Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what process a local authority seeking to dispose of school land can obtain Ministerial permission for development.

    Edward Timpson

    There are strict rules protecting publicly funded school land. This is set out in published guidance, which is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

    “

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which railway stations currently owned by Network Rail are being considered for potential sale or new concessions.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is exploring new models for the management and ownership of its 18 managed stations with the goal of bringing improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options. No decisions have yet been taken and no estimate of the potential value of these stations has been made as part of this work. Citigroup were appointed following a competitive tender process, and the details of their fee are commercially confidential.

    Network Rail expect that this work will be presented to their Board by the end of 2016.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the appropriation of 234 hectares of Palestinian land near Jericho by Israel on 10 March.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a press statement on 16 March condemning the Israeli government’s decision to take over 585 acres of land in the West Bank as ‘state land’.

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

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12325, how many defence attachés at what rank were employed at each of those locations on 1 April 2016; and whether each of those attachés has civilian assistants.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    All Defence Attaches (except those for Bahrain and the UK Mission to the UN) have civilian employees working within the Defence Section. The Defence Attaches by rank as at 1 April 2016 are listed in the attached table.

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide field surgical teams for the Peshmerga Regional Government.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK keeps its contribution to the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition in Iraq (including the Kurdish region) under review with wider Coalition partners, but has no plans to deploy a field hospital to the region. Any such deployment would need to be carefully balanced against medical commitments to current and future planned operations.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department consulted local GPs and other health providers during the tendering process for musculoskeletal services in Greenwich; how his Department assessed the implications of the outcome of that process for the services provided by those people; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The procurement of local health services by means of competitive tendering is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    We are advised that NHS Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) undertook a review of the provision of musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the area in 2014, involving local general practitioners (GPs), secondary care clinicians, other MSK clinicians and patient groups. The CCG took account of this exercise in confirming its commissioning intentions for an integrated MSK service pathway. The CCG subsequently held a GP clinical commissioner-led provider engagement event on 2 March 2016 to seek feedback on the clinical service specification and the proposed contractual model.

    We understand that, as part of the procurement process, the MSK Programme Board was fully apprised of the Our Healthier South East London initiative, the predecessor to the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) in respect of elective orthopaedic centres.

    We are advised that the Invitation to Tender (ITT) developed as part of the procurement exercise explicitly stated the aspirations of these two initiatives, in addition to the proposed implementation timeline. When submitting their bids, all prospective providers were required to confirm their understanding and acceptance of the planned new model of in-patient care. Patient choice continues to apply with regard to both this local procurement and the South East London STP proposals on elective care centres.

    We understand that the ITT issued to potential service providers, was divided into sections, with each section allocated a weighting. The financial weighting was designed to ensure that the selection of the preferred provider was driven by clinical quality scores whilst remaining within the CCG’s published financial envelope. The detailed clinical service specification will be used to hold the provider to account within the format of the NHS national standard contract.

    Health Ministers have not received any representations from local health practitioners in Greenwich with regard to the provision of MSK services in the area.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will allow the completed High Speed 2 railway line to be open access as opposed to restricted by franchise.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government is considering how best HS2 services should be provided both when operating on the new High Speed and conventional rail networks. This includes consideration of franchising options but does not rule out alternative routes for service delivery, to ensure that services deliver the Government objectives for HS2, and optimum use is made of total capacity across the entire network to maximise the benefits for passengers and secure a return for taxpayers on the significant investment Government is making in HS2. No final decision has been taken.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11110, how much the NHS spent on cancer services in each year since 2012-13; and what the year-on-year change in that amount was in real terms.

    Jane Ellison

    Overall National Health Service expenditure on cancer services is not available for 2013-14 or 2014-15. NHS England has published clinical commissioning group (CCG) level expenditure on cancer for 2013-14, which was estimated to be £2.8 billion. CCGs are currently in the process of preparing estimates of expenditure for cancer services in 2014-15.

    CCG expenditure is a proportion of overall NHS expenditure, as NHS England commissions some cancer services directly. NHS England is currently reviewing the data on direct commissioning expenditure and plans to publish this when finalised.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for the delay in the refranchising process for the West Coast Main Line.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The re-timing will ensure that passengers and taxpayers get the maximum possible benefits from both the InterCity West Coast (ICWC) franchise and the HS2 project.

    We are re-timing the ICWC franchise to ensure that it is well aligned with the HS2 programme which is currently progressing through Parliament. The ICWC operator will play an important role during the construction of HS2 and in facilitating the introduction of High Speed services in 2026. This retiming will allow us to continue to engage with the market on the best options for the franchise to do this.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what initial assessment she has made of the implications of the incident at Porter Ranch, California, for safety and engineering procedures and standards in the UK onshore unconventional gas extraction sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In the UK, we have an entirely different regulatory system to the US.

    We have over 50 years of experience in safely conducting surface activities and constructing onshore gas wells, regulated by the Health & Safety Executive and Environment Agency.

    Our tough regulations ensure on-site safety, prevent water contamination, mitigate seismic activity and air pollution. To reinforce our already robust regulations, the Infrastructure Act 2015 introduced a range of further requirements that must be met before an operator can carry out hydraulic fracturing in a responsible, sustainable and safe manner. These include the assessment of environmental impacts, groundwater monitoring, community benefits and prohibiting hydraulic fracturing in specified protected areas.

    The UK has one of the best track records in the world when it comes to protecting our environment while also developing our industries – and we’ve brought that experience to bear on the shale gas protections.