Category: Speeches

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 22 January (HL4827), in the light of the statements of the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, in their press releases on Islamophobia (Dec 2015), some religious leaders’ incitement to Holy War (Sept 2015), bombing by the Assad regime (June 2015), and concerns about people caught in Yarmouk (April 2015), where their statements about the murder, abduction, enslavement and genocide of Christians and Yazidis appear.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Statements made by the Office of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect are published on the UN website.

The statements cover a range of issues including incitement to violence in Syria on religious grounds; urging against rhetoric that escalates the risk of violence against religious communities; expressing concern about the on-going threat to the safety of minority groups in Syria; expressing outrage at speeches and media articles that dehumanise Alawites and Christians; expressing alarm at reports of the abduction of 1,500 Yazidi, Christian and Shabak women and girls; expressing concern at the situation of religious and other minorities, noting that members of the Christian community were fleeing the northern city of Mosul following the Daesh-led invasion; urging leaders in the wider region to refrain from using or condoning any language that may escalate sectarian tension; calling on all actors to condemn hate speech that could constitute incitement to violence against communities based on their religious affiliation.

The complete statements are attached to this response, and the link to the website is provided below for your ease of reference: http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/statements.shtml

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01/01/2023
Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths there were in (a) the UK and (b) England for which an eating disorder was the underlying cause of death for deaths registered in each year between 2010 and the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Rob Wilson

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

01/01/2023

Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) nursing homes and (b) dual registered nursing homes there were in the North West of England in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information.

Number of active nursing homes¹in the North West region at end of 2012, 2013 and 2014 fiscal years

Date	Care homes with nursing service type only	Care homes with nursing service type and other service types	Total care home service with nursing locations
31 March 2013	566	79	645
31 March 2014	568	75	643
31 March 2015	570	77	647

¹Nursing homes are defined as “care homes with nursing service type only”. Dual registered nursing homes are defined as “care homes with nursing service type and other service types”.

Source: CQC database as at 7 April 2015

Note: Service types can change over time. The numbers provided are based on the service type(s) of the location as at April 2015 or date the location de-activated if inactive as at April 2015.

Local authorities in the North West Region: Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Cumbria, Halton, Knowsley, Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Sefton, St. Helens, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan and Wirral.

01/01/2023

Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children attending a breakfast club in secondary schools in (a) England, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) Bradford in last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The most recent results of the Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey suggest that in England in 2013, around 591,200 school-aged children under eight attended before school care in a typical term-time week. However, it is not possible to identify within this total the number of children who attended provision in primary and secondary schools separately. In addition, the survey sample sizes do not allow for an estimate for Yorkshire and the Humber, or LA level estimates, nor does it collect information about secondary age children.

The findings of the Survey can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013

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01/01/2023
Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) expressions of interest and (b) applications Natural England has received for a badger control licence; and what the timetable for decisions is on applications received.

George Eustice

Natural England has received (a) 21 expressions of interest; and (b) 8 applications for badger control licenses. Decisions will be announced before the start of each year’s badger control operations.

01/01/2023
Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the report by the Baha’i International Community published in October 2015 on the economic oppression of Baha’is in Iran; whether they plan to continue to make representations to the government of Iran about that issue and in particular about the return of confiscated properties; and whether they will ensure that the full facts of economic and religious persecution are reflected in guidance to interviewers and others dealing with asylum applications in the UK.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials attended the UK launch of the October 2015 report by the Baha’i International Community on 19 July and delivered a speech highlighting the Government’s concerns over the Iranian government’s actions against the Baha’i community. We share the desire to see Iran fulfil its human rights obligations and cease harassment of all religious minorities. We have repeatedly raised our concerns about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran with the Iranian government and will continue to do so. The Home Office has responsibility for carefully considering all asylum claims on their individual merits. Published guidance for Home Office staff on interviewing and consideration of asylum claims on religious grounds is regularly reviewed and takes into consideration the views of religious groups and other stakeholders.

01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on encouraging young people in deprived communities to pursue a career in medicine.

Mr Philip Dunne

We are increasing the number of medical training places available to students each year. Beginning in September 2018, the Government will fund up to 1,500 additional student places through medical school each year. Students will be able to apply for the extra places from next year in order to take them up from the academic year 2018/19.

This increase will provide more opportunities for people from all backgrounds to study medicine, and will ensure the National Health Service will continue to have the right workforce to provide safe and effective patient care.

01/01/2023
Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support women’s reproductive healthcare in Liberia.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Since 2008 DFID has been supporting the Government of Liberia to deliver health services and has committed over £28m. This includes an additional £6m funding announced at the UN conference on post-Ebola recovery in July 2015.

Roughly half of our funding is specifically targeted towards health services for women and children, including during pregnancy and for childbirth, and to purchase drugs including contraceptives and other family planning products.

01/01/2023
Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the higher education sector on extending the loan book to part-time students who wish to undertake a second degree.

Joseph Johnson

We have extended fee loans for those already holding a degree to students wishing to retrain in engineering, technology and computer science. We continue to examine what more we can do to support part-time including the availability of additional fee loans and are engaging actively with the sector on these issues.

01/01/2023
Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses and entrepreneurs of the closure of the Business Growth Service.

Anna Soubry

We do not expect closure of the Business Growth Service to have an impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs.

01/01/2023