Category: Speeches

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for negotiations on the bilateral agreement regulating flights between the UK and the People’s Republic of China.

    Mr John Hayes

    Bilateral UK/China air services negotiations took place in London on 10 and 11 October 2016. An agreement was signed on behalf of the UK by the Minister for Aviation, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon. This agreement significantly increases the traffic rights available to airlines from both countries and enables airlines to operate more services to a wider range of destinations in each country.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Independent Commission the Freedom of Information on the number of occasions it plans to meet in order to finalise its report.

    Matthew Hancock

    It is for the independent Commission on Freedom of Information to organise its programme of work.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 13 of the NHS’ Five Year Forward View, what progress NHS England has made on the commitment to give patients choice over where and how they receive care; and how progress on that commitment will be assessed.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England is working to secure a sustained improvement in awareness, offer, operation and take up of choice by 2020. This includes supporting the independent Maternity Services Review, which is due for publication early in the New Year, and taking forward any recommendations that relate to choice; improving the quality of End of Life Care and the choices people should have about where they receive their care and where they choose to die; strengthening choice in both physical and mental health elective services, to ensure that the NHS honours patients’ legal rights to choice of who provides their care; and securing choice in the design and implementation of new care models for the future NHS.

    NHS England has brought this work together with their programmes on personal health budgets and integrated personal commissioning, under a new Director and with additional resource, to accelerate the work in all of these areas in support of the Five Year Forward View commitment to deliver greater patient empowerment. Improvements will be assessed through a new national assessment framework for clinical commissioning groups.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) the Forestry Commission, (b) the Water Services Regulation Authority, (c) the Animal and Plant Health Agency, (d) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (e) the Rural Payments Agency, (f) the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, (g) the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, (h) the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (i) the Consumer Council for Water, (j) the Environment Agency, (k) the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, (l) the Marine Management Organisation, (m) the National Forest Company, (n) Natural England and (o) the Sea Fish Industry Authority; how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those orqanisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    George Eustice

    Defra is in the midst of a corporate services and network transformation programme which is yielding significant reductions in communication staff. Our rigorous controls on communication spending are expected to save £1 million in 2015-2016. The detail requested will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent reports by the OECD that the least developed countries received a smaller share of aid in 2014 than at any time in the last 10 years.

    Baroness Verma

    The least developed countries (LDCs) received a smaller share of total Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2014 than in eight of the previous ten years. It is important to note that the overall ODA figure includes contributions that cannot be attributed to a specific benefitting country (e.g. core contributions to multilateral organisations) even though LDCs will have benefitted.

    The UK played a leading role in securing a Development Assistance Committee commitment to reverse the declining trend of ODA to the poorest countries and for this commitment to be referenced in the June 2015 G7 Leaders’ Summit communique.

    The UK’s ODA is focused on countries in most need. The Department for International Development uses a range of criteria to inform how aid is allocated across countries, including current and projected future poverty levels, the country’s ability to self-finance its own development needs and the likely effectiveness of UK aid.

  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people currently in the work-related activity group of employment and support allowance for a condition other than neoplasms who have previously had a cancer diagnosis.

    Priti Patel

    The specific information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The information we do have for Employment and Support Allowance claimants by medical condition, including Neoplasms and phase of claim, is published and available at:

    https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

    Guidance for users can be found at:

    https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

    “

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that Work Programme providers are alert to the mental health needs of clients.

    Priti Patel

    Work Programme providers have the freedom to deliver tailored support appropriate to the individual needs of all participants. This includes participants with health conditions for whom many providers employ advisers with the relevant skills and knowledge to provide specialist support or otherwise engage specialist sub-contractors.

    The Department operates a robust performance management and checking regime to ensure all providers deliver the standards and performance we expect.

    To the end of December 2015, around 17,000 participants who were claiming Employment and Support Allowance at the time of referral and have declared a mental or behavioural disorder as their primary health condition have been supported into sustained employment through the Work Programme

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20367, how the figure of approximately two million adults who have adopted safer online behaviours that will better protect them was reached; and how such behaviours were measured.

    Karen Bradley

    Cyber Streetwise is a cross Government campaign, developed by private and public stakeholder partners and coordinated by the Home Office. It is designed to measurably make the UK a safer place to interact and do business online by increasing individual and SME adoption of safe online behaviours.

    Government experts estimate that a significant proportion of cyber security issues would be avoided by safer online behaviours. Cyber Streetwise supports this by increasing digital confidence by informing people about the key things that keep them safer online. It does this by:

    • Delivering actionable and positive solution focussed advice on how to be secure

    • Creating arresting communications that highlight the consequences and cut through low interest

    • Reminding and reinforcing individuals and SMEs of the core protective behaviours at the point of risk/incidence

    The impact of Cyber Streetwise on behaviours is evaluated via regular quantitative tracking research. Since its launch in January 2014, it is estimated that 2 million adults have adopted safer online behaviours that will better protect them.

    This is estimated using data from the National Cyber Security Tracker. This is a regular non-random online panel survey of 2000 people, designed to measure the adoption (claimed behaviour) of safer cyber security behaviours amongst SMEs and the public.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve public and professional awareness and understanding of surrogacy.

    Jane Ellison

    Surrogacy is a complex issue, the legislation about which has not been significantly addressed by respective administrations since the Surrogacy Arrangements Act was introduced in 1985. The Government recognises the arguments for the need for a review, and we have therefore asked the Law Commission, as part of the consultation on its 13th work programme this summer, to consider including a project on surrogacy.

    The Department has not issued guidance about surrogacy to professional groups or the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). The Government recognises surrogacy as an important option for some people wishing to start a family and is currently considering how best to clarify the current legal arrangements for intended parents, surrogates and their families. The CAFCASS campaign to increase awareness of Parental Orders is ongoing and targeted at health workers, local authority registration staff and surrogacy agencies. It will be evaluated in full upon completion in autumn 2016; in-campaign monitoring indicates its messaging is reaching the target audience.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the policy of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and of the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) on the circumstances in which Driver-Only Operation can safely be implemented; and whether they have had discussions with RSSB and ORR on that issue.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Trains where the driver has responsibility for all aspects of operation, including the doors (known in the industry as ‘Driver Only Operation’) have been in service in Great Britain for over 30 years.

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), in its role as the independent railway safety regulator, has scrutinised this approach and is satisfied that, with suitable equipment, proper procedures and competent staff in place, it is a safe method of working.

    A number of projects have been published by RSSB on various aspects of Driver Only Operation on passenger trains. Its research has concluded that, when properly managed, there are no increased risks from dispatching a train without a guard being present.

    Department for Transport officials regularly meet with ORR and RSSB representatives to discuss a variety of railway safety issues including Driver Only Operation.