Category: Speeches

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the ratio of front-line medical staff to administrators in the NHS.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The ratio of medical staff to administrators in the National Health Service is 1:1.05. The number of medical staff includes only doctors and does not include roles such as nurses, midwives and other non-medical clinicians. Administrative staff are managers, senior managers and central functions staff who perform administrative and clerical duties.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms have written to the Legal Aid Agency indicating an intention to challenge a decision not to award them a contract in the Criminal Duty Tender; and how many firms have issued legal proceedings in respect of that decision.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Over 1000 bids were received for 527 contracts under this process. Some unsuccessful bidders are challenging the decision not to award contracts to them. 115 claims have been issued by 97 firms. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) continues to consider the legal proceedings issued by unsuccessful bidders in the crime duty tender.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of stage 2b cancer or higher patients in (1) tertiary, and (2) secondary, care centres were tested by NHS England in 2014 for genetic mutations that can confer resistance to targeted cancer therapies, in particular (a) AR amplification mutations, (b) ESR1 activation mutations, (c) PIK3CA mutations, (d) KRAS activation mutations, (e) EGFR amplification and activation mutations, (f) KRAS activation mutations, and (g) EGFR amplification and activation mutations.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has not, to date, undertaken a direct comparison of the English and French health systems in respect of genetic testing practice for cancer.

    NHS England does not hold data on the percentage of stage 2b, or higher, cancer patients in secondary and tertiary centres who were genetically tested. Detailed information on the clinical circumstances, or reasons, for referral for genetic testing for individual patients is not currently collated on a national basis.

    NHS England does not consider business cases from individual National Health Service trusts in relation to the adoption of new genetic tests. Instead, NHS England considers national clinical commissioning policy proposals on the eligibility of a particular test, or treatments to be made available in the presence of particular genetic markers. These are considered and where agreed, funded consistently across England for services falling within NHS England’s direct commissioning responsibilities.

    Examples include the separate policies (published in July 2015) confirming eligibility for Ivacaftor for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in the presence of certain gene mutations, and confirming eligibility for testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, respectively. Copies of the policies are attached.

    In addition, the UK Genetic Testing Network currently presents new genetic testing proposals to NHS England for funding consideration based on the conclusions of their assurance programme. These are considered, alongside other new policy proposals, as part of the annual funding prioritisation process, where there is a net annual investment to be made to support their adoption.

    Information on the average turnaround time for cancer genetic tests is not currently collated, or analysed, nationally. However, NHS England will be undertaking a procurement exercise in the coming months to support the strengthened provision of genetic testing across England. This includes more consistent reporting of activity and other performance indicators, including the timeliness of reporting on receipt on referrals. The supporting national service specification, setting out the standards required of commissioned providers, has been the subject of a recent public consultation.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many golf courses his Department owns; and what plans his Department has to sell such property.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are currently 11 operating golf courses, one pitch and putt centre and one driving range on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land.

    Of these 11 courses seven are on land leased by MOD that have no other direct connection to the Department, one is occupied by the United States Air Force and three are military encroachments.

    The majority of the golf courses located on MOD land are linked to sites that will be addressed as part of the MOD Estate Footprint Strategy to release surplus land.

    Once the future use of any site has been agreed, MOD will look at how to make best use of land that will be retained or bring to the market sites that are being vacated. This will include the potential release of the golf course element.

    As part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s ongoing work to rationalise the Defence estate the courses at DMRC Headley Court and Ballykinler are being examined for potential disposal through the Department’s standard disposal process. Ballykinler and RM Condor are no longer in use as golf courses.

  • Lord Collins of Highbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Collins of Highbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they made in their recent Evaluation of Gaming Machine (Circumstances of Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 of the evidence from the Gambling Commission that 633 cases of suspected money laundering were reported last year in the use of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals; and what conclusions they reached.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government takes the issue of money laundering in gambling very seriously, including these cases. The Gambling Commission already requires operators to take measures to prevent money laundering through its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice – and it is currently consulting on proposed regulatory changes to strengthen the fight against crime linked to gambling. In additon, the Treasury is planning to consult on the EU’s forth Directive on Money Laundering, which brings all gambling services within scope of the money laundering requirements.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government’s memorandum submitted to the Lords Secondary Legislation Committee on 28 January 2016, what the evidential basis is for the statement that there will be no cash losers from the reduction of the income rise disregards for tax credits.

    Damian Hinds

    As announced in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within the year before their tax credit award is adjusted (the income rise disregard), will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500. The reduction to the income rise disregard will stop one family receiving a higher tax credit award over another family with precisely the same income and the same circumstances, which makes the system fairer. The household income of families before it rises will inform how they might be effected by a reduction in the income rise disregard.

    The only people who will be affected are those who will see an income increase of more than £2,500 in-year.

    Due to the way that tax credits are calculated, the amount an award will be adjusted by – because of an increase in income – will depend upon a claimant’s individual circumstances, such as the household’s income before it rises. No one will be a cash loser because their income will have increased. As an example, for an individual with a wage of £12,000, an income increase of £2,501 would lead to an adjustment in their tax credit award of just 41 pence. An increase of less than £2,500 would see no change at all.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether an impact assessment has been carried out on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals to reduce the number of marine offices in the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Guidance from Cabinet Office indicates that there is no requirement to complete a Business Engagement Assessment on this activity.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is offering advice to African countries on desertification.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID supports the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which has had a strong impact on raising awareness of land degradation in Africa. The UK will hold the EU Presidency during the next UNCCD Conference of Parties and will champion the achievement of the land degradation targets agreed within the 2015 Global Goals.

    DFID supports countries on desertification through our forestry and resilience work. For example the Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED) programme works with farmers in the Sahel on better natural resource management and regeneration. DFID also provides support to the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, through the International Forestry Knowledge programme (KNOWFOR), to help operationalise the ambitious targets of the Bonn Challenge. KNOWFOR helps countries assess the potential for restoration in their countries, developing tools and carrying out a range of analyses to support decision making, planning and attracting financing. 11 countries in Africa have so far pledged restoration targets (including Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and Ethiopia); the demand is growing as countries see the potential adaptation as well as mitigation benefits of restoring degraded land.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many job vacancies in his Department have been reserved as internal posts in the last 12 months.

    Matthew Hancock

    For the 12 month period between 8/6/15 and 7/6/16, Cabinet Office advertised 26 vacancies for internal applicants on its intranet site. In the same period, 469 Cabinet Office vacancies were advertised on the Civil Service Jobs search internet page.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to remove international students from the Government’s migration targets following the decision to leave the EU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    International students are included in net migration statistics that are produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). In line with the internationally agreed UN definition, these statistics define a migrant as someone changing their normal place of residence for more than a year. Students are therefore included in the same way as other migrants. Other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia also include students in their net migration figures.

    Like other migrants, students who stay for longer than 12 months have an impact on communities, infrastructure and services while they are here, so it is right that they are included in the net migration count.

    We are committed to reducing non-EU migration across all visa routes in order to bring net migration down to sustainable levels as soon as possible.