Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to increasing access to long-acting reversible contraception post-pregnancy as recommended in the 2014 Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer, The Health of the 51%: Women, and in NICE guidelines on postnatal care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England sets out the need to increase access to all methods of contraception including long acting (LARC) methods and that better support is needed to access contraception after childbirth. Local authorities are mandated to provide access to the full range of contraception services and should work with clinical commissioning groups to ensure that contraception is discussed and all methods of contraception, including LARC, are accessible as part of the post-natal maternity pathway. Further guidance will be available in Public Health England’s Missed Opportunities in Pregnancy report. This addresses the missed opportunities for the provision of contraception along the maternity, abortion and early pregnancy loss pathways, and is now in the final stage of revisions and is expected to be published later in 2016.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish all of her Department’s statistics on the incidents of (a) domestic violence and (b) dowry related abuse in the UK.

    Karen Bradley

    Statistics on domestic violence are published combining domestic violence and abuse through the Office for National Statistics who are responsible for the publication of crime statistics, including those of domestic violence and abuse. Detailed information on domestic violence and abuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is published annually in their Focus on: Violence and Sexual Offences series. The most recent publication, for the year ending March 2015, is available here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/compendium/focusonviolentcrimeandsexualoffences/yearendingmarch2015

    Additionally, since April 2015 the police have notified the Home Office where recorded offences are domestic abuse related. Figures from the police for April to September 2015 were also published in the statistical bulletin linked above (see Table 6.01). The publication also includes information on the number of domestic abuse incidents the police deal with, in Appendix Table 4.08. Some incidents are not subsequently recorded as crimes as no crime as defined in law has taken place, so numbers will be higher than the number of domestic abuse crimes.

    The increases seen in domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police over this time period is thought to reflect improvements in the identification and recording of these incidents by the police alongside increased willingness of victims to report such incidents to the police. The CSEW has not shown an increase in domestic abuse over this period.

    The Home Office has not received specific information on dowry related abuse.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assurance her Department plans to give EU nationals living in the UK and working in the voluntary sector on their right to remain in the UK after the EU referendum.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government has been clear that there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of European nationals and their family members entering or currently residing in the UK.

    The Government wants to be able to guarantee the legal status of EU nationals who are living in the UK, and we are confident that we will be able to do this. But we must also win the same rights for British nationals living in European countries, and it will be an early negotiating objective for the Government to achieve those things together.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the proportion of exports from the UK by volume and value which would be covered by rules of origin by sector in (a) 2016-17 and (b) each of the next three financial years.

    Mr David Jones

    My Department, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of data analyses to inform the UK’s position for the upcoming negotiations with our EU partners. We have been clear that we will not provide a running commentary that might undermine our negotiating position.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with HM Treasury on the removal of the fuel duty escalator for liquefied petroleum gas as part of government proposals to reduce emissions from road transport.

    Andrew Jones

    Ministers and officials meet regularly with HM Treasury on a wide range of issues.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the Police Innovation Fund was allocated to police forces in financial years (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Mike Penning

    The Police Innovation Fund 2014/15 allocated £53m to Police and Crime Commissioners (and their equivalents) in 2014/15 and 2015/16. The Police Innovation Fund 2015/16 allocated over £71m to Police and Crime Commissioners (and their equivalents) in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to encourage countries hosting Syrian refugees in that region to allow NGOs to provide non-formal education opportunities.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region being held in London on 4th February, we want the international community to agree a new goal that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children are in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17. Equally, for inside Syria, it is our aim to increase access to good quality schooling or other learning opportunities such as self-learning and non-formal education. In neighbouring countries we will also increase access to vocational or skills training and higher education for children and youth.

    At the Conference our ambition is that international donors, governments from countries in the region hosting refugees, non-governmental organisations and the private sector come together to agree a set of reciprocal financial and policy commitments. The UK and co-hosts are working with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. We are also working with refugee hosting governments in particular to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that dualling of the A1079 between Barnby Moor and Wilberfoss goes ahead; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The A1079 between Barnby Moor and Wilberfoss is a local road and as such is the responsibility of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. I understand that this scheme has been identified as a priority by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, but it will be for the Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership to identify future funding opportunities.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England is not being reviewed annually; what meetings have taken place between Public Health England and the Department of Health since March 2013 to review that framework; and whether the Department of Health has any plans to update that framework.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Department of Health officials meet regularly with Public Health England (PHE) to discuss progress on sexual health, including the ambitions in the Sexual Health Improvement Framework (SHIF). Since the Framework was published PHE has developed Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles to support local authorities, public health leads and others to monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their local population and the contribution of local public health related systems. Trends are shown at both England and local authority level for a range of indictors that match the ambitions in the SHIF where data is available. A further annual progress report on the Framework would duplicate this work. Whilst there are no current plans to update the SHIF, in December 2015 PHE published their Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV, strategic action plan, 2016 to 2019, which complements the SHIF. A copy of the plan is attached.

    Departmental and PHE officials have met with the Local Government Association, English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners Group, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health where open access sexual health services were discussed. PHE has undertaken a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health.

    Local democratic accountability is at the heart of the accountability of local authorities for their statutory duty to improve the public’s health. PHE has a specific role in assurance of the ring-fence grant and that local authorities are meeting the grant conditions and the terms of the associated statutory regulations. PHE publishes data on outcomes from services for each local authority in England and can provide support and advice where necessary.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what occasions officials of his Department have received hospitality from the government of China in the last three years.

    Anna Soubry

    BIS officials have engaged with counterparts in China over the past three years to support the growing UK-China relationship and advance UK interests. During the course of those engagements they received at different times the standard hospitality associated with Government to Government exchanges. In 2010, Cabinet Office issued guidance on Civil Servant receiving gifts and hospitality, which can be found on the GOV.UK website. The guidance states that civil servants are not required to record hospitality from other civil servants in government, the Devolved Administrations, the Palace, non-departmental public bodies or overseas government.