Category: Speeches

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the recommendations from the Accelerated Access Review interim report and the Cancer Drugs Fund consultation are not contradictory.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review’s independent chair, Sir Hugh Taylor, is considering a range of options for accelerating patient access to innovative products, as set out in the interim report. The review team is working closely with NHS England to ensure that the review recommendations are aligned with emerging thinking on the Cancer Drugs Fund.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what official foreign visits she has undertaken since 1 October 2015; and what the cost to the public purse was of those visits.

    Nick Gibb

    Details of the Secretary of State’s international travel, including cost to the public purse, is published on a quarterly basis. International travel that has taken place since October 2015 will be published in due course.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2015 to Question 23840, on cancer: drugs, whether his Department plans to undertake an impact assessment of NHS England’s consultation proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    George Freeman

    The Department has no such plans.

    NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Cancer Drugs Fund. NHS England has advised that it does not, as a rule, produce impact assessments as standalone documents. Instead, it seeks to ensure that, as part of its processes to develop any policy or proposal, it considers quality, value for money, equality and accessibility issues.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the Russian business community and (b) other Russian citizens living in the UK on Russian attitudes towards the West.

    Mr David Lidington

    During my visit to Moscow in December 2015, I discussed Russian attitudes towards the West with a group of Russian political commentators. I also meet periodically with the Russian Ambassador to the UK to seek the views of the Russian Government.

    Officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment meet Russian individuals and businesses on a regular basis, principally through the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) which celebrates its centenary year in 2016. The UK Government also continues to support the development of cultural and people-to-people links which can help build trust between our two countries, such as through the 2016 UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from the Government Equalities Office circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what she estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Copies of the Government’s published documents on the Referendum are available in the Libraries of both Houses. It is not normal practice to publish letters to members of the public and stakeholders. Costs relating to the Referendum will be accounted for in the usual way in Annual Report and Accounts.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date he was made aware of the potential takeover of ARM by SoftBank.

    Mr David Gauke

    In line with the practice of successive administrations details of ministerial discussions are not routinely disclosed.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has re-offered an extension of contract to the Governor of the Bank of England.

    Simon Kirby

    The Financial Services Act 2012 states that the appointment to Governor of the Bank of England is for a period of eight years and that a Governor may not be appointed more than once. The current Governor of the Bank of England was appointed on 1 July 2013 for a term of eight years, but indicated at the time that he would serve until 30 June 2018.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the potential negative effects of restricting dietary sodium intake.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The evidence base relating to dietary sodium intake was extensively reviewed in the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition’s (SACN) report ‘Salt and Health’, published in 2003. In reviewing the evidence, SACN noted that the greatest benefits were likely to be achieved by taking a population approach to reducing salt intakes rather than through individual targeted advice.

    The SACN continues to monitor average salt intakes through a programme of dietary survey work.

    New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.

    The SACN has also reviewed the evidence around the impact of low sodium intakes. It found no basis for changing the existing recommendation for a target reduction in average salt intake to 6 grammes per day for the adult population, equivalent to 2.4 grammes per day of sodium.

    The SACN ‘Salt and Health’ report is attached and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-salt-and-health-report

    “

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the UK did not support a draft UN resolution calling for an international inquiry into human rights abuses by all parties in the Yemen conflict.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    A Resolution on the Human Rights situation in Yemen was agreed at the last session of the Human Rights Council on 2 October. The UK’s priority was to secure cross-regional agreement on a text that would strengthen human rights in Yemen as we urge all parties to find a solution to the crisis. The Human Rights Council does not have a mandate to call for investigations in to International Humanitarian Law. The consensual UN resolution agreed has tasked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to help Yemen investigate human rights abuses and violations. The UK supports the UN resolution as it reflects the current human rights situation and makes constructive recommendations to strengthen human rights in Yemen.

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

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which children’s services departments have (a) been judged as inadequate by Ofsted and (b) had outside commissioners take over responsibility for those services from local authorities in each of the last five years.

    Edward Timpson

    Since December 2010, Ofsted has inspected local authorities under the following frameworks: Safeguarding and Looked after Children; local authority arrangements for the protection of children; local authority arrangements for children looked after; local authority adoption agencies; and single inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, looked after children and care leavers, including a review of the Local Safeguarding Childrens Boards (LSCB).

    During this period, the following local authorities have been rated as ‘inadequate’:

    Barnsley, Bexley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Buckinghamshire, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Cornwall, Coventry, Cumbria, Darlington, Devon, Doncaster, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Kingston upon Thames, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leicester City, Manchester, Medway, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Peterborough, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Slough, Somerset, Sunderland, Surrey, Sutton, Torbay, Walsall, Waltham Forest, West Berkshire, West Sussex and Wiltshire.

    Commissioners have been appointed in Birmingham, Doncaster, Rotherham, Slough, and Sunderland. Depending on the needs in each Council, commissioners have played a range of roles, including establishing chidren’s social care Trusts; exercising executive control over services; and ensuring effective improvement plans are in place.