is used as an indicator of whether treatment was provided in the course of the appointment.

Entering treatment figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

It is generally advised that the median is used as the more reliable measure of average waiting time, as this accounts better for any outliers in the data.

Source: IAPT

01/01/2023

Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how information is (1) collected, and (2) managed, to protect the dignity of patients who receive pharmacy services in retail outlets, under the Standards for registered pharmacies, Principle 1.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists of bodies corporate are responsible for meeting the General Pharmaceutical Council’s standards for registered pharmacies and must decide how best to do so, including managing information to protect the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of patients and the public, within their pharmacies.

There are a number of different ways in which pharmacy professionals and the wider pharmacy team may receive patient information. Information is included on prescriptions, or may be shared by patients when seeking care from a pharmacy. In addition, information may be stored in patient medication records or other records.

Through its inspections, the General Pharmaceutical Council seeks assurance from the pharmacy team about how they maintain the confidentiality, privacy and dignity of patients and the public. These assurances can be provided through a number of different means, for example restricted password access to patient information, appropriate training of staff or making sure patients can have conversations with members of the pharmacy team in private.

All National Health service providers, including community pharmacies, also need to provide information governance assurances to the NHS on an annual basis.

01/01/2023
Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage UK companies to sign up to the Bangladesh Safety Accord.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has repeatedly called for companies to take responsibility for the working conditions of all those that make their clothes. This has included the Westminster Debate on 30 April, repeat Ministerial visits to Bangladesh, communications around the Rana Plaza anniversary, and numerous meetings with retailers and buyers.

01/01/2023
Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on his Department’s plans to diversify the civil service.

Matthew Hancock

The Civil Service is committed to becoming representative of the modern Britain it serves and our aim is to be the most inclusive employer in the UK. This ambition is set out in our Talent Action Plan, refreshed in March 2016. This plan commits the Civil Service to actions that aim to remove barriers to success faced by underrepresented groups. All government departments are committed to the delivery of this plan. Permanent Secretaries have clear accountability for the diversity agenda and progress within their departments is measured through their personal diversity objectives. The plan is being delivered as part of the wider Civil Service Workforce Strategy.

01/01/2023
Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2016 to Question 41352, (a) by how much and (b) from what date the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority’s funding will be increased.

Sarah Newton

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority’s budget has seen an increase in 2016-17 to reflect its changing and broader functions. The budget has been published on page 80 of the Main Supply Estimate 2016-17. We remain committed to resourcing the GLA and continue to work with GLA to ensure it can deliver its purpose of protecting vulnerable and exploited workers in future years. The budget for GLA will be confirmed as part of the Main Estimate Supply exercise ahead of each financial year.

01/01/2023
Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many meetings the Government has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Jones

The Prime Minister has committed to full engagement with the Devolved Administrations to get the best possible deal for all parts of our United Kingdom as we leave the EU.The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU has spoken with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about developing a UK approach for EU exit. He has also met with Michael Russell, the Scottish Government Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, to discuss the work of the Department for Exiting the EU.We will give the Devolved Administrations every opportunity to have their say as we form our negotiating strategy and we will look at any suggestions they put forward.

01/01/2023
Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which three EU countries have the largest number of foreign nationals in UK prisons; and how many such prisoners there are from each of those countries.

Andrew Selous

The three EU countries with the largest number of foreign national offenders in prison are; Poland 951, Ireland 783 and Romania 629 as of 30th September 2015 last published figures.

The EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement is beginning to take effect. Poland has a derogation until the end of December 2016 from the agreement to allow time to improve their prisons.

01/01/2023
Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by when he plans for his Department to achieve its target strength for the Royal Air Force Reserve.

Mr Julian Brazier

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by my right hon. Friend the previous Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) on 19 December 2013, (Official Report, column 124WS) on Future Reserves 2020, and the accompanying document that was placed in the Library of the House which sets out the planned growth of the trained strength of the Reserve Forces, together with the enlistment targets for the next five years.

I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2015 to the hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Shannon) to Question 11812 which explained the improvements we have made to ensure we reach our target strength of 35,000 trained volunteer Reservists by 31 March 2019.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many US Coast Guards are currently serving in the Royal Navy in a permanent position.

Penny Mordaunt

There are currently 14 US Coast Guards serving in the Royal Navy, with a further five undergoing training. An additional two US Coast Guards are providing the personnel management support for these individuals.

01/01/2023
Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-28.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the projected growth of the economy in Yorkshire and Humber over the course of this Parliament.

Greg Hands

The government does not publish projected growth forecasts for individual regions of the country. However, last year we published our Long Term Economic Plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire where we detailed our ambition for the region to achieve a long term growth rate to at least that of the whole of the UK. This would increase the size of the Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire economies by an extra £13 billion in real terms by 2030, equivalent to over £2,000 per person.

01/01/2023