UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people are employed as specialists by the NHS to assist people with gambling addictions.

    Alistair Burt

    The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust provides the only specialised national problem gambling clinic. However, specialised addiction services, which mainly deal with substance misuse, do tend to accept people with gambling problems referred to them. People can also access addiction services in primary care and secondary care, which may provide support for problem gambling.

    People may also access psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. Although problem gambling is not listed amongst the provisional diagnosis categories that IAPT treats, IAPT practitioners would be able to treat common mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, which may be present in people with gambling addiction problems.

    Data is not collected centrally on the number of specialist National Health Service professionals which provide support and treatment for gambling addiction.

    Data is not collected on the funding of services to treat people with gambling problems. Funding to provide NHS mental health services is allocated to clinical commissioning groups which are best placed to commission local health services based on the needs of their local populations. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning local alcohol and drug treatment services which may also refer people to gambling support services where they identify people with gambling issues.

  • Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what aspects of the Hinckley Point project could not have been fully considered in advance of EDF agreeing to proceed with the contract.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The then DECC Secretary of State reviewed all aspects of the project in October 2015 and gave a minded to decision. The Government is now considering all component parts to make a final decision.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken in the last 12 months to improve access to off-patent, repurposed drugs; and what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of those steps.

    George Freeman

    Our policy on generic prescribing has been in place for a number of years. The policy helps ensure that patients can access the medicine that best meets their needs and it has been a key driver in the National Health Service making maximum use of off-patent drugs which are also known as generics. We have the best prescribing rate for these drugs in Europe.

    To support clinicians who may want to prescribe a product off-label for a patient to and improve the flow of research evidence into clinical practice, the Department hosted a Roundtable Event in February 2015. Attendees included the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Breast Cancer Now and other charities and discussions helped determine those non-legislative measures that could be undertaken. The Government is committed to this work and is holding a further roundtable event with charities.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 17682, what the cost per trainee is of the Eagle training scheme at (a) Force Development Training Centre (FDTC) Bavaria, (b) FDTC Grantown-on-Spey, (c) FDTC Danesford/Weston on the Green/Halton and (e) overseas Eagles; and what the location is of the overseas Eagles training.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The highest priority for UK based Force Development Training Centres (FDTC) is the delivery of Phase One and Phase Two formal training. The EAGLEs training scheme makes use of any irreducible spare capacity. Therefore, costs for EAGLEs training at UK based FDTCs cannot be separated out from overall training costs at those centres.

    For Financial Year 2015-16:

    EAGLEs training at FDTC Bavaria has a fixed cost per person estimated at £488.00.

    The current projection for the planned 600 places for overseas EAGLEs training is £587.00 per person.

    Overseas Eagles training is carried out in Austria, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.

  • Eric Pickles – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Eric Pickles – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eric Pickles on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Iranian government on the effect on regional relations of the international competition for cartoons and caricatures on the Holocaust organised by the House of Cartoons, under the auspices of the municipality of Tehran.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Our officials in Tehran have raised our opposition to the proposed Holocaust cartoon competition with their counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress he has made in reducing the rate of unemployment.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • 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 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 26772, whether (a) legal costs and (b) compensatory payments resulting from investor state dispute settlement claims relating to the acts of local authorities would be passed onto those local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    If the UK were to lose a claim brought under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism of a trade and investment treaty which relates to an act of a local authority, the Government would typically be responsible for legal costs incurred and compensatory payments awarded by the ISDS tribunal. However, the UK has a good record of creating the right environment for investors and treating them fairly – we have over 90 such agreements in place with other countries and there has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK.

  • Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there was any prior consultation before the decision was taken to end the post transaction valuation check and PAYE health check currently provided by HMRC with effect from 31 March 2016 and, if not, why not.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been consulting representative bodies through the Valuation Fiscal Forum over the last 18 months.

    HMRC has not withdrawn valuation services that are most relevant to employee share ownership schemes.

    HMRC has withdrawn valuation checks for income tax and PAYE as in most cases acceptable valuations were submitted, and therefore the service offered was not of sufficient value.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders returned under fixed term recalls have (a) submitted requests to be re-released before the end of the 28 day period and (b) been granted re-release before the end of the 28 day period in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    Any offender who is believed to have committed further offences whilst on licence is liable to be arrested and charged and, if convicted, given a further sentence. If the offence is serious, they can be remanded into custody until trial. Offenders on licence who are charged with further offences are also liable to be recalled, potentially to serve the rest of their sentence in prison, as they will be in breach of the requirement of their licence to be of good behaviour. If the offender is assessed as not presenting a risk of harm to the public they can be assessed as suitable for a shorter, fixed term recall. Those who have been charged with serious sexual or violent offences will not be considered suitable for a fixed term recall.

    Such offenders can apply for re-release before their automatic re-release date. In the last five years two offenders in 2011, one in 2013 and two in 2015 applied for release. Three of these offenders were subsequently released.

  • 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 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of increasing the minimum age for women receiving smear tests to 25 on cervical cancer detection rates in women under that age.

    Jane Ellison

    In 2012 the United Kingdom National Screening Committee made a recommendation that the age of first invitation for cervical screening should be 25. This was based on a review which looked at the latest available evidence on risks and benefits for cervical screening in women aged 20-24.