Category: Speeches

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the importance of (a) blood and platelet donation, (b) stem cell donation, (c) bone marrow donation and (d) organ registration among school-aged children.

    Nicola Blackwood

    NHS Blood and Transplant runs donor recruitment campaigns for blood, platelet, stem cell and organ donation throughout the year. Examples include the recently launched Missing Type campaign to promote blood donation; implementation of their Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy and management of the NHS Cord Blood Bank and British Bone Marrow Registry, working with Anthony Nolan.

    Specific action addressing awareness of registration among school-aged children includes the introduction of new education resources designed to equip secondary school teachers with the knowledge to educate and engage students about organ donation and working with Anthony Nolan to run the Be a Lifesaver education programme which trains volunteers to educate 16-18 year olds about stem cell, blood and organ donation.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP retention in the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group area; and what steps he is taking to improve GP retention.

    Alistair Burt

    We are advised by NHS England that it commissioned the Essex GP Workforce Audit in autumn 2014 to define the extent of the general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention problem in Essex, including the North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area.

    In response to the audit’s findings, the Essex Primary Care Inter-Professional Centre for Workforce Development was launched in September. This has been developed by the Essex Workforce Group (comprising NHS England, local CCGs and Health Education England) to address the ongoing difficulty in recruiting, developing and retaining GPs, practice nurses and primary care staff in Essex. The centre will act as a ‘resource, networking and support hub’ and has a website allowing primary care staff to access training opportunities and mentoring opportunities through which they can develop their skills and careers.

    Nationally, we understand that NHS England is working with partners, including the Royal College of GPs and Health Education England, to increase GP numbers, reduce bureaucracy and use the skills of other healthcare professionals, such as community pharmacists, to ensure high-quality, and, above all else, safe, patient care.

    On 26 January, NHS England announced a £10 million investment to boost the GP workforce. The money will be used to recruit new GPs, retain those who are thinking of leaving the profession and encourage doctors to return to general practice, to better meet the needs of patients now and for the future.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on Turkish military action against (a) the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq and (b) ISIS since July 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are closely monitoring all of these and related events in Turkey and the region. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill members of the Turkish police service and security forces. We support Turkey’s right to defend itself against all forms of terrorism. We have been clear that the PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed. The UK stands ready to help in any way it can in this regard. I last raised this with my Turkish counterpart when we met in August.

    The Government continues to monitor closely Turkey’s democratic reforms, including as part of the EU accession process, focusing particularly on freedom of expression, respect for the rule of law and minority rights.

    We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh, particularly its agreement for the use of its airspace and airbases, as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it. Turkey has been carrying out military strikes against Daesh since July 2015, and state that they have detained over 2,500 Daesh suspects since 2013, of whom one third are foreigners. Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive Coalition support.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the letter of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on making tax digital, dated 11 January 2016, for what reasons the increased revenue from a more accurate digital tax return system has been estimated at £600 million per annum given that the current tax gap due to errors made by small businesses has been estimated in that letter at £6.5 billion.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs remains committed to narrowing the overall tax gap. The policy costings for Making Tax Digital can be found in the publication Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015: policy costings.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/480565/SRAS2015_policy_costings_amended_page_25.pdf

    “

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many Post Office Crown branches have closed or merged since the end of the last formal Crown Transformation Programme.

    George Freeman

    Provision of its Crown branches is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.

    I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who will take the decision on whether (a) the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and (b) the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are agreements requiring ratification by Parliament; and when such a decision will be taken.

    Anna Soubry

    The decision as to whether the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will be mixed agreements will be taken by the EU and its Member States when each agreement is signed.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of young people from Dartford who went to university in the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publishes data on the entry rates for full-time undergraduate courses by parliamentary constituency. UCAS does not publish data on the number of entrants by parliamentary constituency, only entry rates.

    Latest statistics from the 2015 UCAS End of Cycle Report for the Dartford constituency are provided in the table. The entry rate is given as the proportion of 18 year olds that accepted a place during a UCAS application cycle.

    Table: Higher Education entry rates for 18 year olds from the Dartford Constituency

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    28.6%

    23.2%

    29.9%

    27.3%

    32.5%

    “

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which organisations from the (a) UK and (b) international financial sector will be attending the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    The summit will bring together governments, international organisations, businesses and civil society to confront the problem of corruption. This includes selected representatives of the financial sector.

  • Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karen Lumley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue has been retained as a result of refunds for cancelled vehicle tax only being given for any full months of remaining tax since October 2014.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has always issued refunds of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for any full, unexpired months remaining. This is a legal requirement and did not change when the paper tax disc was abolished in October 2014.

    In the financial year 2014/15, the DVLA collected £6 billion in VED and paid £216 million in refunds. The amount of VED refunded in the previous financial year was £197 million.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the target length of time for Border Force to process (1) non-European Economic Area passengers, and (2) European Union passengers, at each terminal in Heathrow; and how often that target has been missed in the past six months.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The service level agreement for passengers arriving at Heathrow for Non-EEA nationals is 95% of queue measures to be less than 45 minutes and for EU/EEA nationals this is 95% of queue measures to be less than 25 minutes.

    The data on the Border Force performance against the targets at Heathrow can be found at:

    www.heathrow.com/company/company-news-and-information/performance/airport-operations/border-force