Category: Speeches

Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings (1) Treasury ministers, and (2) Treasury officials, have had with the Association of British Insurers in each of the last three years.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.

As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website.

01/01/2023
Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-04-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage health trusts to include (1) advice on and (2) access to postpartum contraception in maternity care contracts.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England sets out the need to increase access to all methods of contraception including long acting (LARC) methods and that better support is needed to access contraception after childbirth. Local authorities are mandated to provide access to the full range of contraception services and should work with clinical commissioning groups to ensure that contraception is discussed and all methods of contraception, including LARC, are accessible as part of the post-natal maternity pathway. Further guidance will be available in Public Health England’s Missed Opportunities in Pregnancy report. This addresses the missed opportunities for the provision of contraception along the maternity, abortion and early pregnancy loss pathways, and is now in the final stage of revisions and is expected to be published later in 2016.

01/01/2023
Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department provides to counter the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war and subjugation.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID is committed to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls in emergencies. This includes rape and sexual violence used within armed conflict as a weapon of war. We know that in conflict settings specifically, rape, or sexual violence by combatants is sadly only one component of a wide range of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Other forms of SGBV are often more prevalent.

DFID’s response to counter the use of rape and sexual violence is primarily through our commitments under the Call to Action to Protect Women and Girls in Emergencies. Through a combination of humanitarian operations and longer term development programmes we address both the immediate needs of survivors of sexual violence and tackle the underlying root causes of violence, such as gender inequality, discrimination and lack of women’s political and economic participation.

01/01/2023
Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities to date have submitted efficiency plans in order to qualify for a multi-year financial settlement.

Mr Marcus Jones

Since the announcement of the multi-year settlement offer in December 2015 we have recorded interest from over 125 councils.

Councils have until 14 October 2016 to apply to accept the offer of a multi-year settlement and submit their efficiency plan.

01/01/2023
Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what performance targets they have set for the UK Trade Office in Raleigh, North Carolina for (1) 2016–17, and (2) 2017–18.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The new UK Government Office in Raleigh, North Carolina will promote a broad range of British prosperity interests, including trade and investment and engagement with industry, research and development and higher education institutions. Performance objectives will be agreed with a broad range of HMG stakeholders, including the Department for International Trade, the UK Science and Innovation Network and policy teams in the British Embassy in Washington DC. The Office will be managed and supported by Her Majesty’s Consul General in Atlanta.

01/01/2023
Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have download speeds of 10Mb/s.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbot and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

01/01/2023

Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2015 to Question 223992, how many applications were made to the Access to Elected Office Fund in each year following its establishment; how many of those applications were (a) granted and (b) refused; and what the total amount paid to successful applicants was.

Caroline Dinenage

The number of people who have applied to the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund is in the table below:

Financial Year	Number of applicants (some applicants made more than one application)
2012/13	27
2013/14	34
2014/15	48

The total amount claimed by successful applicants was £271,260 (out of awards totalling £418,733)

An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published in due course. An announcement regarding the future of the fund is anticipated early in 2016.

The information on regional breakdown of expenditure and the diversity of candidates can be found in the tables below:

Region (location of election seat)	Amount claimed and paid (£)
East Midlands	1,099
East of England	480
Greater London	89,399
North East England	4,382
North West England	20,567
South East England	69,474
South West England	21,260
West Midlands	20,281
Yorkshire and Humberside	17,882
Total (rounded)	271,260

Political Party	Amount claimed and paid (£)
Conservative	32,361
Democracy 2015	350
Green	5,791
Labour	120,846
Liberal Democrat	32,601
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	276
UKIP	53,236
Independent	25,798
Total (rounded)	271,260

Gender	Amount claimed and paid (£)
Male	139,524
Female	131,736
Total	271,260

Ethnic Group	Amount claimed and paid (£)
White; all backgrounds	218,117
Mixed ethnic origin	1,348
Asian; all backgrounds	26,680
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British	22,977
Other ethnic group	350
Prefer not to say	1,788
Total	271,260

01/01/2023

Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that all financial investment pledged for equal access to quality education at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference will be backed by the necessary political will and policy changes.

Mr Desmond Swayne

At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region being held in London on 4^th February, we want the international community to agree a new goal that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children are in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17. Equally, for inside Syria, it is our aim to increase access to good quality schooling or other learning opportunities such as self-learning and non-formal education. In neighbouring countries we will also increase access to vocational or skills training and higher education for children and youth.

At the Conference our ambition is that international donors, governments from countries in the region hosting refugees, non-governmental organisations and the private sector come together to agree a set of reciprocal financial and policy commitments. The UK and co-hosts are working with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. We are also working with refugee hosting governments in particular to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground.

01/01/2023
Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what proportion the rent for premises leased by Network Rail has increased for businesses based in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Claire Perry

I am unable to provide this information as it is held by Network Rail and is commercially sensitive.

01/01/2023
The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any other circumstances in which 2,500/100,000 serious adverse events and 3,300/100,000 cases of autoimmune disorders, as reported by the human papilloma virus vaccine manufacturers, would be accepted in order to try to prevent the occurrence of 10/100,000 cases of cervical cancer.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Thorough reviews undertaken by health authorities, most recently by the World Health Organization in December 2015, across the world have found no evidence to support a link between the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine and the development of autoimmune and chronic illnesses. The safety of HPV vaccines was thoroughly evaluated prior to being licensed. Around three million girls have been vaccinated so far in the United Kingdom, with more than 80 million people vaccinated worldwide. As with any vaccine or medicine, all reports of serious adverse events following HPV vaccination are taken seriously and remain under continual review. However, such events are not necessarily due to the vaccine and coincidence can also be a factor. The available scientific evidence does not suggest that HPV vaccines are associated with these rates of serious side effects.

The aim of the vaccination programme is to prevent cervical cancer related to HPV infection and the best way to do this is to vaccinate girls and young women. The HPV vaccine has a good safety record, and surveillance shows it has contributed to a significant decrease in rates of infection with the two main cancer-causing HPVs. The UK programme is expected to eventually prevent hundreds of deaths from cervical cancer every year.

01/01/2023