Category: Speeches

Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s target is for time taken to respond to letters and emails from hon. Members; what the average time taken by his Department to respond to such letters and emails is; and how many such letters and emails received between 1 January and 30 September 2015 remained unanswered after eight weeks.

Mr David Lidington

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers aim to respond to all correspondence from Honourable Members within 20 working days of receipt. However, due to the complex nature of certain items of correspondence, it is not always possible to meet this deadline.

FCO Ministers responded to around 81 per cent of correspondence from parliamentarians between 1 January and 30 September 2015 within 20 working days. During this period, FCO Ministers sent a total of 5702 letters to Members of Parliament, Peers and Members of the Public.

Detailed information on the average time taken to respond to correspondence is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

January 1, 2023
Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218111, what conclusions were reached by the Taskforce of business representations and government departments established to access how to limit the negative impact on business and jobs of the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal of 4 November 2014 in the case Bear Scotland and over v Mr David Fulton and others.

Nick Boles

The previous Government involved the Holiday Pay Task Force in discussions leading to the introduction of the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014. These regulations were introduced to limit backdated holiday pay claims to two years and have applied to Employment Tribunal claims for unlawful deductions from wages made on or since 1 July 2015. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) believes that the regulations are helping to limit the negative impact on business of the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Bear Scotland.

BIS is continuing to monitor the impact of this and other court decisions relating to holiday pay. We regularly discuss the situation with a wide range of interested parties.

January 1, 2023
Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department’s funding to sea search and rescue programmes are due to end; what future funding is planned for such programmes; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

Border Force is undertaking a vital role in the search and rescue of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, as part of a Frontex led programme. Border Force carried out for the Department for International Development (DFID) funded search and rescue missions in Summer 2015 and is currently undertaking a second DFID funded deployment, which is due to end on 30th April 2016. Given the significant contribution made to date, it is likely that Frontex will invite Border Force to continue its involvement in future search and rescue programmes and Border Force is therefore currently establishing its Mediterranean role after 30th April 2016 and the availability of further DFID funding.

January 1, 2023
Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 28163, and with reference to the Answer of 10 June 2013 to Question 158962, whether his Department has stopped collecting data on National Minimum Wage complaints in the care sector broken down by domiciliary and residential care; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

Information on the number of NMW enquiries made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) and Acas Helpline for the ‘domiciliary care’ and ‘residential care’ sectors has not been collected at that level of disaggregation.

January 1, 2023
Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Equality (Language Analysis – Palestinian, Syrian and Kuwaiti Testing) Authorisation (No. 2) 2013, whether any further nationalities have been added to the list of exceptions.

James Brokenshire

The Government has no current plans to revise the existing Equality Act exemptions relating to language analysis testing.

No further nationalities have been added to the Equality Act exemption authorisation since it was introduced in 2013.

A review on language analysis use was undertaken in 2011 and published in 2012.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257177/language-analysis.pdf).

No further such review is presently planned. However, we do monitor the use of language analysis regularly to ensure it is used as effectively as possible and to identify new trends in nationality swapping.

January 1, 2023
Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35126, on deportation, how many removals were cancelled after an assessment by a medical escorting officer in 2015.

James Brokenshire

The data requested is not available centrally and is not routinely collected. It could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.

January 1, 2023

Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) of his Department’s civilian staff based in the UK, (b) military personnel based in the UK, (c) of his Department’s civilian staff based in Saudi Arabia and (d) military personnel based in Saudi Arabia were employed by the (i) Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications Project and (ii) Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Project on 1 April in each of the last six years.

Michael Fallon

The number of civilian and military personnel based in the UK and Saudi Arabia who were employed by the Saudi Arabian National Guard Communications Project (SANGCOM) and the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects (MODSAP) on 1 April in each of the last six years is shown in the table below. The Saudi Arabian Government reimburses the UK MOD for these staff costs and there is, therefore, no cost to the UK taxpayer.

Manpower as at 1 April 2016	SANGCOM Project	MODSAP
UK-based Civilian Staff	2	73
UK-based Military Staff	0	31
Saudi Arabia-based Civilian Staff	31	37
Saudi Arabia-based Military Staff	20	68
Manpower as at 1 April 2015
UK-based Civilian Staff	2	71
UK-based Military Staff	0	35
Saudi Arabia-based Civilian Staff	34	33
Saudi Arabia-based Military Staff	20	61
Manpower as at 1 April 2014
UK-based Civilian Staff	1	69
UK-based Military Staff	0	42
Saudi Arabia-based Civilian Staff	28	32
Saudi Arabia-based Military Staff	20	50
Manpower as at 1 April 2013
UK-based Civilian Staff	1	69
UK-based Military Staff	0	44
Saudi Arabia-based Civilian Staff	28	31
Saudi Arabia-based Military Staff	21	46
Manpower as at 1 April 2012
UK-based Civilian Staff	1	69
UK-based Military Staff	0	44
Saudi Arabia-based Civilian Staff	26	34
Saudi Arabia-based Military Staff	19	48
Manpower as at 1 April 2011
UK-based Civilian Staff	1	75
UK-based Military Staff	0	46
Saudi Arabia-based Civilian Staff	21	32
Saudi Arabia-based Military Staff	19	60

January 1, 2023

Helen Grant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Grant on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to initiate a further review of gambling advertising to follow up the review by the Industry Group for Responsible Gambling of 2014.

Tracey Crouch

The Government is committed to ensuring that people, particularly the young and vulnerable, are protected from the risk of gambling-related harm. We are keeping the issue of advertising under review to ensure that sufficient protections are in place, and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.

January 1, 2023
Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve children’s oral health in England through (a) diet and (b) other methods.

Jane Ellison

Our comprehensive childhood obesity strategy, due to be published in the new year, will be looking at areas for potential action including diet and sugar consumption which are risk factors in poor oral health and tooth decay.

The Department is working with NHS England to test a possible new dental contract which will increase access and improve oral health. Building on earlier pilots we are about to move to a new stage of testing by establishing prototypes. The new dental prototypes will continue to test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease. This approach includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice to both patients and parents on diet and good oral hygiene.

In 2014 Public Health England (PHE) published an evidence informed toolkit for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement among children and young people. PHE also published an evidence based toolkit for dental teams to support preventive advice and treatment for their patients. These toolkits include oral health improvement programmes and advice focussing on a healthier diet and reducing the consumption of free sugars.

In addition these toolkits include other methods to improve oral health, for example tooth brushing programmes and fluoride varnish application.

The PHE report Local authorities improving oral health: commissioning better oral health for children and young people: An evidence-informed toolkit for local authorities is attached and can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321503/CBOHMaindocumentJUNE2014.pdf

The PHE report Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention is attached and can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/367563/DBOHv32014OCTMainDocument_3.pdf

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January 1, 2023
Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish details of his proposal to introduce Ofsted-style ratings for clinical commissioning groups’ mental health services.

Alistair Burt

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has announced that the new Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) assessment framework being developed by NHS England will contain six key clinical areas, including mental health. The framework will be published in March 2016 and will be operational from 1 April 2016.

An annual assessment of these clinical areas will be moderated by independent panels of experts. Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of MIND, has been appointed panel chair for mental health.

A first simple assessment of all CCGs in these six areas will be published in June 2016. The formal annual summative assessment of all CCGs for 2016/17 will happen at the end of that financial year and be published in summer 2017. The annual assessment will be based on a four point scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate.

January 1, 2023