Category: Speeches

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that clinical commissioning groups implement the NICE guideline on diagnosis of food allergy in children and young people in a primary care setting.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline, ‘Food allergy in children and young people’, published in 2011, sets out best practice on the care treatment and support for children and young people with food allergy. NICE clinical guidelines are designed to support health care professionals in their work, and commissioners should consider them when developing local services, but they do not replace the knowledge, skills and experience of clinicians in deciding how best to manage patients.

    Immunotherapy for the long-term management of allergic disease may be provided as part of the NHS England’s nationally commissioned specialised allergy service. NHS England has set out what these providers must have in place to offer high quality specialised allergy care, ensuring equity of access to patients wherever they live. Around 0.1% of people with allergies in the United Kingdom, some 20,000 people, are likely to require referral to a specialist centre. NHS England’s allergy service specification, which provides more information about specialised allergy services, can be viewed at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/b09-spec-allergy.pdf

    “

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33485, in what capacity those polygraph examinations have been conducted; and for what reasons polygraph examinations have been so used to examine sex offender behaviour.

    Andrew Selous

    The legal basis for the polygraph scheme is in the Offender Management Act 2007. Sections 28 to 30 enable a polygraph licence condition to be added to the release licence of certain sex offenders. In January 2014, following a successful pilot, the condition was introduced nationally.

    Polygraph testing has proven to be a valuable additional tool for National Probation Service offender managers in the management of certain sex offenders in the community. It increases the chance that those sexual offenders will make critically significant disclosures relevant to their management, supervision, or risk assessment. Furthermore, it has increased the likelihood of preventative actions being taken by offender managers to protect the public from harm, such as warnings and recall to custody.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of all asylum appeals were made by Eritrean nationals or refugees in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In answer to Questions HL329 and HL331, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8090.

    In answer to Question HL330, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8089.

    In answer to Question HL332 and HL333, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 11/05/2016 for Questions HL8091 and HL9092.

  • James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    James Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Berry on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government expects to receive the EU Commission’s assessment of the UK Air Quality Plan.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government submitted a revised air quality plan to the European Commission on 17 December last year. There is no formal timetable under the Air Quality Directive for the Commission to assess the plan. The Government is working with the Commission to ensure compliance with the nitrogen dioxide limits in the Directive in the shortest possible time.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of staff on the payroll of her Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Matt Hancock

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to amend section 3(5A) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to remove the requirement on the Secretary of State to lay the draft of an Order in Council for giving effect to the recommendations contained in the Boundary Commissions’ reports.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government will outline its plans for constituency boundaries when it responds to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee’s report, What next on the redrawing of parliamentary constituency boundaries?, in due course.

  • Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of extending rail electrification from Bristol to Taunton.

    Claire Perry

    No such assessment has been made. Network Rail is currently assessing the case for further electrification of the rail network. It plans to publish a draft update to the industry electrification strategy in early 2016, taking into account the outcome of the review by Sir Peter Hendy of Network Rail’s programme of rail investment.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support the NHS recruit, retain and help the professional development of consultants specialising in (a) rare and (b) ultra-rare diseases.

    George Freeman

    The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy is a high-level framework which sets out a strategic vision for improving the lives of all those affected by rare diseases. The strategy includes specific commitments regarding the education and training of the National Health Service workforce in the context of genomics and rare diseases.

    Health Education England (HEE) was established to deliver a better healthcare workforce for England and for ensuring a secure workforce supply for the future. In addition, the HEE Genomics Education Programme was established in 2014 and is intended to build capacity and capability in response to the genomic medicine revolution. The programme includes rare diseases within its scope and will support the professional development of both new and existing members of the NHS workforce.

    HEE has also published a suite of awareness raising videos to inform healthcare workers and the public about rare diseases. One video is aimed at general practitioners and highlights the importance of considering the possibility that their patient may have a rare condition.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of 19 January 2016, Official Report, column 1364, what the evidential basis is for his statement that his Department will go further still in raising cycling spending per head.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Under the previous Government, spend on cycling increased to £6 per head from the £2 inherited in 2010. This Government has made clear its intention to make this country a cycling nation and our commitment to the publication of a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is evidence of our support to go further in supporting cycling on a longer term basis. The strategy will set out our objectives, activities and the funding available for cycling and walking in England in the long term and will be published in the summer following a consultation in spring.

    We are also going further by making sure that provision for cyclists is now embedded into wider transport programs.

    Through the Road Investment Strategy, Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users, with a plan to invest £100m between 2015/16 and 2020/21 to improve provision for cyclists on and around the strategic road network.

    At a local level, a record £6 billion is being allocated to local authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, and from 2018/19 the plan is to change the allocation formula so that it takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting that it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25652, what media outlets will be used to carry advertising as part of the national campaign for apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    The national campaign for apprenticeships will target a range of audiences including young people, employers and parents.

    Advertising will be through a number of different media channels including television, out of home advertising (e.g. posters), radio, digital and social media.