Category: Speeches

  • Lord Teverson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Teverson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Teverson on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Environment Agency is taking to ensure that decisions relating to the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme receive director-level attention and remain adequately staffed.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Implementation of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme remains an Environment Agency priority and there has been no change to the amount of resource assigned to this or to the level of oversight within the Agency.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women aged (a) 60, (b) 61, (c) 62, (d) 63, (e) 64, (f) 65, (g) 66 and (h) 67 were in receipt of carer’s allowance in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Glasgow and (iv) Glasgow East constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is shown in the table below as at February 2015, which is the latest data available.

    Carer’s Allowance recipients, by age for Great Britain, Scotland, Glasgow City Local Authority and Glasgow East constituency – February 2015:

    All Females

    Age of claimant Great Britain Scotland Glasgow City LA Glasgow East Constituency
    Total all ages 519,740 43,110 7,050 1,340
    60 12,410 1,140 170 30
    61 12,470 1,070 140 30
    62 5,820 530 60 10
    63 550 30 10 –
    64 610 40 10 –
    65 1,130 60 10 –
    66 1,040 60 10 –
    67 1,080 80 10 –

    Source: DWP 100% WPLS.

    Notes:
    1. "-" denotes nil or negligible; Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
    2. STATE PENSION AGE: The age at which men and women reach State Pension age is gradually increasing. Under current legislation, State Pension age for women will equalise with State Pension age for men at 65 in 2018. Both men’s and women’s State Pension age will increase from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. The Pensions Bill 2013-14 contains provision for a State Pension age of 67 to be reached by 2028. For more information see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207966/espa.pdf.
    3. Parliamentary Constituency of claimant (Westminster) these constituencies are used for the Westminster parliament

    4. Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
    http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

    “

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains were cancelled on the Govia Thameslink rail line due to driver shortage in the most recent four time periods for which figures are available.

    Claire Perry

    Figures for driver attributed cancellations the whole of the TSGN franchise in the last four periods are below. This data represents the first four periods since Southern Railway joined Govia Thameslink Railway at the end of July. This data does not differentiate between cancellations due to driver shortage and operational issues.

    Rail Period 1605 26/7-22/8

    Rail Period 1606 23/8-19/9

    Rail Period 1607 20/9-17/10

    Rail Period 1608 18/10-14/11

    Full cancellations

    1093

    1331

    723

    706

    Part cancellations

    458

    410

    406

    411

    Total

    1551

    1741

    1129

    1117

    The Department does not hold information on cancellations due to sickness.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of crowd control guidelines issued to local police forces for large sporting events; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office has not made any assessment of crowd control guidelines issued to the police.

    This is an operational matter for the police and guidance is set out in the Police Authorised Professional Practice on Public Order, which is developed and owned by the College of Policing.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their reasons are for the delay in publishing their review of Trading Standards, outlined in the report on productivity Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, in the light of the fact that the competition plan A better deal: boosting competition for families and firms published in November 2015 stated that the review had been completed.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is still considering the issues raised during this review and will respond in due course.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much the Government plans to provide to each local authority to meet the cost of the introduction of the living wage.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    All new Government policies which impact on local government are assessed for whether they will represent a new burden on local authorities, against the criteria published in the New Burdens guidance. The New Burdens doctrine does not apply to policies which apply the same rules to local authorities and to private sector bodies, such as the apprenticeships levy, the national living wage and changes to national insurance. The guidance is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-burdens-doctrine-guidance-for-government-departments.

    In setting the future funding settlement for local government at the Spending Review in November 2015, the Government took account of a wide range of factors, including some which fell outside the New Burdens doctrine but nonetheless represented new costs for local authorities such as the apprenticeships levy, the national living wage and changes to national insurance.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) longest and (b) average journey time to attend a medical assessment was for Scottish claimants of (i) employment and support allowance and (ii) personal independence payments in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Centre for Health Disability Assessments (for ESA assessments) and Atos Healthcare (for PIP assessments in Scotland) do not hold or retain information about customer journey times to attend assessments. Should a customer foresee a problem with travelling to their assessment they are asked to contact the appropriate provider to discuss their circumstances.

    DWP’s requirement is that claimants do not have to travel for more than 90 minutes by public transport (single journey) for a consultation. However, this limit is an absolute maximum and for the majority of claimants their journey will be less than this. A home consultation can be offered, in particular where a claimant is unable to travel to a consultation as a result of their health condition or impairment. More specifically home visits are generally offered when the claimant provides confirmation via their own health professional that indicates that they are unable to travel on health grounds or at a claimant’s request where the assessment provider’s health professional determines this is appropriate for their health condition or disability.

  • Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many staff of her Department she expects to transfer into the Oil and Gas Authority.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) was established as an Executive Agency in April 2015, 85 Civil Servants were transferred from DECC. When the OGA becomes a Government Company staff will be transferred by a Staff Transfer Scheme. There are currently 130 staff employed by the OGA.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support Cervical Screening Awareness Week.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England closely monitors the coverage rates for cervical screening in all age groups. NHS England is committed to improving coverage and reducing variation between all age groups.

    Local NHS England commissioners analyse coverage rates within their area and work with general practices to improve coverage by sharing best practice. In addition a primary care cancer screening best practice guide has been developed jointly with the transforming cancer services team, clinical commissioning groups and local authority public health representatives.

    NHS England is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support on the ACE (Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate) Programme aiming to generate knowledge about effective approaches to achieve earlier diagnosis. A number of ACE test sites are evaluating approaches to increase screening rates in a range of groups.

    A range of research studies are also underway, such as Imperial College conducting a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of texting non-responders on improving coverage. In addition, the Department’s Behavioural Insight team has undertaken a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening. Results are due shortly.

    The Independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the importance of screening for cervical cancer and the potential of the new human papillomavirus (HPV) test in their report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of the strategy, and an implementation plan outlining the key first steps for the national cancer programme was published on 12 May. In addition, the routine HPV vaccination programme, offering immunisation to girls aged 12-14 years, is expected to reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and allow them to be protected for years to come.

    Ministers welcome cervical cancer prevention week and we are fully supportive of the work Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust does to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening for eligible women.

    According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Health at a Glance 2015: How does the United Kingdom compare?, the UK has cervical screening rates well above the OECD average. Further information is available at:

    https://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/Health-at-a-Glance-2015-Key-Findings-UK.pdf

    http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/8115071ec053.pdf?expires=1465810879&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=102E30B1A256588EDD14918B5BE3AA4C

    “

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average cost for each patient of second allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplants for relapsed disease in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No such estimate has been made.