Category: Speeches

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps other than the social care precept the Government is taking to ensure that local authorities are able adequately to fund services for people with learning disabilities.

    Alistair Burt

    In addition to the social care precept, which gives local authorities access to up to £2 billion for adult social care by 2019/20; the Government has supported adult social care, which includes care for those with learning disabilities, by giving local authorities access to up to £1.5 billion of new support by 2019/20. This is based on the additional social care monies to be included in the Better Care Fund.

    In the national service model and Building the Right Support published in October 2015, NHS England, the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services set out how areas would be supported to deliver lasting change to people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges.

    This includes service transformation – shifting money from some services, such as inpatient care, into others, such as community services.

    To support this NHS England is making available up to £30 million of transformation funding over three years, to be matched by clinical commissioning groups, and £15 million in capital funding. This funding is in addition to the £10 million which was made available to six fast track areas in 2015/16.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in her Department in 2015-16.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department has not incurred any expenditure on non-payroll staff during this period.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials of his Department of each grade banding have undergone more than 12 hours of training on universal credit; and how many such officials of each grade banding he forecasts will have undertaken such training on completion of the full rollout of universal credit to all eligible claimants.

    Damian Hinds

    The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) policy is to develop its staff in the skills and knowledge required to support a range of customers and deliver their services.

    Universal Credit continues to be rolled out throughout the country and staff continue to be upskilled to support the implementation. I can confirm that to date the breakdown for DWP officials undergoing more than 12 hours of training on Universal Credit is as follows:

    B/AO 5316

    C/EO 6221

    D/HEO 630

    We are planning that all DWP staff who will be working with Universal Credit by the time of full roll out will have completed the required training. We plan on a flexible basis to meet customer demand and therefore forecasts vary.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the in-service dates are for the River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessels currently under construction on the Clyde.

    Harriett Baldwin

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given in the House of Lords on 12 September 2016 by my noble Friend the Minister of State for Defence, the right hon. Earl Howe to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead to Question HL1533.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy for NHS England to require individual funding requests to be made when treatment is permitted by the relevant commissioning policy.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that if there is a commissioning policy in place for a treatment, and the patient fulfils the treatment criteria contained within this, then an individual funding request (IFR) is not required, as the treatment will be routinely funded. It is only if the patient’s treatment falls outside of the criteria that an IFR would be appropriate or if there is no policy in place for the treatment/indication.

    Neither the Department nor NHS England has made any assessment of the suitability of IFRs for preventative treatments.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of capacity on travel routes from Wrexham to Liverpool for HM Revenue and Customs staff redeployed from Wrexham to Liverpool.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the planned locations of its future Regional Centres based on a number of key principles that will enable it to deliver more for less. In addition to cost, HMRC has taken account of the quality of local transport links, the local labour market and future workforce supply, and the need to retain the staff and skills it requires to continue its transformation. These changes will reduce HMRC’s estates costs by around £100 million a year by 2025.

    HMRC estimates that Liverpool will be home to between 2,800 and 3,100 full time equivalent employees. Consolidation into the Regional Centre is expected to begin in 2019-20. HMRC plans to open the Regional Centre in Cardiff in 2019-20. It is likely that the office at Plas Gororau in Wrexham will close in 2020-21. HMRC will be holding one-to-one discussions with each of its people to discuss the next steps.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will introduce a ban on plastic microbeads in cosmetic products similar to that introduced in the US.

    George Eustice

    The UK and neighbouring countries are working with industry to achieve a voluntary phase out of plastic microbeads in cosmetics and soaps.

    The issue was discussed at the OSPAR Conference in 2014 and the cosmetics industry in Europe has committed to act.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he will publish draft regulations on housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Removal of automatic housing support for 18 – 21 year olds, announced in the Summer Budget 2015, will be introduced in April 2017. The Department is liaising with a range of key stakeholders as we develop the detail of the policy and once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education has a range of policies, procedures and other materials to promote and support the health and wellbeing of its employees.

    The Department’s Wellbeing Group runs regular events and campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of wellbeing. There is also a wellbeing week and an annual wellbeing award that recognises not just the promotion of wellbeing, but also how it has improved the wellbeing of others.

    An Employee Assistance Programme is available to all staff and provides support, information, and advice on a range of issues, including health and wellbeing, problems at work, relationships, legal matters, debt management. Telephone and face to face counselling is also available.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the money allocated to northern road infrastructure in Budget 2016, is in addition to £800 million allocated to the North West Road Infrastructure Programme.

    Andrew Jones

    At the budget £161m was announced for the acceleration of smart motorway upgrades to the M62 between junctions 10-12 and 20-25. A further £75m from the Transport Development Fund was committed to developing the recommendations of the government’s strategic studies on Northern Trans-Pennine routes, Manchester’s North West Quadrant and the Trans-Pennine Tunnel. Both of these commitments are in addition to the £1.5bn being spent in the North West between 2015 and 2021 to deliver schemes committed under the first Road Investment Strategy.