Category: Speeches

Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications to the National Enterprise Allowance scheme were rejected in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel

The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) is a voluntary scheme. Eligible claimants will be referred to one of our contracted NEA providers who will assess their business idea for viability and sustainability. Claimants who are not accepted onto the scheme can be re-referred at a later date.

We do not hold the data on how many people are rejected by our providers.

01/01/2023
Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on the issues raised by the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group at the meeting of 19 November 2015 relating to (a) organophosphate sheep dip and (b) missing medical records from 1992; and if she will send the minutes of that meeting to the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group.

George Eustice

Defra officials have been investigating this issue since the meeting in November and are in the process of finalising the information mentioned above for the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group. This is expected to be completed and released shortly.

The information will answer the actions from the meeting and include news releases from MAFF and the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) from 1992 and 1993. These explain why the decision was taken to end compulsory dipping and the conclusions of the VPC reviews of organophosphate sheep dips at the time.

A note of agreed actions from the meeting will be provided along with the information above.

01/01/2023
Baroness Howells of St Davids – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howells of St Davids on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Movement for an Adoption Apology campaign, whether they have any plans to make a public apology to the mothers whose children were taken away from them between the 1950s and 1980s.

Lord Nash

The Government has a great deal of sympathy for those women and children who were affected by the pressures to give children up for adoption. Their accumulated experiences clearly show them to be victims of the prevailing moral and social behaviour of their time. Governments have subsequently done much to resolve these social ills in the past.

01/01/2023
Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ban on referral fees in insurance claiming has taken effect, and whether they have raised concerns with the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority over its role in enforcing compliance.

Lord Faulks

The payment and receipt of referral fees by legal services providers in personal injury claims is banned under Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which was implemented on 1 April 2013.

This Ministry of Justice is in regular contact with the regulators of legal services providers, including the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, about issues relating to enforcement.

01/01/2023
Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the introduction of the cost collection process within the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Richard Harrington

None.

01/01/2023

Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions have been performed on the grounds of possible abnormalities detected in the womb in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood

Data for the last five years derived from HSA4 forms notifying abortions is available through the following links:

Year	Data
2011	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200529/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales_2011.pdf
2012	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307650/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales.pdf
2013	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319460/Abortion_Statistics__England_and_Wales_2013.pdf
2014	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433437/2014_Commentary__5_.pdf
2015	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/529344/Abortion_Statistics_2015_v3.pdf

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01/01/2023

Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many convictions there have been relating to forced marriage under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Karen Bradley

We made forced marriage a criminal offence last year to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK.

Data on convictions is not collated centrally. However, the first successful prosecution under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 was secured in June 2015, and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent violence against women and girls report shows that the volume of forced marriage prosecutions completed in 2014-15 rose to 46 from 45 in 2013-14, the highest volume ever. 63% of those prosecutions were successful.

In addition, to date, over 800 civil Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made to prevent people from being forced into a marriage and to assist in repatriating victims.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the Government is doing to assist small businesses to recover debts.

Anna Soubry

Late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK. The Government is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts.

Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to help small business resolve disputes with large companies, tackling, in particular, late payment. The Commissioner will act as a disincentive to unfavourable payment practices, and build the confidence and capabilities of small businesses to help them to assert themselves in contractual disputes and negotiate more effectively with larger businesses.

This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

We have also strengthened the Prompt Payment Code to ensure it is a recognised and demonstrated beacon of best practice, and we recently consulted on proposals to give representative bodies wider powers to challenge grossly unfair payment practices.

Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many psychotherapists working in the NHS are legally regulated.

Ben Gummer

Psychotherapists are not subject to statutory regulation in the United Kingdom.

However, psychotherapists can register as a member of an organisation holding a voluntary register that is subject to independent accreditation by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA).

The PSA accredits, and annually re-accredits, against standards, that provide assurance to the public, commissioners and employers on the level of education of the healthcare professionals and their adherence to relevant standards and guidance.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish his Department’s business case on the closure of his Department’s office in Sheffield.

Joseph Johnson

Since summer 2015 the Department has been reviewing its business model. By 2020, we want to simplify our structure, become more digital, be cheaper for taxpayers and better for users. As part of this we anticipate reducing the number of our locations from more than 80 to approximately 7 centres plus a regional footprint. The intention to close the BIS Sheffield office in St Paul’s Place was formed in light of these plans.

01/01/2023