Category: Speeches

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding was allocated to each of his Department’s sub-divisions in each year since 2009-10; and what forecasts of allocations have been made for future years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The funding for each of Treasury’s sub divisions since 2009-10 can be found on the Main Estimates at www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-main-estimates.

    The Treasury does not usually set detailed budgets more than a year ahead but have provided the Office for Budget Responsibility with a funding commitment for the period to 2020-21. This can be found at www.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/topics/governance-and-reporting/#letters.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his Department’s policy to implement the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s commitment to feed-in tariff deployment cap top-ups, set out in its review of the feed-in tariffs scheme, published in December 2015.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government response to the 2015 review of the scheme set out that a budget reconciliation process could be biannual, or more or less frequent, depending on deployment. As well as our current consultation on support for anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power under the scheme, we are reviewing the deployment that has taken place since the revised scheme was re-launched in February of this year and will make a statement in due course.

  • Stephen Tim – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Tim – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Tim on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of crimes committed by people with gambling problems.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office has made no specific assessment of the number of crimes committed by people with gambling problems.

    The most recent crime statistics published by the Office for National Statistics showed that overall crime fell by 8% in the year to June 2015, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Crime has now fallen by more than a quarter since June 2010, with just over 2.9 million fewer crimes a year.

    It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to decide crime priorities at a local level, and the most appropriate response in their areas.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that Health Education England implements the recommendations on the training of workforce contained in the report of the Independent Cancer Taskforce, Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations in the independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 to 2020, and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE as NHS National Cancer Director to lead on managing implementation. She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, including on workforce, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work.

    We announced in September that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role the Chair of the new single promotional group will play in the Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth on (a) the development of shipping policy and (b) shipping industry regulation.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Invited industry representatives attended the first meeting of the Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth to provide an industry perspective on the specific topics discussed at that meeting.

    A similar procedure will be adopted for future meetings and it is likely that the Chair of a single promotional body would be invited as part of any industry representation.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of missing people who are found.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government’s Missing Children and Adults Strategy for England and Wales provides a core framework for local areas to do more to prevent and protect children and vulnerable adults who go missing. We are currently undertaking a refresh of the strategy, to be published later this year. This will include an implementation plan to improve the overall response to missing people, including better use of the Child Rescue Alert (CRA) system, prevention (reducing the numbers who go missing) and improving the response to finding people who have gone missing or are at risk of doing so.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 28183, using what evidence base his departmental economists (a) normally assume operators pass subsidy received on to passengers at a rate of 50 per cent through lower fares and at a rate of 50 per cent through increased service levels and (b) estimate that the Bus Service Operators’ Grant has the effect of keeping fares 3 per cent lower in England outside London.

    Andrew Jones

    The department assumed that the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was passed on to passengers 50% through lower fares and 50% through increased service levels as a working assumption made in the absence of better relevant evidence. The estimate of the effect of keeping fares lower as a result of BSOG was derived by using the National Bus Model, which combined assumptions based on the evidence available with actual data on passenger numbers, fares and service levels.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the qualifying period applicants can apply for and claim bereavement allowance after the death of a partner.

    Priti Patel

    Information about Bereavement Benefits is widely available through GOV.UK. We also work closely with third party organisations who the bereaved traditionally contact such as registrars, hospitals, funeral directors and voluntary groups ensuring that they have the correct information available to signpost the bereaved to the DWP Bereavement Service.

    Upon contacting the DWP Bereavement Service our staff will ensure that any benefits and pensions arrears are claimed and will also initiate a claim for Social Fund Funeral Payments and Bereavement Benefits if appropriate.

    .

    We continue to look for opportunities to improve the availability of advice about these particular benefits and as a result we have improved the information available on GOV.UK, and are currently exploring ways in which to to join up the Tell Us Once and Bereavement Service offers.

    Tell Us Once is a cross-government service delivered through Local Authorities whereby notification of the death is cascaded out to other agencies, thus reducing the number of contacts an individual has to make.

    The time limit for claiming Bereavement Allowance is three months from the date of death, which is consistent with the time limit for other welfare entitlements. We are currently developing the new Bereavement Support Payment due to be implemented for new claims from April 2017, and we will assess the merits of further flexibilities on backdating as part of this work.

    Information available on the number of people in receipt of Bereavement Allowance by duration of current claim can be found at:

    http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html

    Guidance for users can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of high-risk pregnancies caused by patients going abroad for IVF treatment.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has not made an assessment of the annual cost to the National Health Service of high risk pregnancies caused by patients going abroad for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

    Multiple births are the single biggest risk to the health and welfare of children born following fertility treatment and present significant health risks to mothers and babies. Over recent years, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has worked to drive down multiple birth rates whilst maintaining consistent treatment success rates.

    To minimise the risk of multiple pregnancies, there has been a growing trend for IVF providers to only transfer one embryo, even when more are available, in patients who have a good chance of successful treatment. Elective single embryo transfer is the most effective way of reducing multiple pregnancies. The HFEA has advised that most clinics have shown significant progress in reducing multiple births without compromising pregnancy rates. In 2008 nearly one in four IVF births resulted in a multiple birth but now, with a concerted multiple births reduction policy, this number is one in six.

    Although progress has been made, this number is still higher than the rate in conceptions that do not involve assisted reproduction treatment. The overall goal is to reduce multiple births to one in ten.

    The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

    Information about CCGs approach to commissioning or compliance with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines regarding IVF services is not collected centrally.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Northern Ireland counterpart on control of bovine TB in Northern Ireland.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB policy is a devolved matter. The UK Chief Veterinary Office and other Defra officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on the eradication of bovine TB.