Category: Speeches

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Fitness for Work data his Department receives from GPs, collected under the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Statements of Fitness for Work) Directions 2015, is considered identifiable personal data by his Department.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The data collected under the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Statements of Fitness for Work) Directions 2015 will be non patient identifiable on extraction and anonymous on publication, and will not contain any personal information that can be used to identify individuals. Additional measures such as aggregation of disease codes and small number suppression will also be applied which means that, for published information, any number less than five will be replaced by a star.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to section A8.1 of the Benefits and Credits, Error and Fraud Adding Capacity 444 contract between SYNNEX-Concentrix UK Limited and HM Revenue and Customs, what the profiling techniques are that are used to identify non-compliance.

    Jane Ellison

    Information about the use of profiling techniques can be found within the Concentrix contract at Annex A10.2 and A22.1: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae4c-3ac1f359afc7

    “

  • Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost was to his Department of training student midwives in each of the last 10 years.

    Ben Gummer

    Information prior to 2013/14 is not held centrally by the Department.

    Detailed below is an estimate of planned expenditure costs to Health Education England of providing training to student midwives since 2013/14.

    Year

    New Students Commissioned

    Planned Students in training

    Estimate Cost (million)

    2013/14

    2,563

    6,874

    £102.2m

    2014/15

    2,603

    6,624

    £120.8m

    2015/16

    2,617

    7,058

    £130.6m

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

  • Baroness Howe of Idlicote – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Howe of Idlicote – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howe of Idlicote on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the conditions for children visiting a parent in prison, in the light of Barnardo’s recent report Locked Out: Children’s experiences of visiting a parent in prison.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government agrees that strong family ties are an important part of helping prisoners turn away from crime, and the recommendations from the recent Barnardo’s report are currently being considered in the context of the wider prison reforms.

    All convicted prisoners have a long-standing statutory entitlement to a minimum of two visits every 28 days. In addition, prisoners may also be rewarded with additional visits for good behaviour and for engaging with their rehabilitation.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 for the Royal Navy’s global reach.

    Michael Fallon

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) provides the investment necessary to deliver the most modern Navy in the world, capable of delivering effect around the globe. The SDSR sets out plans to grow the capability and manpower of the Royal Navy, including a renewed Strategic Deterrent; 100% Aircraft Carrier availability from two carriers; more F-35B jets, with 24 embarked on the Aircraft Carriers from 2023 or earlier; at least 19 Frigates and Destroyers including Type 45 Destroyers, Type 26 Frigates and a new generation of credible general purpose frigates; new Offshore Patrol Vessels and new tanker support ships; and nine New Maritime Patrol Aircraft, working alongside our submarines and frigates to protect the Deterrent and our Aircraft Carriers and keep our seas safe.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations are (a) staffed and (b) unstaffed.

    Claire Perry

    The Department for Transport does not collect this information as station staffing is a matter for operators. They are not required to inform us of which stations are staffed beyond the obligations as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.

    We regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement and a list of which stations have open ticket offices by operator can be seen at http://www.atoc.org/about-atoc/rail-settlement-plan/governance/ (Schedule 17 July 2015).

    “

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bahrain concerning the imprisonment of Ibrahim Sharif for making speeches about democracy.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have raised Ibrahim Sharif’s case with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels, and we understand that he has the right of appeal. The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa , on 8 March.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2016 to Question 20586, for what reasons the draft Hepatitis C Improvement Framework has been withdrawn.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department continues working with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to advance the public health ambitions set out in the initial framework to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C.

    Both PHE and NHS England are fully committed to improving hepatitis C outcomes including the long-term reduction in transmission of the virus in which treatment has a potentially major role to play.

    NHS England has been working on plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, following the announcement on Twitter by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences on 15 April 2016 that a Managed Access Agreement had been reached for the Translarna drug, for what reasons NICE granted a further eight weeks on 4 May 2016 for discussions to take place.

    George Freeman

    On 15 April 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced in its final draft guidance that it was recommending Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of children aged five and over with Duchenne muscular dystrophy caused by a nonsense mutation.

    Translarna was recommended only when (a) the company provides it at a discounted price to the National Health Service under the patient access scheme agreed with the Department and (b) that NHS England and the manufacturer, PTC Therapeutics, in conjunction with patient representatives, agree a managed access agreement setting out (i) the criteria for starting and stopping treatment, which individual patients would be required to agree, (ii) data collection to address considerable uncertainty in the evidence base and (iii) additional confidential financial controls between the company and NHS England.

    On 4 May 2016, NICE announced that it was allowing extra time for further discussions on access arrangements for Translarna to take place before its final guidance is published. NHS England and PTC Therapeutics have been asked to reach agreement on the cost of the drug to the NHS by 7 July 2016.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has, other than devolution of business rates, to increase Birmingham’s ability to levy taxes.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government will devolve business rates to local councils in England, giving local government control of around £12.5 billion of additional revenue from business rates. Combined Authority Mayors will be given the power to levy a supplement on business rates bills to fund new infrastructure projects, so long as this has support of local businesses.

    In addition, the spending review announced that Local Authorities with responsibility for adult social care, such as Birmingham, would be given the power to introduce a social care precept to help support local adult social care services.