Category: Speeches

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many secondments have taken place between his Department and the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards in the last 15 years; and in what capacity each such secondment was undertaken.

    Jane Ellison

    At senior civil servant level (SCS) there have been no secondments between the Department and the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards.

    For civil servants and posts at grades lower than SCS, no such secondments have taken place, as far back as our central records for these secondments extend, that is, back to 2009.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of disability benefits re-joined the workforce in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (v) 2014 and (vi) 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of these employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Alun Cairns

    Four staff members of the Wales Office communications team deal with press and public relations issues as part of their roles. Two staff are paid more than (a) £50,000 but none are paid more than (b) £100,000. The total expenditure on press and public relations for the full financial year 2014/15 was £306,526.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding for community pharmacies on the provision of pharmacy services; and what steps he is taking to ensure that busy community pharmacists are not forced to reduce their services.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the recognition of Palestinian statehood; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at a moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace. We are clear that we want to see the creation of a sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian State, living in peace and security, side by side with Israel. Only a negotiated settlement can achieve this.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29831, on how many occasions his Department has provided advice and support upon request from local authorities who wish to undertake post-implementation value for money assessments.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    None. However, carrying out post-implementation reviews is an established practice of good policy making for both local and central government.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proposals the Government has made in co-operation with the French and Italian governments to the Libyan government on military intervention against Daesh.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is committed to taking action to prevent Daesh from using Libya as a base from which to plan and carry out attacks.

    We are working closely with the new Libyan government and international partners, including France and Italy, to develop a comprehensive approach to defeating it.

    As the Foreign Secretary set out in his statement on 19 April, we have discussed, on a contingency basis, with international partners how best to support the new Libyan government. This could include training Libyan security forces to provide their own security. Any support would be in response to a clear request made by the Libyan Government. So far they have made no such request. We have been clear that there are no UK Government plans for the deployment of combat troops to Libya.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department has allocated to schools in (a) Calderdale and (b) West Yorkshire to tackle bullying in the last (i) 12 months and (ii) five years.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government continues to make tackling all forms of bullying a top priority. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle bullying among pupils. While they are free to develop their own anti-bullying strategies they are held clearly to account for their effectiveness through Ofsted.

    School funding to prevent and tackle bullying is part of their overall funding allocation, and is not separately identified at school or local authority level. In addition, the Department has directly funded a number of national anti-bullying organisations, supporting their work within schools across England to combat bullying.

    In 2015/16 we provided around £1.3 million to various anti-bullying charities including the Diana Award, Kidscape and the National Children’s Bureau (hosted by the Anti-bullying Alliance). These organisations train teachers and pupils in schools to prevent bullying and deal with its impact when it occurs so that bullied children do not suffer continuing distress. Additionally in the past 12 months we have supported the Government Equalities Office (GEO) to deliver a £2 million grant programme aimed at combatting homophobic bullying in schools.

    Between 2011 and 2016 we provided over £6.6 million to these and other charities to help them to support schools to support pupils who are bullied and to develop strategies to prevent bullying from happening.

    The Department and GEO will both be funding further projects this year.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department or the Animal and Plant Health Agency will collect data on (a) the number of and (b) the reasons for on-farm prosecutions.

    George Eustice

    Data on (a) the number of and (b) the reasons for on-farm prosecutions is already collected by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and a statutory return is required to be made and laid before Parliament in accordance with Section 80 of the Animal Health Act 1981.

    The report covers prosecutions taken under the Animal Health Act 1981 and other animal health and welfare legislation. It also includes data on the incidences of disease in animals.

    A report is compiled by Defra for data relating to England and Wales. Scotland compiles a separate report. These reports are published and available to the public on www.Gov.UK and www.Gov.Scot.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/section-80-report-for-2015-under-the-animal-health-act-1981

    http://www.gov.scot/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/animal-welfare/Diseases/Enforcement

    “

  • James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Cleverly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cleverly on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the renovation of the official residence and offices of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary-General’s official residence is fully maintained and allowance is made in the existing Secretariat budget to provide ongoing general maintenance. It is custom to refurbish the premises on the appointment of a new Secretary General thus giving a cycle of approximately eight years. The budget for the renovation of the official residence was agreed by the Board of Governors at its meeting in June 2015, before the appointment of Patricia Scotland. Nevertheless, we welcome the Secretary-General’s statement that "any work on Hill Street must represent value for money and no extravagance."

    We also welcome steps by the Secretary-General to create a Commonwealth Hub through the shared use of existing premises at Quadrant House. Incorporating the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Local Government Foundation will help bring these organisations together alongside the Secretariat. It will also help the Secretariat to reduce overheads while obtaining value from existing resources and developing new partnerships to better deliver outcomes.