Category: Speeches

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to people with Type 1 diabetes who self-fund a continuous glucose monitor.

    Nicola Blackwood

    No estimate has been made of the annual cost to people with Type 1 diabetes who self-fund a continuous glucose monitor.

    In August 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provided updated guidelines for both Type 1 diabetes and for children and young people with diabetes. In both, the cost effectiveness, as well as the clinical effectiveness, of continuous glucose monitoring was assessed. Both sets of guidelines outline specific clinical situations where the clinical and cost effectiveness justify consideration of the use of the technology.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish his response to the results of his Department’s consultation on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges that closed in June 2016.

    Margot James

    The Government launched its consultation on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges to gain views on proposed actions towards tipping abuse. We are analysing submissions to this exercise and will announce further action in due course.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects to know how much of the Joint Security Fund announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2015 will be allocated to his Department.

    Michael Fallon

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer will set out further details of the Joint Security Fund at the Spending Review on Wednesday 25 November.

  • 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 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount his Department will save as a result of limiting the backdating of housing benefit to a maximum of one month in each of the next four years; and how that estimate was calculated.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Although information is collected that would enable an estimate to be calculated, the variables in question have not be quality assured to sufficient standards to provide a response. To do so would result in disproportionate costs.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what additional checks on standards and quality his Department and the National Apprenticeship Service plan to introduce in response to the targets listed in his Department’s publication, English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, published on 7 December 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Institute for Apprenticeships, a new independent body led by employers, is being established to oversee the quality of apprenticeships in England.

    The Institute for Apprenticeships will put in place transparent mechanisms for the approval of apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, and maintain clear quality criteria so that only standards that are valued by employers will be approved and funded.

    It will be fully operational by April 2017.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken or plans to take to build the capacity of communities to (a) engage with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and (b) hold their governments to account for engagement on that issue.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is the third largest donor of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, pledging up to £1 billion between 2014 and 2016, subject to a 10% donor share cap. This is improving the lives of millions of people, saving approximately 580,000 lives by preventing 8.4m new malaria, HIV and TB infections.

    The Global Fund encourages active participation of communities at all levels, from grant design, implementation and oversight at country level through country coordination mechanisms, to the Global Fund Board.

    DFID is a founding supporter and pledged up to £9m to the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund. We are also amongst the top five funders of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) which was created in 1996 to respond to the growing HIV/AIDS crisis. Both of these are critical in building the capacity of networks of inadequately served communities to engage with the Global Fund and hold governments to account.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Plymouth City Council for pothole maintenance since 2010; and what estimate he has made of how many potholes have been repaired as a result of that funding.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport allocated funding of £4.7 billion for local highways maintenance to local highway authorities in England from 2010 to 2015 which would be enough to repair approximately 89 million potholes based on an average of £53 per pothole. A further £6.1 billion is being allocated between now and 2021, including £250 million as part of a Pothole Action Fund, which could fix a further 115 million potholes. For Plymouth City Council we are providing over £25 million for local highways maintenance between 2010 and 2021 enough to help them repair over 400,000 potholes.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what role the Environment Agency has in the Government’s assessment of whether expansion of Heathrow Airport would be compatible with air quality legislation.

    Rory Stewart

    Along with other Statutory Environmental Bodies, the Environment Agency is a member of the Department for Transport’s Appraisal of Sustainability Steering Group which is considering the range of environmental, social and economic impacts associated with the short-listed options for airport capacity in the south east. This is part of the work that the Secretary of State for Transport outlined in his oral statement in December last year, which confirmed that the Government would be starting work on preparing the building blocks for an Airports National Policy Statement.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the academy trusts approved to receive the Northern fund for academy sponsors were operating schools that had (a) received a requires improvement rating, (b) received an inadequate rating and (c) had been placed in special measures by Ofsted.

    Edward Timpson

    The Northern Fund was announced by the Chancellor in the 2014 Autumn Statement, to boost academy sponsorship in the North of England as a means of turning around standards in some of the most educationally deprived parts of the country.

    The first competition was run in June and July 2015, with awards being announced in November 2015. Two further competitions were run in January and February 2016.

    A total of 65 academy sponsors received an award under the Northern Fund. At that time, the number of sponsors operating schools in these categories breaks down as follows:

    • 22 sponsors were operating schools that had received a requires improvement rating.

    • Seven sponsors were operating schools that had received an inadequate rating; and, of these seven sponsors, five were operating schools that had been placed in Special Measures, which is a subset of the inadequate category.

    By definition, approved academy sponsors are working with groups of schools, some of which have the most deeply ingrained challenges. Sponsors will often have a mixed portfolio of schools at different stages of both absolute performance and improvement. The Northern Fund is designed to help selected sponsors develop additional capacity in geographical locations of need. Ministers and Regional Schools Commissioners are confident that recipients of the Northern Fund will be able to benefit schools that need their help.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Disclosure and Barring Service renewal applications were made prior to the renewal date and issued after the applicants’ certificate expired in the last 12 months.

    Mike Penning

    The Disclosure and Barring Service is responsible for issuing criminal record certificates and the maintenance of children’s and adults’ barred lists. The Disclosure and Barring Service has a target of processing 85% of all disclosure applications within 21 days. In the vast majority of cases (95%), disclosure certificates are issued within 8 weeks (2015/16).

    Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service do not expire after a specific period of time and do not include a renewal date. A certificate has no set period of validity. Information revealed through a Disclosure and Barring Service check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issue. Disclosure certificates are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position.

    Some roles and some employers require the person concerned to “renew” their Disclosure and Barring Service check at specific intervals. The person can do that either by applying for a new certificate or by using the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service.

    It would not be appropriate to comment on specific cases, but there are a number of factors which can affect the timely completion of checks. These include the length of time if can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information, legal challenges and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved, if any, in the enhanced process. In some cases, forces will ask Disclosure and Barring Service to clarify some details provided by the applicant which requires further investigation and this can cause further delays.