Category: Speeches

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure its programme of work contributes to Goal 10 of the Sustainable Development Goals on reduced inequalities.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK welcomes, and is committed to championing, the Global Goals. Through our commitment to global development, and by honouring our 0.7% aid commitments, we will play a key role in helping countries to achieve these goals – especially on eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and disease. The UK has played a key role in creating a set of goals that are universal and inclusive, and underpinned by a commitment to leave no one behind.

    Given the focus of DFID’s work and interventions on those living in extreme poverty, DFID programmes contribute to reducing within country inequality. The new UK Aid strategy commits the government to being a world leader in implementing the Leave No One Behind Promise agreed by the Prime Minister and other world leaders in September 2015. To deliver the new strategy, the government will focus on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, the most excluded, those caught in crises, and those most at risk of violence and discrimination.

  • Lord Young of Cookham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Young of Cookham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Young of Cookham on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to reduce smoking within the NHS as part of implementing the radical upgrade in prevention and public health” called for in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Smoking continues to be the leading cause of premature death and health inequality in England, placing a significant burden on the National Health Service.

    The Department remains dedicated to the delivery of effective and robust tobacco control and has committed to developing a new tobacco control strategy to further reduce the prevalence of smoking, working with NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) to identify interventions that will make the best contributions to achieving this.

    Training material and guidance has been developed to support health professionals deliver effective interventions to pregnant women who smoke.

    PHE will continue to support local authorities by developing and distributing information and advice for the commissioning of effective smoking cessation services.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by how much levels of pollution have changed in the UK territorial seas in the last five years.

    George Eustice

    Inputs into the marine environment of the six most hazardous polluting substances (cadmium, lindane, mercury, zinc, copper and lead) have fallen significantly over the last 25 years. In the five years to 2013 inputs of five of the substances have declined while mercury inputs were stable. These trends are reported in the UK’s Biodiversity Indicators, published this month.

    The volume of oil accidentally spilled varies widely from year to year, is generally small and of relatively minor significance, with no major spills in UK waters having occurred over the last five years.

    Assessments of contaminants in the recent UK Marine Strategy Part 3, published in December, have shown that most problems (i.e. where concentrations or biological effects parameters exceed assessment thresholds) are local in nature and close to the sources, particularly in industrialised estuaries and coasts, and largely caused by historic pollution.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of long-term trends in the prevalence of autism in the UK.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The number of children, young people and adults diagnosed with autism by the National Health Service is not collected centrally. Latest figures from the School Census (2015) state that there were 90,775 pupils with an autistic spectrum disorder at state funded schools and non-maintained special schools in England. This has increased from a total of 56,250 in 2010 who were recorded as having a primary need of autism, but it is not directly comparable to the 2015 figures because of a change in collection methodology. Local authority areas provide information for Public Health England’s annual self-assessment exercise on implementing the Autism Strategy. This includes the number of adults receiving an autism diagnosis but because information is submitted on a voluntary basis a complete total for England is not available.

    The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis and support in a timely manner. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups to identify and share good practice in accessing autism diagnosis, and look at possible barriers. The Department is funding the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to support this work. NHS England will complete a report on this by the end of April 2016.

    The Department is also encouraging the autism third sector to work together and the four charity representatives on the Cross Government Autism Programme Board, which oversees the implementation of the Autism Strategy, gave presentations at the meeting on 18 February on work they are doing to increase public awareness. The charities are the National Autistic Society, the Autism Alliance UK, Autism Plus and Ambitious about Autism. The Autism Alliance UK is also being funded by the Department to undertake work with national and local organisations, to make reasonable adjustments to services and to train staff to be aware of what autism can mean to individuals who have the condition and their families.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre’s publication Estimating the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Conditions in Adults – Extending the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) gave the overall prevalence of autism in England as 1.1% (95% confidence interval 0.3% to 1.9%). Among adults with learning disabilities living in private households whose learning disability was sufficiently severe that they could not have taken part in the 2007 APMS, the prevalence of autism was 35.4% (95% confidence interval 24.7% to 46.2%). Among adults with mild or severe learning disabilities living in communal care establishments, the prevalence of autism was 31% (95% confidence interval 23.9% to 38%). Detailed supporting information regarding the underlying data and how figures have been derived is found within the detail of the report, a copy of which is attached.

    The APMS was repeated in 2014 and findings are scheduled to be published in September 2016.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure disabled access on all platforms at Bingham railway station.

    Claire Perry

    I would like to assure the hon. Member that we are committed to improving accessibility at railway stations. However, many stations date from a time when the needs of disabled customers were simply not considered and at present only around 460 of our 2,500 stations have step free access to every platform. We have therefore continued with the Access for All programme, launched in 2006, which by 2019 will have provided step free access at more than 200 stations and has already delivered smaller scale access improvements at over 1200 stations.

    In 2013 we asked the industry to nominate stations for the latest tranche of Access for All funding. 278 were put forward and we selected 68 of these to add to the programme. To ensure the best possible value for money, these were chosen based on their annual footfall, weighted by the incidence of disability in the area. We also took into account the priorities of the industry and other factors such as the availability of third party funding. Around a third were also chosen to ensure a fair geographical spread across the country.

    Bingham was not among the 278 stations nominated.

  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, UK citizens living in EU member states would continue to be treated as all other UK citizens in the event of their death, in particular regarding their domicile status and death duties on their estates.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Domicile in the UK is an English common law concept which is distinct from citizenship and nationality. It is not dependent on EU law nor on the UK’s membership of the EU.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the annual societal costs of occupational cancer.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has carried out research on the total societal costs of new cases of work-related cancer diagnosed in Britain. This research is due to be published later this year.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library a copy of the report about Bright Tribe Multi-Academy Trust prepared by the Risk Analysis Division of the Education Funding Agency.

    Edward Timpson

    The Education Funding Agency is due to publish a report about Bright Tribe Trust. This final report will include the Trust’s progress in implementing recommendations set out by the EFA in December 2015; and will incorporate how assurance is obtained that services are provided at cost. Once this report is published, a copy will be placed in the Library.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of her Department.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office does not employ cleaning staff. The cleaning of the Home Office estate is outsourced. The contract requires that all contracted staff have undergone the necessary pre-employment checks and have the right to work in the UK.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department plans to monitor the Government’s progress on halving the disability employment gap; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Progress against the disability employment gap is a key factor in progress towards full employment. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’. The annual report on progress towards full employment will include an update on the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.

    Bringing disabled people out of inactivity and into employment increases the productive capacity of the economy. While it is not possible to quantify exactly the economic impact of halving the disability employment gap, it would directly benefit both the individuals affected, through higher employment allowing more people to support themselves and their families, and also the wider economy, by supporting economic growth and the public finances.