Category: Speeches

Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has amended its draft of the 25 year plan on food and farming as a result of the outcome of the EU referendum.

George Eustice

Following the result of the EU Referendum, we now have an opportunity to consider our long term vision for food and farming outside of the EU.

It remains essential that the UK has a thriving food and farming industry with high animal welfare and environmental standards, access to international markets and a long term commitment to boosting productivity through innovation and skills. We are now focused on taking forward the actions that support these objectives, in order to develop our long term vision. To do this, we will continue to work with a wide range of interests to develop that vision, and to work together to deliver it.

01/01/2023
William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK withdrawing from the EU on the promotion of UK trade with other Commonwealth countries.

Greg Hands

Withdrawing from the EU will give us the opportunity to shape our own international trade and investment opportunities, drive even greater openness with international partners and put Britain firmly at the forefront of global trade and investment.

We already enjoy excellent trading relationships with Commonwealth partners and we are committed to strengthening these further.

The UK is co-hosting, with Malta, the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Minister’s meeting in London in March 2017. This will be an excellent opportunity to promote greater trade and investment within the Commonwealth.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release, Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary, published on 9 November 2015, what plans he has for relocating prison populations in prisons in central London that are planned for closure.

Andrew Selous

On 9 November the Chancellor and Secretary of State announced their intention to build a prison estate which allows prisoners to be rehabilitated, thereby enabling them to turn away from a life of crime. This will involve building nine new prisons and closing old and inefficient prisons which do not support the aims of a redesigned estate. No decisions have yet been made on where new prisons will be built.

We are currently considering which of our old and inefficient prisons will close. We will engage with stakeholders during the process of sale including valuation experts and potential developers in order to maximise the value achieved.

Any relocation of prisoners will be done with careful planning. Where staff are affected they will be managed through the process of change using processes deployed during previous closures.

01/01/2023
Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK universities are required to admit support dogs for adults with autism.

Joseph Johnson

Higher Education Institutionsare autonomous and independent bodies, and have clear legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with autism.

Under the Equality Act 2010 institutions have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.

01/01/2023

Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) six month notices, (b) three month closure notices and (c) final closure notices of case closure have been sent to Child Support Agency cases in (i) segment 1, (ii) segment 2, (iii) segment 3 and (iv) segment 4.

Priti Patel

The table below shows the total number of (a) six month notice letters of case closure, (b) one month reminder letters of case closure, and (c) final letters issued for segments 1, 2, 3 and 4, as at the end of December 2015:

Segment	1	2	3	4
Six month notice	395,500	137,900	43,200	238,900
One month reminder letter	365,400	104,600	30,100	69,800
Final letter	373,000	98,900	10,400	33,400

Notes

Figures rounded to nearest 100.
The figures are made up from cases proactively selected for case closure, and not those where an application has been made to the 2012 scheme and a related case exists on the 93/03 scheme which is then reactively closed down.
Cases selected for closure are sent a six month notice of case closure. One letter is sent to the parent with care and one to non-resident parent. They are then sent a reminder letter one month before their case closure date (no letter is sent at three months). They are sent a final letter when their case is closed.

01/01/2023

Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred from the UK to (a) Italy, (b) Hungary, (c) Croatia, (d) France, (e) Belgium, (f) Austria and (g) Germany under the Dublin III Regulation in the last 12 months.

Karen Bradley

An answer is still being prepared. We are currently extracting the data and need to ensure it is correctly quality checked to give the Hon. Member an accurate response and I will write to the honourable Member when it is finished.

01/01/2023
Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve safety for horses and riders on roads.

Andrew Jones

Rule 215 of The Highway code gives specific advice on approaching and overtaking horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles safely and with consideration. The theory test contains questions about how drivers should interact with horse riders and the hazard perception test includes a number of clips where horse riders are the hazard.

The “Have Some Horse Sense on the road campaign was launched as part of the THINK! Road Safety Campaign and encouraged drivers to approach horses slowly and give them a wide berth when overtaking. This has been supplemented more recently by the THINK! Rural Roads campaign which reminds drivers to take particular care when driving along country roads.

01/01/2023
Baroness Donaghy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Donaghy on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent they will take account of (1) value for money, and (2) the impact on established training providers, when they accredit new school-centred initial teacher training providers, as envisaged in the Education and excellence everywhere White Paper.

Lord Nash

It is the Government’s priority to secure the sufficient supply of high quality new teachers to the school system. We are committed to increasing the proportion of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) offered by the best schools, while strengthening both university and school-led teacher training, so that ITT provision is properly configured to deliver the quality and quantity of new teachers that schools need.

All accredited ITT providers are required to demonstrate how they will deliver, within the funding available, high quality provision that meets the Teachers’ Standards and is compliant with the Secretary of State’s ITT criteria. In order to secure further value for money, we are expanding school-centred ITT (SCITT) provision with a particular focus on delivering training in priority subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and modern foreign languages, and in areas of the country where recruitment is proving to be most difficult . We will prioritise new SCITT provision that commits to helping meet the supply needs of both the local partnership and the wider national system, such as through multi-academy trusts.

In considering the impact on existing provision, we will prioritise and incentivise the growth of new provision in areas of the country which need it most. We will continue to require potential new providers to consider and take account of the local ITT market, and to demonstrate how the proposed new provision will add to existing supply. We will continue to require careful consideration by new providers of the likely financial viability of their proposed provision, and continue to require clear evidence it will be sustainable in the longer term.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33537 on Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints, how his Department defines a system control total; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The shared NHS planning guidance, ‘Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance 2016/17 – 2021’, published in December 2015, stated that NHS England and NHS Improvement would continue to be open to new approaches to contracting between NHS commissioners and providers and that this could, for instance, include exploring with a few local health systems applying a single financial control total across local commissioners and providers. NHS England and NHS Improvement will work, where appropriate, with local health systems that wish to develop fuller proposals as part of their Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

The Guidance is now available at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/planning-guid-16-17-20-21.pdf

“

01/01/2023
Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken under the National Roma Integration Strategy to enhance the health integration of Gypsy Traveller Roma people.

Jane Ellison

We have taken steps to improve the health of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma people as part of our broader social inclusion policies. The inclusion health programme sought to identify and promote good practice across the National Health Service and elsewhere. It has included: developing practical guidance on the commissioning of more inclusive services to help ensure the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups are taken into account in shaping local plans and priorities; working with primary health care professionals and others to improve access to services for these groups; and supporting the education and training of health professionals to enable them to work more effectively with these groups. This work is being carried forward across the health system.

01/01/2023