Category: Speeches

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the planned operational budget is for the (a) Government Innovation Group and (b) Efficiency and Reform Group announced in the Departmental Settlement within the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 in each year to 2019-20.

    Matthew Hancock

    Following settlement of the Cabinet Office Spending Review last week, the allocation of funds to individual management units is underway as part of the department’s business planning process to be completed in the coming months.

  • Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Calum Kerr on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the Save the Children proposal to relocate 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children who have arrived in Europe to the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    As the Prime Minister said to Parliament in December, we are looking again at the issue of bringing Syrian children to the UK. In any consideration we must ensure that our proposals are in the best interests of those children affected and do not inadvertently put children at additional risk.

    Our Syrian resettlement programme has already resettled vulnerable children as part of family groups, with over 1000 refugees resettled by Christmas.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the costs and benefits to the (a) public purse and (b) Debt Management Office of the Government’s ownership of National Savings and Investments.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The core purpose of NS&I remains to raise cost-effective finance for the Government, using an operating framework that balances the interests of savers, taxpayers and the wider financial sector.

    An indication of NS&I’s cost effectiveness in raising finance for the Government, as measured by the Value Indicator, is published annually. The Value Indicator is calculated by comparing the total cost of delivering Net Financing and servicing existing customers deposits with how much it would cost the Government to raise funds through the wholesale market via equivalent maturity gilts. Last year £330m was saved.

    As an arms-length body, NS&I is responsible for its own brand strategy. In line with government Spend Controls, Cabinet Office approval is required for advertising, marketing and communications spend of £100,000 or above.

    NS&I relocated its operations within Glasgow from the Cowglen site to the Capella building in the centre of Glasgow in May 2015. The closure of Cowglen facilitated the move to more modern and cost effective accommodation and released the surplus site for redevelopment for housing, together with a capital receipt for the Exchequer. NS&I’s mail processing and scanning operations previously located at Cowglen, moved to Orbital House in East Kilbride in October 2015. NS&I remains committed to its operations in Scotland.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the UN Secretary General on the supply of arms and other military equipment sales to Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has had no discussions with the UN Secretary General on the supply of arms and other military equipment sales to Saudi Arabia.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the drug nabilone available on the NHS for people with multiple sclerosis.

    George Freeman

    We have made no such assessment. Nabilone is not licensed for use in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Stroke Strategy and whether the strategy has achieved its aims.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No formal assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the National Stroke Strategy or of whether it has achieved its aims. However, we know that good progress has been made on stroke in recent years, with mortality rates decreasing.

    Part of this progress is undoubtedly due to improvements in the treatment of stroke, where we have made great strides in several areas. The most recent data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Project shows that:

    – Over 48% of patients receive brain scanning within one hour of hospital arrival and over 90% within 12 hours;

    – 84% of stroke patients spend more than 90% of their time in hospital on a stroke unit;

    – Clot busting drugs give a certain cohort of stroke patients a better chance of regaining their independence. 11% of stroke patients admitted to hospital receive these drugs; and

    – Over 78% of patients are assessed by a specialist stroke physician within 24 hours of admission, showing that stroke services have made good progress in delivering 7 day specialist medical services.

    However we know there is more to do and increases in levels of obesity and an ageing population lead to new pressures.

    That is why a Cardiovascular (CVD) Disease Outcomes Strategy was published in 2013. It sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to help further improve outcomes in Coronary Heart Disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

    NHS England hosts a CVD outcomes collaborative which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, the main relevant national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, Public Health England and the Department of Health. This collaborative continues to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy.

    In February this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published interventional procedure guidance on mechanical clot retrieval (thrombectomy) for treating acute ischaemic stroke. The guidance sets out that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support its use, provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. This guidance does not oblige commissioners to commission thrombectomy nor hospitals to provide it.

    NHS England is now undertaking work to inform a decision on whether this is a procedure that should be made more widely available.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the financial impact that the decision by the Office of Road and Rail to allow competition on the East Coast Main Line will have on the existing Virgin Trains East Coast franchise.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is currently working to establish a robust estimate of the financial impact, taking full account of the specific details of the Office of Rail and Road’s decision. At this stage, that process is incomplete.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to negotiate a trade deal with the Mercosur trading bloc.

    Greg Hands

    The EU is currently negotiating a trade deal with Mercosur. Until we have left the EU, the UK will remain a member of the EU with all of the rights and obligations that membership entails.

    In due course, Britain will be leaving the EU. This offers us an opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world: to negotiate, in time, our own trade agreements and to be a positive and powerful force for free trade. The Prime Minister has established the Department for International Trade to promote British trade across the world and ensure the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy. We will engage fully with a broad range of stakeholders, including both governments and business over the coming weeks and months as we prepare for the negotiation with the EU and other international partners.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on the financial deficit of that Trust.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Department of Health ministers have had no recent meetings or discussions with representatives from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust regarding its financial deficit over the last six months.

    On 17 October 2016 NHS Improvement announced Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has entered Financial Special Measures.

    The Financial Special Measures programme launched by NHS Improvement provides a rapid turnaround package for trusts and foundation trusts which have either not agreed savings targets (also known as control totals) with local commissioners, or planned to make savings but deviated significantly from this plan.

    As part of financial special measures, each trust agrees a recovery plan with NHS Improvement. The trusts also get support from – and are held accountable by – a Financial Improvement Director appointed by NHS Improvement.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what publications his private office subscribes to.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Secretary of State for Transport’s Private Office does not subscribe to any publications.