Category: Speeches

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make representations requesting reforms of the management and administration of the World Food Programme to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID continually works to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the World Food Programme (WFP). As an active donor and Executive Board member, DFID champions value for money and pursues increased efficiency and effectiveness in all areas including organisational reform, financial procedures and programme activities. DFID is also currently assessing WFP in its Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) 2015 and will use the MAR findings to take forward continued reform with WFP.

    Examples where DFID has pursued reform of management and administration of the WFP include the six-monthly Commercial Expertise Reviews which DFID conducts to assess procurement functions and make recommendations for increased efficiency. Another example is DFID support to the expanded forward purchasing facilities proposed by WFP which is leading to large cost savings.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Solutions for Public Health has had with the European Medicines Agency and US Food and Drug Administration on developing a draft commissioning policy for everolimus.

    George Freeman

    Solutions for Public Health has confirmed that they have not had any discussions with either the European Medicines Agency or US Food and Drug Administration in relation to Everolimus.

    This is outside of the scope of the evidence review methodology commissioned by NHS England and would not be relevant to their role as a provider of stand-alone clinical evidence reviews.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to implement the joint programme referred to in paragraph 21 of the joint ministerial declaration, Managing Migratory Flows in Calais, of 20 August 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Secretary and French Interior Minister agreed in the UK-France Joint Declaration in August 2015 to set up a project aimed at protecting vulnerable people in the Calais migrant camp. The project is being delivered by the French NGO Terre D’Asile.

    The UK has contributed €750,000 (£530,000) to fund the project which formally launched in December 2015.

  • Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with NHS England on the findings of CLIC Sargent’s recent research report The best chance from the start: improving support to identify cancer in children and young people, including the finding that 53 per cent of young cancer patients asked felt their diagnosis was delayed.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health Education England’s (HEE) mandate sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for workforce planning, education, training and development in the health and public health system. These objectives and priorities are published on an annual basis. Officials are currently discussing the next HEE mandate.

    Within their three year training programme, about half of all General Practitioner (GP) trainees undertake a dedicated hospital placement in paediatrics. In addition, there are various initiatives around the country to increase access to child health training. These include clinics jointly staffed with paediatric and GP trainees, paediatric outreach clinics and multi-disciplinary meetings in GP surgeries led by paediatric consultants. A variety of e-learning, including the MindEd package – a free educational resource on children and young people’s mental health, is available.

    It is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) to set the standards and outcomes for the education and training of doctors and to approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. HEE will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal College of General Practitioners to seek to ensure general practice training meets the needs of patients.

    The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes in July last year, which recognised the importance of earlier diagnosis for patients of all ages and contains specific recommendations for children, teenagers and young adults. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of a five year Strategy based on the recommendations in the report. Whilst the Taskforce was independent, the Department of Health and all of its Arm’s Length Bodies were represented on it and contributed to development of the Strategy.

    NHS England is now developing its work programme to take forward the recommendations in the Strategy. There have been no discussions with Monitor as this falls outside their remit.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 16 March (HL6672), whether the respective Codes of Conduct for (1) ministers, (2) officials, and (3) special advisers, allow them to draft letters to be signed by retired military officers or business people and then published in national newspapers.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The respective Codes of Conduct for Ministers, officials and special advisers make clear the role of these individuals in developing and implementing Government policies.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the readiness of the financial services industry to provide lifetime ISAs.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The new Lifetime ISA will provide savers with the flexibility to save towards a first home and retirement at the same time.

    From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.

    The Government is engaging with the industry on the detail of implementation of the Lifetime ISA to ensure that it is delivered for April 2017.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to ask the government of Ethiopia to release Andy Tsege following his alleged torture and sentencing to death without a court hearing, and if not, why not.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government takes the detention and welfare of Mr Andargachew Tsege, who was transferred from Yemen and is imprisoned in Ethiopia, very seriously. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond), has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart over 20 times. The Minister for Africa, my Hon Friend, the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) has also raised the case, most recently on 8 January. Our focus has been on lobbying for Mr Tsege to have access to an independent lawyer who is able to advise him of his legal options. We believe that this is the best way to grant Mr Tsege the opportunity to resolve this case. Ministerial lobbying has already achieved the transfer of Mr Tsege to a normal federal prison and regular consular visits. We will continue to lobby the Ethiopian government until Mr Tsege is given access to a lawyer, and until our concerns about Mr Tsege’s case have been fully addressed.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what weight he plans to give to enabling the Government to meet its net migration target in his negotiation of a trade deal with the EU.

    Mr David Jones

    The Government is committed to bringing net migration down to sustainable levels. The Prime Minister has said that as we conduct our negotiations, it must be a priority to regain more control of the numbers of people who come here from Europe in future – but also to allow British companies to trade with the single market in goods and services.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of changing levels of funding for non-conflicting affected states on the level of stability in those countries.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID uses a range of criteria to determine allocations to countries, including the need of those countries for development assistance, how effective our assistance is likely to be in those countries, and the strategic fit with UK government priorities.

    The 50% commitment is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do for Britain’s national interest. The commitment ensures that we improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. Poverty is increasingly concentrated in fragile states and regions, and conflict is one of the major challenges to development. Over half of the world’s poor live in fragile states.

    Our work in fragile states and regions will help to build stability, prevent conflict and support economic growth in the world’s poorest countries and regions. Without stability, our gains on poverty reduction risk being reversed.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what matters relating to (a) nuclear disarmament and (b) nuclear non-proliferation he discussed with the Prime Minister of India during his visit to London in November 2015.

    Mr David Cameron

    During Prime Minister Modi’s visit India and the UK agreed a Defence and International Security Partnership that pledged to deepen our dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation and work towards India’s entry into all Export Control Regimes. India and the UK also released a Joint Statement that welcomed the agreement reached earlier this year on Iran’s nuclear programme, and noted the strong commitment of the international community to its swift and full implementation.