Category: Speeches

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to comments by Professor Ted Cantle of the iCoCo Foundation regarding their proposals to prevent organisations from objecting to the admissions arrangements of schools.

    Lord Nash

    The Department’s proposed changes are designed to make sure that the Schools Adjudicator can concentrate on parental complaints. The Department wants to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to prioritise the concerns parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school.

    The changes are still subject to a full public consultation and the Department will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of tax credit overpayments has been in each financial year since 2010; and how much of that amount HM Revenue and Customs has recovered in each such year.

    Damian Hinds

    The value of tax credit overpayments and tax credit recoveries in a tax year is published in HM Revenue & Customs, Annual Report and Accounts, available through www.gov.uk.

    The following are hyperlinks to each of the requested years

    2010-11

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/89199/annual-report-accounts-1011.pdf

    2011-12

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/89198/annual-report-accounts-1112.pdf

    2012-13

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210244/9549-TSO-HMRC_RA_ACCESSIBLE.pdf

    2013-14

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/330670/HMRC-annual-report-2013-14.pdf

    2014-15

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449343/HMRC_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2014-15__Web_accessible_version_.pdf

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the maximum travelling time for a 16 to 18 year-old pupil to access sixth form education if it is not available in their local authority area; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds rests with local authorities, including those students who attend school or college in a neighbouring local authority area. Most students receive a discount or concession but it is for local authorities, along with local transport providers and schools or colleges, to decide whether to provide support and which students are eligible. These decisions are best made locally in light of local needs, the resources available, and other local circumstances.

    The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to support young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used. Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding how to distribute their bursary allocations to students, and for establishing what criteria to use.

    Local authorities are encouraged to take travelling times into account when considering post-16 transport arrangements. There is an expectation of 75 minutes as a maximum travelling time each way to and from school or college but this is not a mandatory requirement.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is planning to take to improve professional awareness of sepsis.

    Ben Gummer

    Plans for improving professional awareness of sepsis were set out in the Cross System Sepsis Board report Improving outcomes for patients with sepsis: A cross-system action plan published by NHS England in December 2015.

    Health Education England (HEE) has undertaken to extend the scope of its learning materials to focus on sepsis in primary care and in children.

    Building on the 25 eLearning sessions currently available from e-Learning for healthcare that include sepsis as a topic, a new module will focus on the identification and management of sepsis in primary care.

    HEE is also working on a short educational video on paediatric sepsis. Finally, HEE is undertaking a piece of scoping work to identify the current provision of learning materials available to support sepsis management and any gaps in this material.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to promote action to remove space debris.

    Joseph Johnson

    The United Kingdom, through the UK Space Agency (UKSA), is one of the thirteen members of the Inter-Agency Debris Coordination (IADC) Committee, which considers the risks posed by space debris. Our national experts, along with more than a hundred experts from other agencies including NASA, met at Harwell in March 2016 for the annual IADC meeting to discuss many issues, including the need for the removal of space debris from orbit, and how that could best be accomplished.

    The UK is leading studies in partnership with other national agencies to model the future space environment and identify the most effective ways of mitigating the future hazard of space debris.

    UKSA is working with its international partners in technical forums such as the IADC to develop scientific consensus on the best way to manage the hazard posed by debris, such as how many objects might need to be removed, and from where. UKSA is also working to build political consensus within UN forums such as the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to enable such missions to go ahead with appropriate supervision and support from the international community. This includes developing appropriate regulatory/oversight frameworks within the UK’s Outer Space Act which allow such technologies to be tested and demonstrated safely in the increasingly congested and contested space environment.

  • Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has paid Cerner in the last 10 years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department has not, over the last 10 years, made payments to Cerner for National Health Service systems. The Department does not hold information centrally about contracts that are held by NHS Trusts locally.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the ratio of front-line medical staff to administrators in the NHS.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The ratio of medical staff to administrators in the National Health Service is 1:1.05. The number of medical staff includes only doctors and does not include roles such as nurses, midwives and other non-medical clinicians. Administrative staff are managers, senior managers and central functions staff who perform administrative and clerical duties.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms have written to the Legal Aid Agency indicating an intention to challenge a decision not to award them a contract in the Criminal Duty Tender; and how many firms have issued legal proceedings in respect of that decision.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Over 1000 bids were received for 527 contracts under this process. Some unsuccessful bidders are challenging the decision not to award contracts to them. 115 claims have been issued by 97 firms. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) continues to consider the legal proceedings issued by unsuccessful bidders in the crime duty tender.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of stage 2b cancer or higher patients in (1) tertiary, and (2) secondary, care centres were tested by NHS England in 2014 for genetic mutations that can confer resistance to targeted cancer therapies, in particular (a) AR amplification mutations, (b) ESR1 activation mutations, (c) PIK3CA mutations, (d) KRAS activation mutations, (e) EGFR amplification and activation mutations, (f) KRAS activation mutations, and (g) EGFR amplification and activation mutations.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has not, to date, undertaken a direct comparison of the English and French health systems in respect of genetic testing practice for cancer.

    NHS England does not hold data on the percentage of stage 2b, or higher, cancer patients in secondary and tertiary centres who were genetically tested. Detailed information on the clinical circumstances, or reasons, for referral for genetic testing for individual patients is not currently collated on a national basis.

    NHS England does not consider business cases from individual National Health Service trusts in relation to the adoption of new genetic tests. Instead, NHS England considers national clinical commissioning policy proposals on the eligibility of a particular test, or treatments to be made available in the presence of particular genetic markers. These are considered and where agreed, funded consistently across England for services falling within NHS England’s direct commissioning responsibilities.

    Examples include the separate policies (published in July 2015) confirming eligibility for Ivacaftor for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in the presence of certain gene mutations, and confirming eligibility for testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, respectively. Copies of the policies are attached.

    In addition, the UK Genetic Testing Network currently presents new genetic testing proposals to NHS England for funding consideration based on the conclusions of their assurance programme. These are considered, alongside other new policy proposals, as part of the annual funding prioritisation process, where there is a net annual investment to be made to support their adoption.

    Information on the average turnaround time for cancer genetic tests is not currently collated, or analysed, nationally. However, NHS England will be undertaking a procurement exercise in the coming months to support the strengthened provision of genetic testing across England. This includes more consistent reporting of activity and other performance indicators, including the timeliness of reporting on receipt on referrals. The supporting national service specification, setting out the standards required of commissioned providers, has been the subject of a recent public consultation.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many golf courses his Department owns; and what plans his Department has to sell such property.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are currently 11 operating golf courses, one pitch and putt centre and one driving range on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land.

    Of these 11 courses seven are on land leased by MOD that have no other direct connection to the Department, one is occupied by the United States Air Force and three are military encroachments.

    The majority of the golf courses located on MOD land are linked to sites that will be addressed as part of the MOD Estate Footprint Strategy to release surplus land.

    Once the future use of any site has been agreed, MOD will look at how to make best use of land that will be retained or bring to the market sites that are being vacated. This will include the potential release of the golf course element.

    As part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s ongoing work to rationalise the Defence estate the courses at DMRC Headley Court and Ballykinler are being examined for potential disposal through the Department’s standard disposal process. Ballykinler and RM Condor are no longer in use as golf courses.