Category: Speeches

Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what estimate he has made of the cost of the new general purpose frigates.

Mr Philip Dunne

The cost and schedule of the general purpose frigate programme outlined in the White Paper National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence And Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161) has yet to be determined. The programme will be scoped during a concept study as part of the programme announced by the Prime Minister on 23 November 2015 (Official Report: column 1049).

01/01/2023
Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the timetable is for developing the business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund.

Joseph Johnson

The business case for the Inspiring Science Capital Fund is currently being developed with science stakeholders, and is expected to go through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Investment Gateway process within the next two months. No funding can be confirmed until the business case is agreed.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which recommendations from the (a) skills section and (b) other sections of the Maritime Skills Study the Government plans to implement; and what the timescale for implementation will be.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government formally responded to the Study in December 2015 accepting all the recommendations directed to government and progress is already being made.

A new Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth has been established to drive growth and tackle issues affecting the sector. The Working Group, including representatives from industry, met for the first time in November 2015 and discussed a range of issues around maritime skills including expanding apprenticeships (recommendation 11).

In addition, the Government has issued an invitation to tender for the Seafarer Projections Review (recommendation 7). The review of SMarT – Support for Maritime Training (recommendation 9) will need to take account of the Seafarer Projections work and will follow in four to six weeks’ time.

Officials are also working with the Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence on the recommendations pertaining to increasing youth awareness of seafaring and better links to the Royal Navy and the wider maritime sector (recommendations 13 and 15).

The other recommendations concerning skills are directed primarily at industry.

01/01/2023
Philippa Whitford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philippa Whitford on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to (a) claimants of universal credit while the benefit is assessed and dispatched and (b) people becoming unemployed from low-paid and temporary jobs who have no redundancy payments or other income.

Priti Patel

Advance payments of up to 50% of their Universal Credit award are available to all new Universal Credit claimants who are in financial need.

01/01/2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 7 March (HL6225) and the letter from the Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to both Lord Alton and the Department of Health on 7 March, which specific members of the HFEA Licence Committee decided to overrule the HFEA’s appointed peer reviewers; which particular points raised by the peer reviewers were considered to be irrelevant by the Licence Committee; and which of the peer reviewers’ comments that were not considered to be irrelevant were also not considered by the Licence Committee to be addressed by the person responsible.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The considerations and decision of the Licence Committee of this application are set out in the Licence Committee minutes, which are attached. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it does not provide additional commentary on the Licence Committee’s reasoning beyond those set out in the minutes.

01/01/2023
Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Public Health England has had with NHS England on the commissioning of school nurses offering level one paediatric continence services since the transfer of school nurse commissioning responsibilities to local authorities.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England is a member of NHS England’s Complex Health Needs Board, which discusses matters such as continence support through school nurses.

As continence services fall outside of the public health grant, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for commissioning continence services and will have discussions with local partners regarding commissioning within the school nursing service. Public Health England’s communication with NHS England has been to stress the importance of promoting this partnership approach by CCGs to ensure that local school nursing services are able to incorporate appropriate levels of continence support.

01/01/2023
Baroness Suttie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 11 May (HL8207), what representations they have made about the conditions under which political prisoners are held in Azerbaijan, particularly in the light of the reported assault of Ilgar Mammadov by prison guards in October 2015, and the June 2016 judgment by the European Court of Human Rights that the Azerbaijani authorities failed to provide adequate medical care to Leila and Arif Yunus during their imprisonment on political grounds.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK raises concerns about the conditions under which political prisoners are held in Azerbaijan at every appropriate opportunity. Our Embassy in Baku has requested to visit a number of prisoners, but the authorities have not yet granted permission. In the Council of Europe, we regularly call for more information on Ilgar Mammadov’s condition.

01/01/2023
Lord Snape – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Snape on 2016-07-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many motorists have been prosecuted for the inconsiderate use of the middle lane on the motorway network since the announcement that the police would take appropriate action to discourage such behaviour.

Earl of Courtown

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Children’s Society, The cost of being care free, published in June 2016, if he will take steps to provide additional protection for care leavers to reduce the number of benefits sanctions being applied to such people.

Damian Hinds

Our primary goal is to help care leavers get into work wherever possible and our interventions are tailored to achieve this. Care leavers aged between 18 and 21 have the opportunity to join the Work Programme from day one of their benefit claim, so that they receive tailored, locally-appropriate employment support at the earliest opportunity. We also provide additional support, over and above the standard Jobcentre Plus offer, to young claimants, including care leavers, aged 18-24. Work Coaches tailor interventions to the needs of the individual to address a variety of barriers to work, including improving job search skills, referral to skills and other work-related training such as Traineeships, Apprenticeships and work experience.

We have safeguards in place for care leavers along with other claimants who may be considered vulnerable. Work Coaches support all claimants with complex needs, or who require additional support, to ensure that they fully understand what they have been asked to do to enable them to access DWP benefits and use our services.

Care leavers, like all claimants, take ownership of planning how they will meet their requirements and ultimately secure employment. They will be supported by their Work Coach who will assist them in meeting their requirements through providing encouragement and direction, using a range of communication methods.

01/01/2023

David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on treating patients with glaucoma in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt

Cost information is shown in the following table from reference costs, which are the average unit cost to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year. The table shows the costs of a surgical procedure covering one episode of care under one consultant in an admitted patient or outpatient setting and does not include other elements of the patient pathway such as GP consultations or outpatient appointments. It is not possible to separately identify the costs of glaucoma in non-surgical appointments.

Costs associated with glaucoma procedures, 2011/12 – 2013/14

Healthcare Resource Group (HRG)	Activity	National average unit cost £	Estimated total cost £ million
2011/12
Major Glaucoma Procedures	2,248	£1,440	£3.2m
Intermediate Glaucoma Procedures	33,842	£387	£13.1m
Minor Glaucoma Procedures	17,194	£293	£5.0m
Total			£21.3m
2012/13
Major Glaucoma Procedures, with CC Score 1+	1,206	£1,665	£2.0m
Major Glaucoma Procedures, with CC Score 0	2,622	£885	£2.3m
Intermediate Glaucoma Procedures, with CC Score 1+	3,167	£1,250	£4.0m
Intermediate Glaucoma Procedures, with CC Score 0	17,410	£451	£7.9m
Minor Glaucoma Procedures, with CC Score 1+	2,014	£773	£1.6m
Minor Glaucoma Procedures, with CC Score 0	19,243	£198	£3.8m
Total			£21.6m
2013/14
Major Glaucoma Procedures with CC Score 1+	1,709	£1,689	£2.9m
Major Glaucoma Procedures with CC Score 0	3,129	£884	£2.8m
Intermediate Glaucoma Procedures with CC Score 1+	3,384	£1,236	£4.2m
Intermediate Glaucoma Procedures with CC Score 0	9,297	£772	£7.2m
Minor Glaucoma Procedures with CC Score 1+	2,142	£680	£1.5m
Minor Glaucoma Procedures with CC Score 0	24,688	£181	£4.5m
Total			£23.1m

Source: Reference costs, Department of Health

Notes:

The HRG classification groups procedures into categories such as major, intermediate and minor, according to their complexity.
Complication and comorbidity scores describe the illness severity and complexity of patients, and the additional resources required for their treatment.

01/01/2023