Category: Speeches

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

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2016 to Question 20586, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on achieving the aims of the draft Hepatitis C Improvement Framework and the decision to withdraw that draft framework.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department continues working with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to advance the public health ambitions set out in the initial framework to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C.

    Both PHE and NHS England are fully committed to improving hepatitis C outcomes including the long-term reduction in transmission of the virus in which treatment has a potentially major role to play.

    NHS England has been working on plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that when revised UK Chief Medical Officers’ Guidelines on keeping health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level, published in January 2016, are communicated to the public they are placed in the context that moderate alcohol consumption can be part of a healthy lifestyle for people that choose to drink.

    Jane Ellison

    The UK Chief Medical Officers’ alcohol guidelines give the public the latest and most up to date scientific information so that they can make informed decisions about their own drinking.

    It is however important that the new guidelines are clear and understandable and take into account the responses to the consultation.

    We will publish the final guidelines and the government response to the consultation as soon as possible.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employee share ownership schemes were submitted to HM Revenue and Customs’ valuation check service in each tax year since 2010-11.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Custom’s Shares and Assets Valuation office have dealt with the following employee share ownership scheme valuation checks:

    Year

    TOTAL

    2010 – 11

    4,052

    2011 – 12

    4,042

    2012 – 13

    4,494

    2013 – 14

    4,837

    2014 – 15

    5,396

    2015 – 16

    5,721
  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32492, to which countries RAF Reaper or Watchkeeper drones have been deployed on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sorties since 4 April 2016.

    Mike Penning

    From 4 April until 20 September 2016, UK Reapers have continued to be deployed on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sorties in Iraq and Syria. Watchkeeper has not been deployed during the period in question.

  • Diane Abbott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) her Department’s latest forecast of total annually managed expenditure spend for this year is; and what the forecasts were for those sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

    Justine Greening

    The last main supply estimate was published in July 2015, and is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/main-supply-estimates-2015-to-2016.

    DFID is currently forecasting to fully utilise its departmental expenditure limits (DEL) and annually managed expenditure (AME) as allocated and approved by Parliament.

    “

  • Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Moonie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air vehicles from the RAF’s inventory have been deployed over Iraq and Syria in the last three months.

    Earl Howe

    In the last three months the RAF has deployed Sentinel and Airseeker aircraft and the REAPER MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Air System over both Iraq and Syria. In addition, Tornado GR4s have deployed over Iraq and Syria fitted with the Raptor tactical reconnaissance pod.

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote character education in schools; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    All schools should develop character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience in their students. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society.

    At the Character Symposium in January 2016, the Secretary of State for Education outlined her vision for character education. She announced that the Department intends to promote character education through the building and strengthening of our evidence base. We will facilitate this via an online digital platform which will share evidence, innovation, and examples of best practice in character education. We will also promote character education to schools and organisations through a new round of character awards.

    To support schools in this, we are already investing £5 million in character education. This figure includes £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation to build research the most effective ways that character can be developed.

    Of course, many schools and organisations are already supporting children to develop their character, through programmes such as National Citizen Service. We will be investing over a billion pounds over the next four years to make NCS a rite of passage and toensure that 60% of 16 year olds can take part by 2021.

    In addition, school sport can help children and young people develop positive character traits such as fair play, leadership and resilience. It can teach them how to bounce back from defeat, how to respect others and how to work together in teams to achieve a goal. PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the new national curriculum which came into force in September 2014.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26148, on roads: investment, which two projects are not progressing on or ahead of schedule; and when those projects are now expected to be completed.

    Andrew Jones

    The two projects referred to in Question 26148 are:

    A63 Castle Street: this has a commitment to be complete by March 2021 but the current forecast is for August 2021.

    The decision to defer was to avoid construction taking place during the year of culture.

    A30 Temple to Carblake

    This is being delivered by Cornwall County Council: This was originally due to Open for traffic in December 2016, although we understand from Cornwall County Council that current forecast is February 2017.

  • Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations regarding Tier 2 visas meet the letter and spirit of the Joint Statement on the UK-India Summit of November 2015.

    Lord Bates

    The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.

    Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.

    The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which regions of the UK the £80 million Violence Against Women and Girls Service Transformation Fund will be spent.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is providing £80 million of dedicated funding up to 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls. This funding will provide core support for refuges and other accommodation-based services, a network of rape support centres and national helplines, and from April 2017 will also include a new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Service Transformation Fund.

    The VAWG Service Transformation fund will support local programmes which encourage new approaches that incorporate early intervention, establish and embed the best ways to help victims and their families, and prevent perpetrators from re-offending. Criteria for applications to the fund will support these aims. Full details of the how the fund will be administered and the criteria for applications will be published in due course.