Category: Speeches

Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Tunisian government on the safety of UK citizens who plan to travel to that country during 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Both the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and I discussed security with the Tunisian authorities during our recent visits. Our current travel advice advises against all but essential travel to the larger part of Tunisia, except some border areas where we recommend against all travel.

We continue to work with the Tunisians to enhance their ability to counter the terrorist threat and protect tourists; our security support has increased significantly since the Sousse attack.

01/01/2023

Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21823, how many of her Department’s approved Intervention Providers for the Channel programme are (a) men and (b) women.

Mr John Hayes

There are currently 39 male and 13 female intervention providers listed in our register. We keep the list under constant review. The breakdown listed below shows where the intervention provider is based, however, most intervention providers are available to work across England and Wales, and are not limited to working in the region they are based in.

Region	Total number of providers
North East	1
North West	10
Yorkshire and the Humber	1
East Midlands	7
West Midlands	6
East of England	3
London	20
South East	1
South West	2
Wales	1

01/01/2023

Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of schools which have restricted the school trips which children with autism spectrum disorder can attend in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not collect data on schools which have restricted the school trips that children with autism can attend.

Public sector bodies, including maintained schools, are covered by the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010. When carrying out their functions they must have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and foster good relations between disabled and non-disabled children and young people. This duty is anticipatory, which means that schools must take into account the needs of disabled pupils, such as those with autism, when planning school trips and other events.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 emphasises that school leaders should establish and maintain a culture of high expectations that expects those working with children and young people with SEN or disabilities to include them in all the opportunities available to other children and young people so that they can achieve well. This would include opportunities to socialise and attend external school trips.

If parents believe that a school has discriminated against their autistic child in planning school trips, they can make a claim for disability discrimination to the First-tier Tribunal.

01/01/2023
Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-03-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of future tobacco excise increases on the black market in tobacco products.

Damian Hinds

The government believes that cigarette duty achieves a balance between its two fiscal goals on tobacco; to raise revenue and to protect public health.

In considering fiscal impacts of duties, the illicit trade is an important consideration. The government is committed to tackling illicit tobacco, which undermines health and tax policy objectives and harms legitimate business. HMRC and Border Force have an established and effective strategy for tackling tobacco fraud which has seen the illicit market reduce significantly since the strategy was first launched in 2000. This has meant that, since the introduction of the tobacco duty escalator, the size of the illicit market has continued to fall.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage big businesses to promote gender equality and provide models for small and medium-sized enterprises to follow.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government is committed to full gender equality in the workplace, and we are introducing mandatory gender pay gap reporting for larger employers from April 2017.

We will support all employers to do this with a £500,000 package including: UK wide conference events, free online software and targeted support for male-dominated sectors. Employers of any size can join the voluntary “Think, Act, Report” initiative which has around 300 members leading the way on gender equality.

The Women’s Business Council has an SME representative to ensure good practice is promulgated throughout the wider business community, including a toolkit for businesses to support older women in the workplace.

01/01/2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Camp Liberty, Iraq.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We remain concerned about the residents of Camp Liberty. Our Embassy in Baghdad regularly raises this issue with the Government of Iraq and we support the United Nations’ calls for more to be done to protect residents. We are working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to relocate all the residents to safe third countries.

That being said, Monitors from the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) regularly visit Camp Liberty and issue daily reports which provide an update on the situation there. Their assessment remains that the provision of life support systems such as water, electricity and food continue to be well in excess of basic humanitarian standards. They have reported that the relocation of protective bunkers and installation of additional protective concrete walls, to increase the security and safety of the residents, has been completed. Iraqi government officials have reported that diesel tankers and trucks containing food and other supplies continue to routinely enter the camp, that residents continue to be referred to hospitals and that the clinic remains in operation. Residents’ representatives have confirmed this to be accurate.

01/01/2023

Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Attorney General, how many people were charged under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 in 2015.

Jeremy Wright

I am answering on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice, as I am the minister that superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who is responsible for bringing charges.

The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with offences brought by way of Section 1 or Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; or Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004; or Sections 57 and 58 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (Sections 57, 58 and 59 were repealed and replaced by section 59A Sexual Offences Act 2003 on 13 April 2013) This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

However, although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with a particular offence, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. The table below shows the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged by way of the human trafficking offences during each of the last three calendar years. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

2013	2014	2015
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 { 4 }	20	73	48
Coroners and Justice Act 2009 { 71 }	36	26	34
Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1 }	0	0	5
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 57 }	22	35	69
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 58 }	84	35	75
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59 }	4	4	9
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59A }	1	17	94
Total Human Trafficking Offences Charged	167	190	334
Data Source: CPS Management Information System

No offences have yet been recorded under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which came into force on 31st July 2015.

01/01/2023

Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the article in The Lancet, Adjuvant bisphosonphate treatment in early breast cancer: meta-analyses of individual patient data from randomised trials, published in July 2015, what steps he has taken to ensure that bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer are routinely available to the patients who need them.

Nicola Blackwood

The Independent Cancer Taskforce report included a specific recommendation on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for treating people with breast cancer. We understand that NHS England is working to realise the ambitions set out in the report and will publish an update on progress made soon.

National prescribing arrangements already allow for bisphosphonates to be prescribed for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.

Updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss, taking into account the latest available evidence, is expected in July 2018.

01/01/2023
Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the difficulties associated with the insulation of external walls of traditional terraced housing and other older properties with solid walls rather than cavity walls, and whether they are supporting, or will support, research into practical solutions for insulating such walls.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government has a number of ongoing projects to investigate issues surrounding solid wall insulation, including monitoring current installation practices (DECC), modelling the risks of unintended moisture-related problems (DCLG and DECC), preparing practical guidance for industry to reduce the risks of such problems (DECC) and a wider high-level study of solid wall insulation issues (BIS – the Hansford report, to be published on 12 November).

The Government recognises that it is important that we do more and that is why we have commissioned Dr Peter Bonfield to undertake an Independent Review into Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for both energy efficiency and renewable energy. The Review is due to report in March 2016 and represents a real opportunity to put energy efficiency on a more consumer-focussed and sustainable long-term path for the future.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with organisations representing people with TB on support for people with that disease who are unable to work as a result.

Jane Ellison

Departmental officials meet regularly with colleagues from TB Alert, a third sector key partner in the publication of Public Health England’s National Strategy for Tuberculosis (TB), launched in January 2015. TB Alert provides support to those affected by TB including the homeless and unemployed. Officials also liaise with the Find and Treat outreach service that provides TB screening services through a mobile x-ray unit to vulnerable groups.

01/01/2023