Category: Speeches

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support the Government is providing to GPs to help them with the cost of insuring work carried out outside normal hours.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department and NHS England are working on proposals for discussion with the profession, medical defence organisations, the commercial insurance industry and the NHS Litigation Authority.

    This will consider:

    ― how personal costs of indemnity and clinical insurance can be contained – provided certain clinical governance standards are met, with the objective of reducing the overall costs to the individual;

    ― the funding routes for indemnity in different models of care; and

    ― with a specific focus on new models of care such as Primary and Acute Community Services and Multi-Speciality Community Providers and the scope for corporate indemnity, freeing up individuals working in those new models from the burden of personal indemnity costs.

    NHS England created the Winter Indemnity Scheme which ran from December 2015 until March 2016, making £2 million available to cover the cost of additional indemnity premiums for doctors to undertake additional out of hours sessions. This was in response to increased demand for appointments during the winter period.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Leader of the House, if he will make it his policy to bring forward proposals on timetabling for Private Members’ Bills

    Chris Grayling

    The Procedure Committee has recently conducted an inquiry into Private Members’ Bills and published its report on 18th April. The Government thanks the Committee for its work in this area and is carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations. The Government aims to respond to the Committee within two months, which is the standard time for responding to Select Committee reports.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters have been sent by HM Revenue and Customs contractor Concentrix asking tax credit claimants for (a) proof of single status, (b) hours worked and (c) evidence of childcare in each tax year since 2013.

    Mr David Gauke

    From November 2014 to the end of August 2016 Concentrix sent

    a) 381k letters for proof of single status.

    b) 254k letters asking for hours worked.

    c) 312k letter sent for evidence of childcare.

    Information relating to individual tax years is not available.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times are from referral to first appointment for (a) children and (b) young people experiencing acute mental health problems in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the UK.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures the Government plans to take to address the concerns expressed by the Independent Monitoring Board in its report, HMP Winchester, Annual Report June 2014 to May 2015, published on 2 November 2015.

    Andrew Selous

    The HMP Winchester IMB Annual Report acknowledges the professionalism and commitment of the Governor and his staff at HMP Winchester, who manage a challenging and diverse population. We are currently recruiting prison officers to fill vacancies at Winchester, and new officers are due to start work in the new year. Should a serious incident occur at Winchester or any other prison, the situation would be constantly risk assessed as it develops to ensure the best and most appropriate response. National resources are available to provide assistance at any time, if additional resources are needed.

    A wide ranging programme of work has been initiated to counteract New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in prisons. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) continues to work hard to source more work for prisoners across the entire prison estate. This includes working with local and national businesses as well as other Government Departments.

    I wrote to Winchester’s Independent Monitoring Board Chair on 3rd November, providing a full response to the concerns raised.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what rights protected in the Human Rights Act 1998 the Government plans not to include in the proposed British Bill of Rights.

    Dominic Raab

    We have been clear that the Bill of Rights will remain faithful to the basic principles which we signed up to in the European Convention on Human Rights. Our focus will be on mitigating the expansion of rights by the Strasbourg Court and the Human Rights Act. This government is as committed as any to upholding such rights, which underpin any civilised society, but we also want to prevent abuse of the system.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff at HS2 Ltd and his Department have gone through or are going through disciplinary or employment tribunal process since HS2 Ltd was formed.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Part A

    Within HS2 Ltd, 4 staff have gone through a disciplinary process since March 2013. Only one of these cases has proceeded to an Employment Tribunal. There are no central records prior to this date.

    Part B

    Within the Department for Transport (excluding its Agencies), there have been 49 disciplinary cases and 12 Employment Tribunals since April 2013. Information prior to this date is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on the link between diabetes and heart disease.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no such recent discussions.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide certified copies of identity documents to visa applicants to support their applications to undertake an approved English language test.

    James Brokenshire

    There is no intention to change the current policy with regards to identity checks for Secure English Language Testing (SELT). Photocopies, whether certified or not, are not accepted when a candidate sits a test. Only original and valid documents are acceptable. This will allow test centre staff to confirm that the document is genuine and relates to the individual who is sitting the test.

    The only acceptable forms of identification in the UK are:

    • a passport or travel document;

    • a EU Identity Card;

    • a Biometric Residence Permit.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to prevent companies using local numbers from which calls are forwarded abroad for the purposes of marketing and other nuisance calls.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Based on an analysis of reported concerns, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has previously estimated that approximately 12% of nuisance calls carry ‘spoofed’ Calling Line Identification (CLI), but this does not mean that all the calls have originated from overseas. The Government has recently consulted on making it a requirement for direct marketing callers to provide valid CLI. The Government plans to bring this measure into force in due course.