Category: Speeches

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to correct the computer error in the child maintenance system on the collection of arrears.

    Priti Patel

    There were well-documented IT failures in the 1993 and 2003 Child Support Agency (CSA) statutory child maintenance scheme systems. The Coalition government introduced a new Child Maintenance scheme in 2012 which addresses these issues. This is operated by the Child Maintenance Service and used a pathfinder approach to introduce new IT systems in a slow, safe and controlled way. The 2012 scheme systems are designed to be more cost-effective and overcome the key failings associated with the 1993 and 2003 CSA schemes and systems. We will be closing all the cases on the old schemes, and we are continuing to pursue existing debt.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of replacing civilian Ministry of Defence police by soldiers.

    Michael Fallon

    Our security policy is to focus Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) resources on those areas of Defence business where civil policing powers can best mitigate the crime and security risks faced by the MOD. MDP officers have full constabulary powers (when operating within their permitted jurisdiction and in certain specified situations) and can therefore operate, armed, inside and outside the wire. However, the MOD has several security providers and can deploy Service personnel, with the flexibility to perform both armed and unarmed guarding, and the unarmed MOD Guard Service in roles where constabulary powers are not deemed essential.

  • Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to develop prison health workers’ understanding of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England, Public Heath England, the National Offender Management Service and other organisations including the Royal College of General Practitioners have developed resources to support prison healthcare teams in delivering a blood-borne virus (BBV) opt-out testing programme. This covers all aspects of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) and other BBVs including testing, managing positive and negative test results, providing advice on harm minimisation and supporting prisoners into treatment.

    Specialised HCV Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) ensure specialist oversight of HCV services in order maximise uptake and completion of HCV treatment. NHS England has linked every prison to the relevant ODN and a service specification for ODNs directs specialist service providers to accept patients from prisons.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have stopped smoking cigarettes because they have switched to e-cigarettes in each of the last three years.

    Jane Ellison

    Prescriptions for e-cigarettes will be charged like any other medication and normal exemption arrangements will apply including for those on low incomes.

    In August 2015 Public Health England published a report that outlined evidence that e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking. Data from local stop smoking services shows that 2/3 of smokers are successful in their quit attempts when combining e-cigarettes with behavioural support. Data from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) suggests in 2015 there were 2.6 million e-cigarette users of which nearly 2 out of 5 no longer smoked tobacco products. This data is available at ASH ‘Use of electronic cigarettes (vapourisers) among adults in Great Britain’, 2015.

    http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_891.pdf

    “

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will make it his policy to revise the Ministerial Code to include an obligation on members of the Government not to use offshore tax arrangements.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Moray (Mr Robertson) during my Oral Statement on 11 April 2016, Official Report, columns 31-32.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to improve the effectiveness of the energy supply market for businesses.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We want to see even more competition to keep energy costs down for businesses.

    The Competition and Markets Authority has already published some suggestions such as requiring suppliers to publish tariffs online and making switching easier for businesses on auto-rollover contracts.

    We are looking forward to the CMA’s final report and are committed to implementing their recommendations.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many clinical negligence legal cases there have been in the last five years; and how many of those were settled by way of a payment for damages within six months of the trial date.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHS LA) has provided the following data.

    In the five financial years 2010/11 to 2014/15, the NHS received a total of 51,369 new clinical negligence claims. Many of these were resolved without the commencement of legal proceedings.

    This figure relates to England only and does not include claims dealt with by insurers or Medical Defence Organisations, which between them handle the vast majority of claims involving private treatment and general practitioners.

    Data on the payment of damages within six months of a trial date is not held.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Syrian refugees and (b) vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North African region the UK plans to resettle in the UK over each of the next four years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection and up to 3,000 vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North African region in the UK over the lifetime of this Parliament.

    We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK.

    We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a national pay scale for teaching assistants.

    Nick Gibb

    The government believes that decisions on the use, deployment, and pay of teaching assistants are best made in a way that reflects local needs.

    Support staff rates of pay are determined by employers: in maintained schools, these will be set by the local authority; in Academies and Free Schools, these will be set by school or the Trust.

  • Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Karin Smyth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to continue to invest in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is currently reviewing all core contributions through the Multilateral Aid Review. We are committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We will continue to invest in the Global Fund, which has saved 17 million lives.