Category: Speeches

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on City Deals in Scotland.

    Andrew Percy

    The UK and Scottish Government have worked together to agree ambitious City Deals in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness over the past two years.

    Building on these deals we will continue to work together to consider any proposals from Scottish cities or regions that seek to drive economic growth. Most recently My Noble Friend Lord Dunlop met Keith Brown on 30 June to discuss this agenda.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase registration for (a) blood and platelet, (b) stem cell, (c) bone marrow and (d) organ donation.

    Nicola Blackwood

    NHS Blood and Transplant runs donor recruitment campaigns for blood, platelet, stem cell and organ donation throughout the year. Examples include the recently launched Missing Type campaign to promote blood donation; implementation of their Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy and management of the NHS Cord Blood Bank and British Bone Marrow Registry, working with Anthony Nolan.

    Specific action addressing awareness of registration among school-aged children includes the introduction of new education resources designed to equip secondary school teachers with the knowledge to educate and engage students about organ donation and working with Anthony Nolan to run the Be a Lifesaver education programme which trains volunteers to educate 16-18 year olds about stem cell, blood and organ donation.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the skills of ESOL tutors are not lost following the withdrawal of ESOL Plus Mandation funding.

    Nick Boles

    The decision to withdraw the 2015/16 English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Plus (Mandation) funding was taken in the knowledge that providers could use their adult skills budget to continue to maintain their ESOL courses and therefore mitigate any adverse impact. It is the responsibility of providers to ensure they have teaching staff with the right skills and expertise to deliver the range of courses they offer.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been allocated to Northern Ireland in (a) EU Structural Funds and (b) special initiatives in each year since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    The indicative EU Structural Funds and Peace Initiative allocations for Northern Ireland can be found on the Northern Ireland administration’s Department of Finance and Personnel’s website.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, broken down by region and subject, of the current levels of qualified teachers.

    Lord Nash

    The information requested is not available.

    Latest figures show that 96 per cent of full-time equivalent teachers in service in state funded schools in England (November 2014) have qualified teacher status.

  • Baroness Drake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Drake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Drake on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase private pension saving by the self-employed.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The 2005 Turner Commission recommended that the self-employed should be able to join a pension in an easy and cost-effective fashion. Therefore the Government-backed pension provider, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) offers low-charge pension schemes to the self-employed, as well as to all employers.

    Automatic enrolment has been a huge success to date with almost 6 million eligible workers people now enrolled. We will be reviewing automatic enrolment in 2017. We are keen to identify issues that should be addressed within the review and will be working with stakeholders to determine its scope.

    The Government also recognises that the self-employed might benefit from saving in different ways to employees. In 2011 the Government introduced carry forward of annual allowances, which allow individuals with irregular earnings to use any unused Annual Allowance from the previous three years to contribute more to their pension in particular years, if this suits them better than making more regular pension contributions.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote the export of Scotch whisky.

    George Eustice

    We are committed to increasing and promoting sales of our excellent food and drink here and overseas. This is why we have launched the Great British Food Campaign, created a new Great British Food Unit and designated 2016 “The year of Great British Food.”

    Scotch whisky is a phenomenal global success. In 2014 exports were worth £3.95 billion* representing 21% of total UK food and drink exports. We are working with the industry to boost exports by developing a new Exports Action Plan, taking every opportunity to promote our products overseas and working hard to secure a global liberalised market for all our spirit drinks.

    *Source: Scotch Whisky Association

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when Lancashire County Council made its application to the Pothole Action Fund; what level its application to that fund was awarded; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Pothole Action Fund is worth £250 million over the next five years to local highway authorities in England, outside London. On 7 April the Government announced the share each local highway authority will receive from the £50 million available for 2016/17. Funding is allocated according to the length of the road network each local highway authority is responsible for as set out in the Department for Transport Road Statistics Publication. Lancashire County Council received £1,241,000 from the Pothole Action Fund in 2016/17.

    Further details can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cash-for-councils-to-fill-almost-1-million-potholes

    “

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has plans to encourage mental health providers to use social technology as a part of therapeutic treatments for young people.

    Alistair Burt

    Future in Mind suggests there is a need to incentivise self-care by designing mental health apps targeted at children and young people to strengthen resilience, support and individual capacity for self-care.

    This has been achieved by establishing a children and young people’s category within the new NHS England Innovation fund for mental health to develop apps for cognitive behavioural therapy and self-harm and suicide prevention, amongst others. In conjunction with this work we are also assessing the potential need for quality assurance controls for mental health apps.

    The Department is currently considering providing access to both high quality and reliable information and support online through a national branded portal established on NHS Choices.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action, if any, they plan to take in the light of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus on 7 July calling for an end to the trade and economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU, and what their current policy is regarding those sanctions.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The EU remains united in its strategy of resolving the Ukraine crisis through diplomacy underpinned by robust sanctions pressure. The UK fully supports this policy and will continue to play a central role in calling for a firm response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. On 1 July the EU unanimously agreed to renew economic sanctions on Russia for a further six months, in line with the March European Council’s commitment that the duration of sanctions should be clearly linked to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.