Category: Speeches

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 22 January 2016 to Question 22462 and 28 June 2016 to Question 40748, when NHS England plans to publish findings from its review of individual funding requests for palivizumab; whether that review will include details of the number of individual funding requests submitted, accepted and declined; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish the findings from that review.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS England has advised that, due to issues with patient identifiable information, it has not been possible to analyse the information on individual funding requests (IFRs) for palivizumab in detail at this stage.

    However, NHS England has advised that 57 IFR requests were received between August 2015 and January 2016 and that 11 (19%) were approved and 16 (28%) were rejected as they were outside the age range criteria. The remaining 30 were declined for a range of conditions that are not normally associated with respiratory syncytial virus.

    NHS England has issued a circular to its specialised commissioning teams and to providers of neonatal services, congenital heart services and specialised respiratory services outlining its 2016 commissioning position.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the current levels of, and recent increases in, the total remuneration paid to the executive heads of the major charities in England and Wales.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    Charity trustees, almost all of whom are unpaid, set levels of executive remuneration and must do so acting in the best interests of the charity. A 2014 study by The National Council for Voluntary Organisations found that senior executives in charities were generally paid substantially less than for similar roles in the public or private sectors. Charities are legally required to provide details of the number of staff in pay bands over £60,000 in their publicly available annual reports, and many charities go further in their accountability and publish full details as a matter of good practice.

  • Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Nokes on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of increasing free childcare provision to 30 hours per week on the number of nurseries which offer free childcare.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Introducing the new entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare for working parents will require growth in the childcare market and the government is confident this will be achieved. Since 2009, 230, 000 places have been created.

    It is of course essential that the funding for the entitlement is right to ensure that a sufficient number of nurseries are able to deliver it. The government has already committed to an increase to the average funding rate paid to providers.

    The government’s review on the cost of providing childcare will inform decisions on a rate that is fair and sustainable for providers. Findings from the review will feed directly into the Spending Review which will be published on 25 November.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve reliability and punctuality of the Govia Thameslink rail line.

    Claire Perry

    I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

    GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

    Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Ministers in his Department have visited G4S Medway in the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    In the last five years, available records show that three Ministers have visited Medway Secure Training Centre.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will help to ensure that women have access to family planning throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in the light of the spread of the Zika virus and its potential link to birth defects.

    Baroness Verma

    The importance of comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for all women is brought home by the emergence of Zika. There may be increased demand for voluntary rightsbased Family Planning from women in affected countries seeking to avoid pregnancy, and there is a risk of a rise in unsafe abortion in some countries. DFID has a track record of promoting rights based family planning and in highlighting the contribution safe abortion makes to saving women’s lives.

    We are in close contact with DFID-funded partners, including in the UN system and civil society, active in affected regions and will continue to do all we can to support their efforts. The Government is determined to support the international community in responding to the Zika virus. The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure the World Health Organisation (WHO) has the funding, expertise and systems to respond to emerging disease threats like Zika. We are the second largest national funder of WHO and have also provided political and technical support to strengthening the organisation and its preparedness. As part of the UK effort to strengthen global health security DFID contributed £6.2 million to WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies which is available for the management of Zika.

    Affected countries are working closely with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) which serves as the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation. PAHO and governments across the region are issuing information on the emerging Zika infection. DFID will keep under review its support to countries affected by Zika viral infections and along with other Government Departments we welcome the WHO emergency committee statement issued on Monday 1st February.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of senior civil servants in his Department are women.

    Mark Lancaster

    As at 1 January 2016, 25.1% of senior civil servants in the Ministry of Defence were women.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which of the Directors in his Department has responsibility for the Armed Forces Covenant.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The department takes its ongoing responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant very seriously. Pete Searle, the Strategy Director for Working Age Benefits, is DWP’s Armed Forces Advocate responsible for ensuring that the needs of service personnel, their families and veterans are properly catered for by the Department. This means ensuring that these groups are not disadvantaged as a result of military service, and providing special treatment where appropriate.

    Every Jobcentre district has an “Armed Forces Champion” to provide a level of expertise for Jobcentres on Armed Forces matters. This is backed up by guidance covering the special rules that are in place, such as ex-service personnel having early access to the Work Programme, and information on any particular challenges they may face, such as the impact on employment prospects of frequent changes in locations.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether future grants awarded by her Department to (a) universities and (b) charities will be exempt from the anti-lobbying clause in government grant agreements.

    George Eustice

    The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will continue to follow the guidance set by Cabinet Office in all respects of the anti-lobbying clause.

    The current guidance to departments is provided on the Government’s website at the following location:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/498271/Implementation_Guidance_for_Departments_on_Anti-Lobbying_Clause.pdf.

    “

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish the findings of its forthcoming review on personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his previous Question UIN39987.

    “