Category: Speeches

  • Lord Faulkner of Worcester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Faulkner of Worcester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Faulkner of Worcester on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for revising the terms of reference for the Sports Grounds Safety Authority to ensure that they encompass disabled access requirements at licensed sports stadia.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    As set out in our Sports Strategy, we will enable the Sports Grounds Safety Authority to take on a more formal role in helping sports grounds reach the required standards for accessibility. We are currently in discussions with the SGSA on what role they will play in delivering accessible sports grounds.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions for paracetamol were issued in England and Wales in the 2014-15 financial year.

    David Mowat

    The number of paracetamol prescription items dispensed in the community in England in the last two financial years is provided in the table. This includes for prescriptions written by doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists.

    Year

    Number of paracetamol prescription items (000s)

    2014/15

    23,326.6

    2015/16

    22,664.4

    Source: Prescription Cost Analysis system provided by NHS Digital

    Prescribing information relating to Wales is a matter for my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what organisations are providers of Community Work Placements under the Help to Work scheme.

    Priti Patel

    DWP Community Work Placement Prime Providers:

    Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited

    G4S Regional Management (UK&I) Limited

    Advanced Personnel Management Group (UK) Limited

    Learndirect Limited

    Rehab Jobfit LLP

    Working Links (Employment) Limited

    Interserve Working Futures Limited

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Help to Work scheme in the 2014-15 financial year; and how much of the budget for that scheme for the 2015-16 financial year has been spent to date.

    Priti Patel

    The Help to Work scheme contains a number of initiatives and programmes, delivered through Jobcentre Plus and Contracted Employment Provision.

    It is not possible to identify the costs of Help to Work activities separately from the total expenditure in Jobcentre Plus. The relevant data is not held in a form which allows it to be clearly identified and separated from other Jobcentre Plus activities.

    The two elements delivered through Contracted Employment Programmes are Community Work Placements and the Supervised Jobsearch Pilot. Expenditure on Community Work Placements was £1.8m in 2014-15. Expenditure on Supervised Jobsearch Pilot in 2014-15 was £6.3m. This is funded by income from the European Social Fund

  • David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Mowat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had on the effective stewardship of local government pension schemes.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has regular discussions on matters within the full range of his responsibilities. We strongly believe that local government pension fund assets should be invested in a way that provides excellent value for money for taxpayers and scheme members alike.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 23 February (HL6044), why the answer did not answer parts 2, 3 and 4 of the question; and whether they will now do so.

    Lord Dunlop

    My written answer dated 23 February 2016 (HL6044) made reference to the Joint Communiqué of the meeting of 26 February 2007, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. The Joint Communiqué provides the answers to parts 2 and 3 of the Noble Lord’s original question (details of attendees and topics discussed).

    In relation to part 4 of the original question, as previously advised no formal actions were listed following this meeting. The focus at the time was the drive towards devolution and the Conference urged all political leaders to act with courage and determination in order to attain this.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost was of transferring the services previously provided by the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council after the GSCC was abolished in 2012.

    Alistair Burt

    The function for the regulation of social workers in England was transferred from the General Social Care Council (GSCC) to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) on 1 August 2012.

    The final set of accounts from the GSCC show that the total cost to the public purse of closing down the Council was £16.5 million. The HCPC also received £1.4 million to support it take on the functions for the regulation of social workers in England. Therefore, the total cost was £17.9 million.

    On the assumption that the costs of the GSCC remained broadly similar, the Department estimated that the closure of the GSCC saves £13.5 million each year.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will extend the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme to Yazidi women who are Iraqi victims of Daesh; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    Only the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) registered Syrian refugees are eligible under the Syrian Resettlement Scheme, which has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 during this Parliament. We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to seven agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme.

    There are no current plans to widen the Syrian Resettlement Scheme but it is operated in addition to our global resettlement schemes: Gateway and Mandate, which are not nationality specific. We also announced on 21 April a new Children at Risk Resettlement Scheme designed to resettle refugee children and their families designated by UNHCR as being at risk. This scheme is not nationality specific but is targeted at children in the Middle East and North Africa.

  • Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the health benefits of (a) regular supported activity for people with long-term neurological conditions and (b) the commissioning of services to support such activity.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department has made no such specific assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends the involvement of physiotherapists in the management of a range of neurological conditions including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease. The commissioning of services to provide supported physical activity, such as that provided by physiotherapists, is a local matter, as are the vast majority of services for neurological conditions.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage, by total value, of government departments’ procurement contracts for relevant construction projects meet or exceed the mandatory Government Buying Standard level in 2014–15; and why that data was not included in the Greening Government Commitments annual report for 2014–15.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Greening Government Commitments annual report for 2014-15 sets out the data reported by departments on the proportion of government procurement contracts in a number of key product groups which met or exceeded Government Buying Standards in that year. The information specifically on construction contracts is set out in Annex 2, procurement table 3 of the annual report. As with previous years’ annual reports, the available data is presented by department, rather than for the whole of government. It is not possible to provide a figure on the proportion which met or exceeded the Government Buying Standards for the whole of government, as not all departments were able to report complete information.

    It is the responsibility of each Department to put the Government Buying Standards into practice in its own procurement activity.