Category: Speeches

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for NHS policies of the use of a regional eye inspection liaison officer in Northern Ireland.

    Alistair Burt

    The Health and Social Care Board Northern Ireland (HSCB) have funded Eye Care Liaison Officers since 2012. The HSCB are not aware of any regional eye inspection liaison officers in Northern Ireland.

    In England, the Government fully appreciates the impact that sight loss can have on a person’s life and the importance of information being available for those newly diagnosed with sight loss, including signposting patients to appropriate support and rehabilitation services.

    Eye clinics and their staffing, including eye clinic liaison officers, are commissioned and funded by individual clinical commissioning groups on the basis of local assessments of need.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the budget for the National Infrastructure Commission for the current year; what are the locations of its office accommodation; what that accommodation costs; and how many staff it employs, and at what cost.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    A suitable budget will be made available to cover the costs of staff and commissioning work from external organisations where necessary. The Commission is currently located at 1 Horse Guards Road on a temporary basis. The Commission is expected to have a staff of around 30 and it is now recruiting for these positions. The staff are being paid in line with salaries for government officials.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Spending Review 2015, where they expect the majority of the FCO efficiency savings of £53 million by 2019–20 will be made.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Efficiency savings of £53 million by 2019-20 will be delivered, in part, through reducing the running costs of our global network and the use of improved technology. There will also be reductions to the non-Official Development Assistance funding for the British Council, although overall funding for the British Council will be protected in real terms.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken in primary schools to address obesity.

    Edward Timpson

    A number of measures are already helping to address obesity in primary schools in England. The Government has committed over £600 million per year to funding free school meals for all pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2, providing nutritious meals every day and helping to form good eating habits early. The School Food Standards, introduced in 2015, ensure that healthy food is provided throughout the school day and severely restrict fat and sugar. We will continue to invest £150 million per year until 2020 to improve the quality of PE and sport in primary schools. PE is compulsory at all four key stages in the national curriculum for maintained schools.

    The Government will launch its childhood obesity strategy shortly. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will also set out what more can be done by all sides, including schools.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the proportion of five-year olds eligible for free school meals with severe or extensive tooth decay.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) has produced guidance to support local authorities in their responsibility to improve dental health and reduce inequalities among children in their area. PHE has also developed guidance for dental teams on preventing dental disease in their patients. Advice has recently been published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

    The Department will be launching the Childhood Obesity Strategy in the summer. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese, including sugar which is a cause of tooth decay.

    Overall, children’s access to National Health Service dentistry remains consistently high, with the number of children seen in the 24 months to December 2015 by an NHS dentist standing at 8.1 million or 69.5% of the population. 104,000 more children saw an NHS dentist in England in the 24 month period ending 31 December 2015, compared with the same period ending 31 December 2014.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) homes and (b) affordable homes have been completed under the Get Britain Building scheme to date; and what estimate he has made of the number of new jobs created by that scheme.

    Brandon Lewis

    The total number of homes completed under the Get Britain Building programme from its launch in November 2011 to September 2015 is 9,761. Of these, 1400 are affordable homes.

    Government does not collect data concerning the number of jobs created by the Get Britain Building programme.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to (a) end the indefinite detention of asylum-seekers in the UK and (b) introduce a limit on such detention in line with other European countries.

    James Brokenshire

    We do not detain asylum seekers indefinitely using immigration powers. The decision on whether detention is necessary is made on a case by case basis taking account of all the circumstances of the individual case. Detention must comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. Coupled with this, domestic case law is clear that, where detention is for the purpose of removal, the detention power can only be exercised if there is a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable timeframe, which is highly case-specific.

    Some other European countries have in place a time limit on immigration detention because of the inquisitorial nature of their systems and because the actions of their Executives are not scrutinised by their courts in the same way in which courts in the UK scrutinise the Executive. The UK is not a signatory to the EU Returns Directive, which establishes time limits across Europe.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Yemen have claimed asylum in the UK in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to date.

    James Brokenshire

    There were 111 asylum applications from Yemeni nationals in 2015, and 15 in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2016.

    There were 12 refusals of asylum or an alternative form of protection, at initial decision, to Yemeni nationals in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2016.

    The Home Office publishes figures on asylum applications and initial decisions by nationality in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics, January to March 2016, is available from:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016/asylum

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications of VM Langfords entering administration for the provision of patient transport services in Sussex.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    This is a matter for local commissioners.

    NHS England has confirmed that Coperforma, holder of the non-emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) contract for Sussex, informed High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group (HWLH CCG) on 16 June 2016 that a receiver had been appointed for VM Langfords – transport provider sub-contracted to deliver PTS in East and West Sussex. A number of South East Coast Ambulance Services (SECAmb) staff had been transferred to VM Langfords employment.

    HWLH CCG met with Coperforma on 17 June 2016 and was assured that a plan was already in place for additional transport capacity to mitigate any loss of capacity that this situation may cause.

    HWLH CCG is working closely with Coperforma and the unions (Unison and GMB) to work through the implications for ex SECAmb staff, to ensure the processes followed are in keeping with employment legislation and good practice and that the impacts on service delivery are kept to a minimum.

    There have been no discussions between Ministers in the Department and Sussex CCGs about PTS provider VM Langfords going into administration.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much coal the UK carbon fibre industry used in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

    Jesse Norman

    The table below gives the amount of coal used for non-power generating purposes:

    UK coal demand for non-electricity generating purposes(1) (thousand tonnes)

    2006

    10,156

    2007

    10,158

    2008

    10,577

    2009

    9,037

    2010

    9,827

    2011

    9,658

    2012

    9,141

    2013

    10,139

    2014

    10,021

    2015

    8,174

    Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) table 2.4 available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

    BEIS does not hold data at that level. BEIS cannot disaggregate coal used by the carbon fibre industry from coal used by all industries.

    “