Category: Speeches

  • Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Oates – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Chancellor of the Exchequer last visited Africa to promote trade, investment and economic development; which countries he visited; and when he next intends to make such a visit.

    Lord Price

    Details of ministerial visits overseas are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the gov.uk website. For security reasons, the Chancellor’s engagements are announced as and when appropriate.

  • Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will order a review to be undertaken of the administration and operational effectiveness of NHS Property Services in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex.

    George Freeman

    Review of the effectiveness of NHS Property Services’ operations in all areas of the country is an ongoing process by the Company’s Board, which includes a Departmental senior civil servant as a Director, and by officials in the Department’s Commercial Division.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking in response to the outcome of the EU referendum to boost the UK’s inward investment promotion and delivery effort.

    Greg Hands

    DIT Ministers and I have been clear that Britain remains open for business. On 5th September 2016, the Directorate General within DIT responsible for inward investment moved to a new, more focussed operating model to deliver inward investment. This focuses on attracting high-value FDI that maximises wealth creation within the UK in the sectors, places and markets that provide the greatest opportunity.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to include remanufactured paint as a material in Green Public Procurement.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government has been engaging constructively with the British Coatings Federation on making better use of leftover paint, including identifying potential regulatory barriers to its recycling and remanufacture and how these might be overcome.

    The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) encourages consumers to recycle and re-use household paint by providing information through the Recycle Now website. This includes a postcode locator which helps pinpoint local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) that accept leftover paint. The Government’s Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund has also supported a pilot paint re-use project in Cheshire involving local charities, working with HWRCs and housing associations to increase paint donation and minimise disposal. WRAP will publish a summary of the project, lessons learned and a video case study later in the year.

    In terms of public procurement, it is for each Government department to consider sustainability and put this into practice in its own procurement activity. Government Buying Standards do not currently include remanufactured paint. WRAP has recently published a guide on ‘How to Include Re-use in Local Authority HWRC Procurement’.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to (a) regulate freelance sports coaches (b) ensure that such coaches have an enhanced DBS check in order to safeguard children.

    Edward Timpson

    It is the responsibility of a parent to assure themselves that they are entirely satisfied as to the suitability of any freelance coach they might choose to employ before they engage them. Private tutors and coaches have several options open to them to enable them to obtain appropriate checks in order to provide employers with the assurances they might need. For example, employment agencies are required to process DBS checks for all tutors working with children

    It is of course a serious criminal offence to seek to work with children in regulated activity after having been barred from doing so.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 there will be in England in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2018, (iv) 2019 and (v) 2020.

    Mr Rob Wilson

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

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the projected end of financial year budget surplus or deficit is for each health trust in London in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    The information is not available in the format requested.

    Projected figures for 2016-17 are unavailable. The attached table shows the projected end of financial year budget surplus or deficit for each health trust in London in 2015-16 only.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to sperm banks on the grounds for rejecting donors.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) issues guidance to licensed clinics, including sperm banks, on donor recruitment, assessment and screening in the HFEA Code of Practice. A copy of which is attached.

    The HFEA requires clinics to select donors on the basis of their age, health and medical history, provided on a questionnaire and through a personal interview performed by a qualified and trained healthcare professional. This assessment must include relevant factors that may assist in identifying and screening out persons whose donations could present a health risk to others, such as the possibility of transmitting diseases, (such as sexually transmitted infections) or health risks to themselves (e.g. the risks associated with the egg collection procedure or the psychological consequences of being a donor).

    Clinics should ensure that its procedures for recruiting donors are fair and non-discriminatory. The HFEA has never required or endorsed prohibiting people with dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disorders from becoming sperm donors. In relation to the recent press coverage about a particular centre, the HFEA has clarified its requirements for selecting donors with this centre, and has reviewed all the exemptions cited in the centre’s materials, to ensure that all future donors are treated fairly and in accordance with the law.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on meningitis vaccine stocks in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Vaccine prices are commercially confidential, and so we are unable to provide this information.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30084, if he will make the Attorney General’s advice available for inspection by the (a) Chief of the Air Staff (b) Deputy Commander of Operations and (c) Staff Branch Air Command responsible for authorisation of the drone strike which killed Reyaad Khan on 21 August 2015.

    Michael Fallon

    No. Military action is authorised in accordance with the Rules of Engagement which I approve in accordance with the legal position.