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Category: Speeches

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to the student opportunity fund on the number of people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have taken significant steps to widen participation in higher education. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers, enabling more people than ever before to benefit from higher education. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds – up from £404m in 2009/10.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

    We will work with the Higher Education Funding Council for England to target the Student Opportunity Fund in the most effective way and with the Director of Fair Access to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the £290 million that the Prime Minister announced on 11 January 2016 to help new and expectant mothers combat poor mental health is additional funding, over and above existing budgets.

    Alistair Burt

    The £290 million investment in perinatal mental health services announced by the Prime Minister is funded from within the Department’ overall Spending Review Settlement.This builds on the initial investment announced at the Spring 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2016/17 to 2020/21 of £350 million.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure provision of specialist respiratory care for people with muscle-wasting conditions; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including those with muscle-wasting conditions. The relevant service specification sets out what designated specialised providers must have in place to offer evidence based safe and effective care. Patients should have access to a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, psychologists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other health professionals.

    The specification also sets out that neuromuscular clinics need to identify those at risk of respiratory problems and refer for specialist respiratory assessment and monitoring.

    The specification can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

    A separate specification covers services for children:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27774, if his Department will take steps to ensure the funding for local smoking cessation services is maintained in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    Local councils will receive £16 billion over the next five years for public health and have a duty to consider how best to respond to local public health challenges. Public Health England provides a range of resources to support councils in developing of tobacco control programmes. Decisions on commissioning services are for local councils.

  • Adam Holloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Adam Holloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Holloway on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to deploy the armed forces in Libya to train the Libyan army.

    Michael Fallon

    Planning has focused on training Libyan security forces to provide their own security to the new Libyan government and Libyan people. No decisions have been made about the future deployment of British military forces and any provision of support will be in response to a request by the Government of National Accord.

  • 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 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to instruct NHS England to commission fertility treatment centrally.

    Jane Ellison

    Information about clinical commissioning groups’ approach to commissioning fertility services is not collected centrally.

    The Department has not made any estimate of the proportion of children conceived in the United Kingdom using in-vitro fertilisation relative to those countries mentioned.

    The Department has no plans to instruct NHS England to commission fertility treatment centrally. Fertility services do not meet the criteria set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to be nationally commissioned by NHS England.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will require EDF Energy to restore the land cleared and prepared for the construction of the Hinkley C nuclear plant to its previous condition in the event of the EDF Board deciding not to take a Final Investment Decision on the plant.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Planning permission for site preparation works at Hinkley Point C was granted by the local planning authority, West Somerset Council under the Town and Country Planning Act (1990) and this included conditions and planning obligations on the circumstances and arrangements for site reinstatement.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of whether the Walshaw Moor Estate’s management of its blanket bog habitats is in compliance with the Habitats Directive; and when she intends to answer the letter of 29 April 2016 from the European Commission giving formal notice on that matter.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    We do not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

  • James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will disclose which candidate for Secretary-General of the Commonwealth the UK voted for during the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting in November 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Baroness Scotland was elected at a meeting to which only Heads of Government were invited. The Government never discloses how it votes.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our European Union membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.