Category: Speeches

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Best in Class, published by the CBI in December 2015, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of Swedish four box grid approach to analysing the attractiveness of international markets.

    Anna Soubry

    In CBI’s Best in Class report, the reference to the Swedish four box grid approach was part of a wider recommendation on allocating overseas resources for business support.

    The UK Government recognises that it has a crucial role to play in supporting businesses that export and invest in international markets.

    The Government is committed to focusing UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) overseas resources for business support in those markets that can deliver greatest benefit for the UK. UKTI uses similar publicly-available market data to Sweden (including GDP growth, political risk and the ease of doing business) in its assessment of export markets, but importantly this is just one input into the opportunity-focused, five-year rolling business planning process being developed to guide resource decisions.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to reduce teacher workload and maintain pupil well-being when new Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 assessments are introduced.

    Nick Gibb

    Primary schools already carry out assessments at the end of key stages 1 and 2. We have developed new forms of assessment to align with the new National Curriculum. We recognise that in this first year of the new the assessments pupils and teachers will be adapting to the change, but the best way to prepare pupils remains to focus on teaching the new National Curriculum, which schools have been doing since September 2014.

    The removal of unnecessary workload is a priority for this Department. Our primary assessment reforms have been designed to put arrangements for the majority of classroom assessment, between key stages, back into the hands of schools and to reduce the tracking burdens that national curriculum levels encouraged. We believe schools are best placed to decide how to assess pupils in line with their curriculum and that over time this should lead to a reduction in workload for teachers so that their efforts can focus on teaching.

    As previously, schools should encourage high attainment among all pupils to but we do not recommend that they devote excessive preparation time for assessment and certainly not at the expense of a pupil’s wellbeing. We trust teachers to administer tests in a way that does not put undue pressure on pupils. Schools are also required to provide continuous and appropriate support as part of a whole school approach to supporting the wellbeing and resilience of pupils.

    While we have set a more challenging expected standard to reflect our high aspirations for children, the new statutory assessments still measure the same range of attainment as previously. In addition, statutory assessments only form part of the broader assessments that teachers make on an ongoing basis. Schools should continue to put statutory assessment outcomes in the context of pupils’ overall achievements and progress. We expect schools to ensure that assessment is reported in an appropriate and proportionate manner.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 15 December 2015 (HL4104), when they intend to make public the report of the Lead Ammunition Group, which was submitted on 3 June 2015, and their response.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government is still in the process of considering the report’s findings and recommendations and will respond to it as soon as possible.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what additional support and resources her Department is providing to assist West Sussex County Council in meeting its universal broadband obligations.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government has implemented a basic broadband scheme to enable all premises to gain access to speeds of at least 2Mbps. This enables residents to gain access to every government service available online. Funding for subsidised connections through the scheme is provided by Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) as part of the government’s superfast broadband programme. Consumers in eligible premises can access services from any of the suppliers who have been entered onto the scheme by BDUK.

    In addition it is the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation. This will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that the minimum download speed should initially be set at 10 Mbps.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people prosecuted in their absence were on bail in each year since 2010.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Information on whether or not a defendant is in attendance at their hearing is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he Department has made of the effect of the availability of different cancer drugs being available in Scotland and Wales to those in England on the treatment of cancer in England.

    George Freeman

    No such assessment has been made.

    It is for the Scottish and Welsh Governments to decide which cancer drugs should be made routinely available in Scotland and Wales.

    In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is the independent body which makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs, including cancer drugs, and other health technologies based on thorough assessment of the best available evidence.

    The Cancer Drugs Fund has helped over 72,000 cancer patients in England, to access life-extending drugs that would not otherwise have been available to them.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) NHS England and (b) Health Education England on the strategic review of the cancer workforce recommended in the report of the Independent Cancer Taskforce.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent Cancer Taskforce’s five-year strategy for cancer, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway with the aim of improving survival rates. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead on the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards to redesign care and patient experience.

    She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work. Timeframes and phasing for implementation will be dependent on the final financial settlement reached as a result of the spending review.

    We announced in September 2015 that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.

    A commitment to whole-person care for patients, including those living with and beyond cancer, is embedded throughout the cancer taskforce report. In addition, the cancer vanguards have been established to explore new models of care, with a focus on delivering more person-centred care.

    Ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the availability and use of effective treatments and medicines for rare cancers is a key priority. Cancer 52, an organisation which specifically represents patients with rarer cancers, was represented on the independent Cancer Taskforce. The Taskforce’s report made many recommendations relevant to rarer cancers, focussing in particular on improving access to diagnostic testing, including fast, direct general practitioner access to key blood tests, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Topical Transport Question to him on 10 December 2015, Official Report, column 1129, on traffic noise on the M60 effecting the residents of Thompson Close, Denton, whether he will meet with the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss this case.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England representatives met with the Hon. Member on 22 January 2016 to discuss the possibility of mitigating the effect of noise from traffic using the M60 Motorway adjacent to Thompson Close. As Roads Minister I am happy to meet with the Hon. Member to discuss the position further.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms (a) are available and (b) will be available from 2016-17 for applicants for disabled students’ allowance (DSA) who wish to appeal against an assessment by an independent needs assessor; how many students have appealed against such a DSA assessment in each year since 2009-10; and how many of those appeals have been found in favour of the appellant in each of those years.

    Joseph Johnson

    All disabled higher education students who are eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) are referred to an independent assessment centre so as to identify the type and level of support they require.

    A DSAs Needs Assessment Report, which sets out any recommendations for support, is agreed between the independent needs assessor and the student. The assessment report is not a decision about the type and amount of support to be provided.

    The assessment report is submitted to Student Finance England (SFE), who makes a decision about the type and amount of support they will fund.

    Student Finance England has an established appeals process which students can use if they do not agree with the final decision made by Student Finance England in relation to any aspect of their support.

    SFE appeals information is categorised by appeal issue type rather than by student support product type. Therefore information on appeals that specifically relate to DSAs is not produced.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) domestically produced and (b) imported steel that was procured by each government department in each year since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    This information is not held centrally.

    All departments are now required to implement the new guidelines, published on 30 October last year, which set out how government buyers should source steel for major projects so that the true value of UK steel is taken into account in major procurement decisions.