Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice his Department makes available on the prevention of loss of hearing amongst older people.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England and the Department jointly published the Action Plan on Hearing Loss in March 2015. The action plan identifies exposure to noise and increasing age as the two major risk factors of hearing loss in working age and older adults. It includes a key objective to: improve the hearing health of all communities, improving equalities and reducing inequalities through prevention of hearing loss; ensure that diverse communities are aware of the importance of good hearing and communication; and, provide effective and up to date communication support for people living with hearing loss to ensure they realise their aspirations. Delivery of this objective will be supported by:

    • NHS England working with partners to promote the development of care programmes to focus on people at risk, including those with dementia, depression, diabetes and cataracts.
    • Public Health England collating existing data on incidence, prevalence and impact of hearing loss in people aged 65 and over and if possible in key groups such as people with dementia; and,
    • The Health and Safety Executive: working with industry stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve compliance with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005; and, reviewing the feasibility of otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing as a leading indicator of damaging exposure to noise for workers.

    An oversight group with membership from government departments, arm’s length bodies and stakeholders in the hearing loss community will review and monitor progress of implementation of the Action Plan on Hearing Loss.

  • Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Right to Rent Scheme for landlords to perform immigration checks on tenants will come into force in Scotland.

    James Brokenshire

    The Prime Minister made clear in his immigration speech of 21 May that the Government intends to roll out the Right to Rent scheme across the whole of the UK. The roll out is being taken forward in a phased manner. Having started in a part of the West Midlands, the next phase will extend the scheme across the rest of England as of 1 February 2016. The Government intends to roll out the scheme to the rest of the UK thereafter as part of the final phase. In relation to the provisions that relate to the private rented sector in the Immigration Bill 2015-16, the Bill also enables for these provisions to be enacted across Scotland at a later date.

  • 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 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 14108, which projects are part of the Green Investment Bank’s forward business plan; what the (a) stage of completion and (b) amount of funding given is for each of those projects; and what guarantees are in place to ensure that these schemes are completed by any new owners of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    Potential investment opportunities identified in the forward business plan of UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), and the company’s estimates of what level of financing it might commit to these, are commercially sensitive matters and are not made public. Potential investors in GIB will be invited to consider the company’s business plan in accordance with appropriate confidentiality agreements.

    Irrespective of whether GIB remains in Government ownership or is moved into the private sector, there is no way to guarantee that any of the projects identified in GIB’s business plan will in fact proceed nor any certainty that GIB will be involved in their financing if they do – they remain only potential investment opportunities.

    Details of the commitments GIB has entered into to date can be found on the company’s website at: http://www.greeninvestmentbank.com/our-investments/.

    “

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections in each of the last three years.

    George Freeman

    Information on why a drug has been prescribed is not collected.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on advertisements with Google in each of the last three years.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet Office spent £107,896.25 on Google advertising in 2013/14. Cabinet Office did not spend anything on Google advertising in 2014/15. Fully auditable figures are not yet available for 2015/16. All figures include VAT.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value of fines issued to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 has been in each year since 2005.

    James Brokenshire

    The value of fines issued to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2005 is as follows:

    01/04/2005-31/03/2006 £1,105,103
    01/04/2006-31/03/2007 £1,898,866
    01/04/2007-31/03/2008 £1,946,705
    01/04/2008-31/03/2009 £2,552,490
    01/04/2009-31/03/2010 £2,609,737
    01/04/2010-31/03/2011 £1,083,390
    01/04/2011-31/03/2012 £931,618
    01/04/2012-31/03/2013 £890,544
    01/04/2013-31/03/2014 £4,070,471
    01/04/2014-31/03/2015 £6,490,232
    01/04/2015-31/03/2016 £5,249,894

    This information is from management information reports. The data held on the Civil Penalty data base does not allow the penalty amounts to be separated between driver’s and hauliers, hence the data provided is the total number of penalties imposed for the period.

    The number of appeals against fines to lorry drivers under section 32 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in each year since 2005 is as follows:

    01/04/2005-31/03/2006 7
    01/04/2006-31/03/2007 8
    01/04/2007-31/03/2008 12
    01/04/2008-31/03/2009 13
    01/04/2009-31/03/2010 9
    01/04/2010-31/03/2011 10
    01/04/2011-31/03/2012 11
    01/04/2012-31/03/2013 0 *
    01/04/2013-31/03/2014 24
    01/04/2014-31/03/2015 64
    01/04/2015-31/03/2016 36

    *High Court appeal cases, all appeals were held behind at the time until resolved. Appeals then fell into subsequent years.

    This information is from management information reports.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to support the work of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines; with reference to the Prime Minister’s comments on the pharmaceutical industry to the BBC on 2 July 2014, what recent assessment she has made of the steps to take to resolve market failure related to the development of new classes of antibiotics in that industry; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK is committed to ensuring access to low cost, effective medicines in the developing world, providing a range of significant inputs to increasing access to essential medicines.

    We support the provision of essential medicines and other health products through innovative global partnerships such as the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), UNITAID, GAVI and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). We work to strengthen systems weaknesses, such as weak supply chains or poor procurement, which deter private investment, keep medicines prices high or lead to misuse or waste of medicines. We also place a great emphasis on research and development of new vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for conditions that affect millions of poor people. A new £1 billion fund – the Ross Fund – was recently announced with the aim of developing, testing and delivering a range of new products to help combat the world’s most serious diseases, such as malaria, Ebola and TB in developing countries.

    Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance is a key priority for this Government. We are awaiting the final report of the O’Neill Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance later this month and the Department of Health will then lead a cross-Government response.

    We support the aims of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines. For it to fulfil its potential to improve access to affordable and quality medicines, including antibiotics, it will need to take a balanced approach, building on the WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action and engaging with existing global partnerships, and use its influence to galvanise Member States, public and private sectors around a common approach to this important issue.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 35139, how many people have been tested for latent TB infection in each month since the launch of the Collaborative TB Strategy in January 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is not currently available. The first figures of the numbers of individuals who have been systemically tested and treated for latent tuberculosis (TB) will be published in the Annual TB report in the autumn of this year.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to article 3 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea’s classification for the breadth of the territorial seas not exceeding 12 nautical miles, for what reason Gibraltar has a three nautical mile limit on its territorial waters.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    ​The 1987 Territorial Sea Act extended UK waters up to the 12 nautical miles maximum permitted by Article 3 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS). However, the provisions of this Act were not extended to the British Overseas Territories, so the United Kingdom’s claim to territorial waters remains up to 3 nautical miles from Gibraltar. Where the extent of territorial waters is less than 3 nautical miles, this is due to the proximity of the Spanish coastline and a determined median line. We retain the option to extend the reach of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters to the maximum extent of 12 nautical miles permitted under UNCLOS and keep this option under review. The United Kingdom is the only State entitled to a territorial claim over the 3-12 nautical mile zone in respect of Gibraltar.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the Royal Colleges the potential side effects of osteoporosis drugs on (a) jaw and (b) general bone health.

    George Freeman

    As with all medicines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Government’s independent expert advisory body the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) keep the safety of osteoporosis drugs under continual review including their effects on the jaw and on bone health. The MHRA, together with the CHM, ensures that the product information for osteoporosis medicines contains up to date information and issues updated advice as appropriate.

    Warnings about the risks of osteonecrosis of the jaw (severe bone damage in the jaw) and atypical fractures of the femur (unusual fracture of the thigh bone) are included in the product information (Summary of Product Characteristics for healthcare professionals and Patient Information Leaflet for patients) for all medicines containing bisphosphonates or denosumab which are used in the treatment of osteoporosis. New information and advice on these risks have been communicated to healthcare professionals in the MHRAsafety bulletin in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2014 as new information has become available. A patient reminder card on the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw is currently being introduced for patients treated with denosumab and bisphosphonates given by injection and healthcare professionals have been informed of this new measure via the MHRA bulletin.

    Information about the recognised risks of osteonecrosis of the jaw and atypical fractures of the femur with bisphosphonates and denosumab is also included in the 2014 ‘Osteoporosis – Clinical Guideline for prevention and treatment’ developed by the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group which includes the Royal College of Physicians.