Category: Speeches

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the terms of reference for the blood donations review will be approved by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

    Jane Ellison

    The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is carrying out a review of blood donor selection criteria. Currently a working group is being formed. The process will fully involve stakeholders, similar to the previous 2011 SaBTO review, and contacting stakeholders inviting their contribution to the review will begin imminently. The terms of reference will include input from stakeholders and be published once approved by SaBTO which will be at their next meeting. The review will be holistic and evidence relating to the risks of blood-borne infections in people who have previously injected drugs or received money or drugs for sex will be included. The review will be incremental, with published progress reports and any intermediate advice.

    It is anticipated that the group will publish its final report in 2017.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to prevent companies using local numbers from which calls are forwarded abroad for the purposes of marketing and other nuisance calls.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Based on an analysis of reported concerns, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has previously estimated that approximately 12% of nuisance calls carry ‘spoofed’ Calling Line Identification (CLI), but this does not mean that all the calls have originated from overseas. The Government has recently consulted on making it a requirement for direct marketing callers to provide valid CLI. The Government plans to bring this measure into force in due course.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many tonsillectomy operations were carried out in England in the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is not available in the form requested.

    A count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary procedure of tonsillectomy from 2010-11 to 2014-15 is below. Equivalent data for 2015-16 is not yet available, and a small number of tonsillectomy procedures are performed in outpatient settings which are not included in these figures.

    Year

    FCEs

    2010-11

    48,073

    2011-12

    47,342

    2012-13

    48,808

    2013-14

    52,536

    2014-15

    52,595

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

    Note:

    An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent changes he has agreed to the rail franchise agreement with Govia Thameslink Railway.

    Claire Perry

    The latest version of the Franchise Agreement, including all recent changes can be seen online at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525766/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what budget his Department has set for paying staff (a) on secondment from external companies and (b) engaged as external contractors or consultants for each year from 2016 to 2020.

    Mr David Jones

    The new Department for Exiting the European Union is properly resourced. Detailed work is underway to establish the final budget required to fulfill the Department’s functions, set-up and responsibilities. This budget will be voted on by Parliament at the Supplementary Estimate.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have studied at least two arts subjects at GCSE level in Manchester, Withington constituency in each of the last five years.

    Nick Gibb

    The requested information is given in the table below:

    Number of pupils at the end of KS4 entering at least two arts[1] subjects at GCSE (incl. equivalents) in Manchester LA

    Year[2]

    Pupils entering at least two arts subjects at GCSE

    2011/12

    323

    2012/13

    304

    2013/14

    312

    2014/15

    532

    2015/16

    355

    Source: KS4 Performance Tables

    The information required by parliamentary constituency is not available.

    [1] Includes: Applied Art & Design, Art & Design, Drama, Performing Arts, Media/Film/TV Studies, Music and Dance. Does not include History of Art and Creative Writing.

    [2] Data is provisional for 2016, all other years are final.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the nature of enquiries received by the NSPCC human trafficking and modern slavery helpline between July 2014 and June 2015; and how many such calls were from survivors of human trafficking.

    Karen Bradley

    The NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline was launched in July 2014, as part of a wider awareness-raising campaign, to better support potential victims of modern slavery. For the period July 2014 to July 2015, £50,000 was made available to the NSPCC to run the modern slavery helpline. To support the launch of the helpline, training was provided by existing staff in the NSPCC child trafficking advice centre, the Metropolitan police’s human trafficking unit and the Modern Slavery Unit to NSPCC call-handlers at zero cost.

    The NSPCC helpline routinely records the number of contacts made each month, how they are made, and by whom. The helpline also records the gender, age and nationality of potential victims, where that information is known or presumed. Between 31 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 the NSPCC modern slavery helpline received, in total, 849 contacts. These were comprised of 491 referrals, 107 advice cases and 251 enquiries. During the period 31 July 2014 to 31 July 2015 the helpline received a total of 57 contacts from potential victims themselves and in that same period the NSPCC made 272 referrals to the police. The NSPCC does not hold data on the number of contacts referred to the helpline by the police and other agencies that were subsequently referred back to those agencies.

  • Paul Maynard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Maynard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the speech given by the Secretary of State for Justice at Prisons Hearing Alliance on 17 July 2015, whether he plans for participation in chaplaincy-led programmes with a proven effect on rehabilitation rates to count towards earned release in the same manner as does classroom-based educational activities.

    Andrew Selous

    Reoffending rates for offenders sentenced to custody are too high and the Ministry of Justice is looking at ways to make sure that offenders are properly rehabilitated and better equipped to lead a crime free life. As the Secretary of State indicated in his speech of 17 July, earned release is being explored as an option to help achieve this. We are still at the very early stages of exploring how any earned release scheme might work.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the risk of employers waiting until the new digital voucher funding mechanism is in place before taking on new apprentices.

    Nick Boles

    The current apprenticeships funding mechanism is being reformed to deliver a high-quality, employer-led system. In the transition period, we will be continuing to use the current system (which has delivered strong apprenticeships growth) and work with employers to help them take on apprentices. We will monitor take-up prior to the levy introduction.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle criminal gang activity in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s plans for tackling organised crime groups, or ‘criminal gangs’, are set out in its Serious and Organised Crime Strategy and amplified in the 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.

    Since the publication of the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy in 2013, we have introduced important new legislation through the Serious and Organised Crime Act 2015, and have strengthened collaboration locally, regionally and with the private sector. We have invested in better capabilities to tackle cyber crime and online child sexual exploitation. We have also invested in Regional Organised Crime Units and implemented major new programmes of work to prevent, protect against, and reduce the impact of serious and organised crime.

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review outlines further measures to tackle organised crime, including our work to: choke off the supply and availability of illegal firearms; and introduce new measures to make the UK a more hostile place for those seeking to move, hide or use the proceeds of crime and corruption or to evade sanctions. It also explains that: we will develop a comprehensive action plan to better identify, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in modern slavery and immigration crime; and that we will continue to strengthen our approach to tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse.