Category: Speeches

  • Lord Lexden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Lexden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the sale of the playing fields of over 100 schools since 2010 on the physical fitness of young people.

    Lord Nash

    The Government does not approve the sale of playing fields but assesses applications from schools and local authorities to dispose of them. A disposal can include a lease of the playing fields to a third-party commercial organisation with the fields, following investment and improvement, continuing to be used by the school.

    It is neither the government nor the Department for Education that instigate the disposal of playing fields. It is the local authorities, academies or schools that seek consent to convert these often surplus or un-used fields to enable them to invest in school sport or education. However, there is strict control in place which requires an assessment of the facilities available to pupils. The government will only give permission to dispose of school playing fields if it is clearly demonstrated that they are surplus to requirements and the sports and curriculum needs of the school and its neighbouring schools will continue to be met.

    Since any approved disposal would not impact on the provision of the sports curriculum at the school/s, no follow up studies on the sale of playing fields has been undertaken.

  • Lord Rana – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Rana – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the efficacy of UK aid to India in 2015.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK can be proud of the results that its aid to India continues to achieve. For example, during the five years to 2015, UK aid has ensured that over 3.5 million pregnant women and children under 5 are covered by nutrition programmes in eight low income states; that over 1.3 million people have sustainable access to improved sanitation; and that over 600,000 additional people have access to low carbon energy.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to Question 9748, on counter-terrorism, on what date the meeting of the most senior members of the National Security Council referred to in that Answer took place.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    Senior members of the National Security Council meet frequently to discuss matters of national security but we do not disclose information about the detail of these internal proceedings and discussions.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 19 February (HL5998), whether there are any circumstances under which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) may alter the speed at which video evidence is shown in court, and if so, whether the CPS is obliged to inform the court that the speed of the video evidence has been altered.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    Video evidence is routinely examined in court during criminal trials either frame by frame or at different speeds in order to aid the court’s understanding. In the case of image stills, time stamps can be used to indicate the passage of time between images. Both defence and prosecution lawyers are under a professional duty not to mislead the court.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans there are to sell property of the British Transport Police.

    Claire Perry

    The British Transport Police does not own any of its properties, hence it has no plans to sell any of them.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they propose to make in the new contract for doctors in training in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The contract published on 31 March is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement and pay progression will be linked to level of training rather than arbitrarily to time served.

    All junior doctors should have the same terms and conditions – a level playing field – which is ultimately what employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) want and everyone deserves.

    When the Secretary of State published the Equality Analysis on the new contract for doctors and dentists in training in the NHS (“Doctors”) on the 31 March 2016 on the GOV.UK website he made it clear that, as a result of considering the Equality Analysis, in accordance with his duties and obligations, he had asked for a number of changes to the draft contract to address specific issues for certain groups with protected characteristics. This has been done and the contract has been duly amended. These changes included changes that benefited staff who work part time. The new contract is not discriminatory it ensures that all junior doctors receive equal pay for work of equal value. The BMA’s own lawyers have advised that nothing in the new contract is discriminatory. Nevertheless the equality duty is an ongoing duty and it is intended that monitoring will continue after the introduction of the new contract in accordance with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010.

    A copy of the Equality Analysis is attached.

  • Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to better connect cycling and rail infrastructure to support more active travel.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department is funding £14.3 in 16/17 to improve integration between cycle and rail through the provision of new cycle facilities at railway stations. This includes new high quality cycle parking, cycle hire and improved access to stations and will support more active travel.

    In conjunction with this, a revised version of the Cycle Rail Toolkit was published on 19 May 2016 which will help those implementing cycle-rail facilities to ensure that high-quality infrastructure is in place to encourage new users and to ensure that cycling to stations becomes easy and convenient and the natural choice for short trips to the station.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the definition of statutory homelessness in preventing rough sleeping.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The homelessness legislation (part 7 Housing Act 1996) provides a strong safety net for all those who are vulnerable and homeless through no fault of their own. Homelessness is defined at section 175 of the Act. Broadly speaking somebody is statutorily homeless if they do not have accommodation that they have a legal right to occupy, which is accessible and physically available to them (and their household) and which it would be reasonable for them to continue to live in. It would not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in their home, for example, if that was likely to lead to violence against them (or a member of their family).

    We have protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2020. In doing so, we expect local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide advice and assistance to all those that approach them for help. Since 2010, this funding has allowed local authorities to prevent more than a million households from becoming homeless. We are determined to ensure that we prevent more people from becoming homeless in the first place so we are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

    We have also increased central funding to tackle homelessness to £139 million over the next four years, which will include targeted funding for rough sleeping. This includes a new £10 million fund to support and scale-up initiatives to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, and a £10 million Social Impact Bond to support the most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces and police and crime commissioners on heroin distributed in their areas in line with her Department’s policy set out on page 31 of the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published by her predecessor in March 2016.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which highlighted the value of supervised injectable diamorphine/heroin in reducing crime, was launched by Home Office Ministers at the International Crime and Policing Conference on 23 March whose attendance included a large number of representatives from the criminal justice system. Police and Crime Commissioners and police forces wishing to explore issues relating to heroin assisted treatment are encouraged to engage with the relevant local authorities which commission drug and alcohol treatment in their areas.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were referred by the NHS England Liaison and Diversion Service for support or treatment in the last three years for which figures are available.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England made almost 40,000 liaison and diversion screenings and more than 10,600 referrals to treatment or support services for people of all ages between 1 April 2014 and 31 August 2015. Data is not available prior to 1 April 2014.