Category: Speeches

  • Lord Lea of Crondall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Lea of Crondall – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lea of Crondall on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government for what reasons they have decided not to follow the guidance set out in Chapter 14 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Making Legislation in respect of the Trade Union Bill, and in particular the requirement in paragraph 14.10 to publish the final impact assessment at the final proposal stage”.”

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    In line with the Cabinet Office guidance, we will publish a final impact assessment before enactment. The Government has already published consultation Impacts Assessments alongside the public consultations that support the overall package of reforms, as well as an equality impact assessment and will publish a further Impact Assessment on the Bill before Lords Committee.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the comments made by a spokesperson of his Department in an article published in The Herald newspaper on 10 January 2016, and pursuant to his oral contribution of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118, if he will issue guidance to independent monitoring groups on how to contact his Department on, and how to submit evidence relating to, possible civilian casualties from air strikes in Syria and Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Independent monitoring groups are free to contact the Ministry of Defence through the normal means of correspondence and any credible reports of civilian casualties will be investigated.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the (a) maintenance of and (b) appropriate location for public weighbridges.

    Joseph Johnson

    a) Public weighbridges are regulated under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and the Non Automatic Weighing Instrument Regulations 2000. It is the responsibility of the owner of the instrument to ensure that it is maintained and continues to operate in line with the legal requirements for accuracy. Local Weights and Measures Authorities (LWMAs) are responsible for enforcement of weights and measures requirements and undertake enforcement using a risk based approach. The National Measurement and Regulation Office (NMRO) issues risk ratings for equipment for use by LWMAs which is updated each year and have rated weighbridges as high risk equipment.

    b) The operation of public weighbridges is a commercial service and their location will be a commercial decision for the operators concerned.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the completion date, and (2) the impact on electricity sale prices, of (a) the Swansea Lagoon project, and (b) the Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    EDF have said that they expect Hinkley Point C to start generating electricity in 2025. Hinkley Point C is a good deal for everyone including consumers – Hinkley would provide reliable energy at an affordable cost, powering nearly six million homes for around 60 years and creating more than 25,000 jobs.

    The negotiations regarding a Contract for Difference for the proposed Swansea Bay lagoon remain ongoing.

    On 10 February, the Government announced an independent review to consider alternatives approaches to financing tidal lagoons, providing an evidence base to ensuring decisions are taken in the best interest of bill-payers.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which firms tendered to take over the G4S contracts at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre.

    Andrew Selous

    The Ministry of Justice holds this information and can confirm the following 5 bidders submitted tenders in last year’s competition for Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre:

    • Diagrama Foundation

    • G4S Care and Justice (UK) Limited

    • Ingeus UK Limited

    • MTCnovo Limited

    • Sodexo Limited

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with his German counterpart on improving the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease by the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    No specific discussions have been held but the National Health Service, Public Health England and national laboratories across Europe use well established, standardised, tests and international External Quality Assurance schemes are in place to ensure consistency across Europe.

    However, Lyme disease is a complex infection and we recognise that challenges in diagnosis and treatment remain. In light of this, the Department is commissioning three reviews on the diagnosis, treatment and transmission of Lyme disease to inform future decision making.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any future corporate services integration and innovation provider for Defence Business Services will be permitted to bid for contracts for direct service delivery within the future Defence Business Services contract.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. Decisions on whether any future Corporate Services Integration and Innovation Service supplier could bid for service delivery contracts in DBS would be made in line with the procurement legislation and regulations that applied at the time.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the extent to which UK universities are being excluded from joint funding applications to EU funding bodies by other EU universities.

    Joseph Johnson

    The European Commission has made it clear that while the UK remains a member of the EU, proposals from, or including, UK applicants must be treated in the same way as applications from other Member States including for collaborations under Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+.

    In addition, the HM Treasury announcement on 13th August brought clarity on continuity of research funding by stating that competitively bid for projects applied for before the UK departs the EU would be underwritten by the Treasury for the life of the project.

    The Government is vigilant and will continue to monitor any problems in this area. To aid this we have set up a mailbox where specific instances should be sent: research@beis.gov.uk.

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 16052, what steps he is taking to ensure that the two Skoda vehicles tested were representative of the affected models and manufacturers from the Volkswagen Group; and what steps were taken to validate the effectiveness of the test procedure for the wider programme.

    Andrew Jones

    The two Skoda cars tested are part of the Vehicle Certification Agency fleet. Their engines are of the type that VW has confirmed as being equipped with software that recognises test conditions. Our testing has confirmed differences in exhaust emissions when measured using the type approval tests and with an alternative procedure. However, it cannot be guaranteed that a single alternative procedure would identify defeat strategies on other vehicles and therefore our planned programme of work will involve a number of alternative tests, including real driving, to interrogate their emission behaviour.

    Our programme will consider, without bias, approximately 40 vehicles that are representative of some 70 different models in the UK market. These have been selected based both upon the volume of sales over each of the last 5-years and the overall number of each model currently licensed for use on the roads of Great Britain.

    We have agreed with ministers in France and in Germany to exchange knowledge and understanding as our respective programmes develop. This collaboration may allow our programmes to be rationalised to avoid duplication of testing and secure best value for the taxpayer.

    An update on progress will be prepared early in the New Year and a full report will be issued at the conclusion of the work.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Department for Health has made of the number of adult carers in the UK, and the capacity of those carers to provide an improved quality of care to individuals in their own homes.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We have assumed the Noble Lady is referring to informal, unpaid, carers rather than to paid care workers.

    The 2011 Census indicated that there are approximately 6.26 million adults with informal caring responsibilities in the United Kingdom.

    The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in The Care Act 2014. This includes a right to an assessment on the appearance of needs for support that will look at a carer’s wellbeing in their own right and what support they may need in their caring role.

    The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015/16, which include, for the first time, a legal duty on local authorities to meet carers’ eligible needs for support. We have also made an additional £400 million available to the NHS between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The carers’ breaks funding of £130 million for 2015/16 is in the Better Care Fund.

    The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.