Category: Speeches

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the Sustainability and Transformation Fund is applied to NHS Mental Health Trusts.

    Alistair Burt

    Full planning guidance for the National Health Service from England’s leading national health and care bodies was published in March 2016. This guidance sets out the steps to help local organisations deliver a sustainable, transformed health service and improve the quality of care, wellbeing and NHS finance. This includes some specific guidance on the use of the Sustainability and Transformation Fund and confirms that mental health providers will not receive allocations from the general element of the Sustainability and Transformation fund.

    In 2016-17 the fund is being used to help sustain services facing significant financial challenges, and the greatest need is in the acute sector.

    All trusts, including mental health trusts, will be able to bid for the separate targeted element of the fund.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29747, whether wider disclosure of the content of the personal email exchange between Professor Grifo and a member of the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority would breach patient confidentiality.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that wider disclosure of the content of the personal email exchange between Professor Grifo and a member of the expert panel convened by the Authority would not breach patient confidentiality. The HFEA has previously advised that the relevant expert panel member contacted Professor Grifo in a personal capacity following the third Scientific Review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease in 2014.

    The HFEA has also advised that the information in question was provided in confidence to the expert panel convened by the Authority. Members of the HFEA Executive who provided administrative support to the work of the panel have seen this information.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to issue instructions to NHS Trusts to draw up doctors’ schedules that ignore the EU Working Time Directive.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has no plans to issue instructions to ignore the Working Time Directive (WTD).

    There will be no immediate changes to our relationship with the European Union. We remain a part of the EU until negotiations are concluded, which could take up two years or more if agreement isn’t reached. While the United Kingdom remains a member of the EU, we must meet our obligations as a member of the EU, including the WTD.

    It is the responsibility of individual National Health Service trusts to ensure service rotas are compliant with the WTD.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with manufacturers of satellite navigation devices on steps that could be taken to ensure that HGVs are not inappropriately directed into narrow residential streets.

    Andrew Jones

    In the last Parliament the Department brought together satnav manufacturers, mapping companies, local authorities and other industry organisations in a Satnav Summit.

    We continue to work with these parties to improve the information satnavs provide to road users, and enable better co‑operation and information-sharing between local highway authorities and the industry, through joint working.

    Earlier this year Highways England published a Traffic Information Strategy setting out how they will work with local highway authorities to integrate journey planning across the network, improve communication with road users and make traffic data and information available to third parties to enable these companies to develop products and services for customers.

    Furthermore, the Department is investing £3 million to create a national digital road map, developed by Ordnance Survey and launching this year, which will enable better integration and sharing of data on roads between local authorities and service providers.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics plans to include in quarterly migration figures the number of Syrian refugees resettled in the UK under the Government’s relocation scheme.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to use capacity in independent sector hospitals to reduce waiting lists in 2015-16.

    Jane Ellison

    Decisions about whether to use independent sector capacity are made at local level according to local need, as part of the operational management of capacity and demand.

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, through what means his Department communicates with and receives communications from Christian communities in Syria; and how he assesses the quality of information received otherwise by his Department on the situation of such communities in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office representatives meet Church leaders and Non-Governmental Organisations representing Christian communities in Syria on a regular basis in London, through our Embassy to the Holy See and at our Syria Offices in Beirut and Istanbul. We also receive regular correspondence from groups highlighting the situation of Christians in Syria. These sources provide us with valuable insights into the situation facing Christians in Syria and the region. We recognise the contribution that recognised religious leaders can make on the Syria political track. They and other leading members of civil society will need a strong voice in the debate on Syria’s future.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the draft report by the UN panel of experts on Yemen, which documents major violations of international humanitarian law by all sides to the Yemen conflict, including the Saudi-led coalition.

    Earl of Courtown

    Although this is a leaked document, we are aware of the report which has not yet been published, and are looking at the conclusions carefully. We recognise the importance of the work of the UN Panel of Experts and take the allegations raised in the report seriously. The Ministry of Defence monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen.

  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with cancer have been placed in the work-related activity group in (a) each of the last five years and (b) total since the introduction of employment and support allowance.

    Priti Patel

    The specific information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The information we do have for Employment and Support Allowance claimants by medical condition, including Neoplasms and phase of claim, is published and available at:

    https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

    Guidance for users can be found at:

    https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

    “

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the median hourly pay was for (a) all employees aged 21 to 24 and (b) full-time employees aged 21 to 24 in (i) cash terms and (ii) adjusted for inflation in each year since 2008.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Department pays monthly salaries and therefore does not record median hourly rates of pay.