Category: Speeches

Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the suffragettes and the feminist movement will remain part of the new Politics A-level syllabus.

Lord Nash

A public consultation on reformed content for politics AS and A level closed on 15 December. The proposed new content for politics A level will require all students to study core political theories. This is an improvement on the current system which does not require students to study any political ideologies, including feminism.

We are analysing the responses to the consultation and have started work with the exam boards to develop the content in light of the views expressed. We will listen carefully to the views of the sector and the wider public as part of this full consultation process.

01/01/2023

Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions the Thames Barrier has been used in each of the last 30 years.

Rory Stewart

The following table shows the number of Thames Barrier closures in each flood season since its opening in 1982. A “flood season” is defined as the time period from September to April.

Year	Combined Tidal/Fluvial	Tidal	Grand Total
1982 – 1983	0	1	1
1983 – 1984	0	0	0
1984 – 1985	0	0	0
1985 – 1986	1	0	1
1986 – 1987	0	1	1
1987 – 1988	0	0	0
1988 – 1989	0	1	1
1989 – 1990	3	1	4
1990 – 1991	0	2	2
1991 – 1992	0	0	0
1992 – 1993	0	4	4
1993 – 1994	4	3	7
1994 – 1995	2	2	4
1995 – 1996	0	4	4
1996 – 1997	0	1	1
1997 – 1998	0	1	1
1998 – 1999	0	2	2
1999 – 2000	3	3	6
2000 – 2001	8	16	24
2001 – 2002	1	3	4
2002 – 2003	12	8	20
2003 – 2004	0	1	1
2004 – 2005	0	4	4
2005 – 2006	0	3	3
2006 – 2007	0	8	8
2007 – 2008	0	6	6
2008 – 2009	4	1	5
2009 – 2010	3	2	5
2010 – 2011	0	0	0
2011 – 2012	0	0	0
2012 – 2013	5	0	5
2013 – 2014	41	9	50
2014 – 2015	0	1	1
Grand Total	87	88	175

01/01/2023

Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assurances the Department of Health has received that neurology services will not be disadvantaged in comparison to other condition areas by the absence of national clinical leadership for neurology services, in the light of NHS England’s decision not to renew the role of National Clinical Director for adult neurology.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, has undertaken a review of the National Clinical Director (NCD) resource designed to focus clinical advisory resources on areas where major programmes of work are currently being taking forward, or areas identified as priorities for improvement. As a result of the review, NHS England has proposed to change the way in which clinical advice is received in speciality areas in the future.

Where there will no longer be a specific NCD role, NHS England will secure expert clinical advice from its Clinical Networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. For neurology it is planned that access to advice will be through clinical leads and members of the NHS England-funded neurology clinical networks, the Neurology Clinical Reference Group and Royal Colleges. It is expected that these new arrangements will be in place from 1 April 2016.

The Neurology Intelligence Network (NIN) is a joint partnership programme between Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England to support the generation and dissemination of neurology related health intelligence. PHE currently funds the on-going design, development and management of the NIN.

01/01/2023
Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what safeguards his Department has in place to ensure that people with mental health problems who are unable to attend a work capability assessment or report to the jobcentre when requested due to their mental health problems do not have their benefits sanctioned as a result.

Priti Patel

Claimants with mental health conditions are considered “vulnerable”, therefore if they failed to attend a Work Capability Assessment, attempts will be made to contact them by telephone and, if appropriate, to arrange a “safeguarding home visit” before a decision on entitlement is made.

The Jobcentre Plus sanctions regime has a range of safeguards for vulnerable claimants, including ensuring all requirements are reasonable and taking into account individual capability and circumstances, such as mental health conditions.

01/01/2023

Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) seafarers, (b) ship operators and (c) ship owners used each Marine Office in the UK in each year since 2009-10.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) maintain statistics regarding the number of surveys and inspections it carries out. However, the MCA does not collate statistics on how many seafarers, ship operators and ship owners visit each Marine Office, as contact is primarily through email and telephone.

Marine Surveyors at Marine Offices carry out oral examinations as part of the final stage of issuing a Certificate of Competency (COC) to seafarers. These examinations take place at either a Marine Office or at a maritime college. The attached table provides a breakdown of this activity by Marine Office by year. This is an indication of how many seafarers visit each location.

Table: Seafarer oral examinations by Marine Office by year

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16
Aberdeen	120	146	184	178	168	74	189
Belfast	208	182	209	157	173	310	383
Cardiff	213	328	188	235	239	152	347
Falmouth	87	176	181	169	123	93	202
Glasgow	672	730	763	589	614	758	709
Gr.Yarmouth/Norwich	294	259	256	318	357	356	450
Harwich	20	25	18	37	26	17	160
Hull	118	93	186	233	288	292	230
Leith	8	34	45	44	67	89	96
Liverpool	938	864	868	773	905	835	812
Newcastle/Tyne	1124	1103	1156	897	1122	1045	1238
Orpington	0	7	0	2	2	0	194
Plymouth	173	184	151	140	85	122	271
Southampton	589	634	724	712	637	682	662
Total	4564	4765	4929	4484	4806	4825	5943

01/01/2023

Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent representations the Government has made to the Ethiopian government on the Integrated Development Master Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Government of Ethiopia withdrew the Addis Ababa Master Plan in January 2016 in response to the wave of protests it had triggered in Oromia. The UK government has raised concerns about the unrest in Oromia, and particularly the reports of a large number of deaths, with the Ethiopian Government on a number of occasions. The Secretary of State raised our concerns directly with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister at Davos in January 2016.

01/01/2023
The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current state of bilateral relations with Iran a year after the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Vienna on 14 July 2015.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was agreed in July 2015 which, along with the subsequent lifting of international sanctions, represents a new era in Iran’s relationship with the wider world. Since my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) reopened our Embassy in August 2015, significant progress has been made in developing the bilateral relationship between the UK and Iran. We welcomed Foreign Minister Zarif to London on 4 February 2016, in what was the first bilateral visit of an Iranian Foreign Minister since 2003. We hope to be able to upgrade to the level of Ambassadors in the near future.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of the Government’s welfare reforms on low-income households who are in fuel poverty since 2010.

Caroline Nokes

The Government’s reforms simplify the system for claimants, helping move more people into work, and reduce the cost for taxpayers. Throughout these reforms the Government is ensuring that the vulnerable are protected. In every year to 2020 spending on disability will be higher than in 2010.

The Warm Home Discount scheme provides eligible households with a £140 energy bill rebate. This winter, almost a million low income working age households will be helped under the scheme.

We are also reforming the Energy Company Obligation to have a greater focus on vulnerable and low income households. It will have a value of £640m a year from 2017 until 2022 and could reduce the energy bills of those who receive energy efficiency improvements by up to £300 per year.

DWP provides help with the additional costs of heating during periods of severely cold weather to eligible claimants on certain income related benefits. In 2015-16, DWP made nearly 155,000 awards worth £3.9 million. For winter 2016/17 the cold weather payment rate will continue to be £25 for each seven day period of very cold weather.

01/01/2023
Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on what grounds the decision was taken to refuse Crown consent for provisions within the Environment Bill currently passing through the Welsh Assembly.

Stephen Crabb

The Welsh Government has sought the consent of the Secretary of State to impose the biodiversity duty in the Environment (Wales) Bill on Ministers of the Crown. This request is the subject of ongoing discussions between the UK Government and the Welsh Government.

01/01/2023
Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to produce a national strategy plan for the health and care of older prisoners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The health and social care needs of older prisoners will continue to be managed through health needs assessments (HNAs). HNAs address these needs on a prison-by-prison basis, reflect the diverse health needs of prisoners, including older prisoners, and identify the health needs which inform health commissioning in that establishment.

Public Health England, NHS England and the National Offender Management Service commission individual HNAs in all prisons in England on a regular basis, as part of the commissioning timetable.

01/01/2023