UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Lord Shinkwin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Shinkwin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shinkwin on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that the UK National Screening Council’s review of cell-free DNA testing has had, and will have, on the community of people with Down’s syndrome; and in particular, the impact of cost per trisomy detected” being listed as an important factor to consider in their economic analysis.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    There is a long established NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (NHS FASP) that prospective parents can choose whether to participate in. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommendation on non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) does not change the choices available to prospective parents within the programme therefore no assessment has been made.

    The UK NSC announced its recommendation that NIPT should be introduced as an additional test into NHS FASP as part of an evaluation. The recommendation was not based on cost per trisomy but on the basis that NIPT is much more accurate than the current testing used in screening and can substantially reduce the number of pregnant women going on to have an invasive test, which itself carries a risk of miscarriage. The economic model reviewed by the UK NSC suggested that NIPT initially offered to women with a chance of greater than 1 in 150 of carrying a fetus with a trisomy would result in 9,912 NIPT tests being carried out, and 350 retests would be required. As a result of the NIPT testing, the number of invasive tests would fall from 7,910 to 1,434. The majority of invasive tests avoided are in trisomy free pregnancies, so that the number of test related miscarriage of healthy pregnancies would subsequently fall from 46 to three per year.


  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the cost is of closing the Green Deal Finance Company in (a) payments to consultants and (b) other costs.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC has made no payments to consultants in establishing the Green Deal Finance Company, but in other costs payments of £10,294.26 in legal support were made in 2014/15.

    The Green Deal Finance Company has not been closed. It is not currently issuing new loans, but continues to collect repayments from its existing loan book. In July 2015, DECC took the decision that the case for further investment was not strong enough in terms of value for money. This decision has no impact on existing Green Deal Finance Plans or existing Green Deal Home Improvement Fund applications and vouchers.

    The Green Deal Finance Company is a private company and has its own internal costs which are not included in this estimate.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS England’s new prioritisation framework for making decisions on investment in specialised services will be aligned with the recommendations of the accelerated access review.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review team has been working closely with colleagues across NHS England, including the specialised commissioning team to ensure that policy is aligned.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many long-haul business passengers terminated at Heathrow Airport in 2011; and what proportion of those passengers were (a) UK residents and (b) foreign visitors.

    Mr John Hayes

    In 2011, around 5 million long-haul business passengers terminated at Heathrow. Of these passengers, 53% were UK residents and 47% were foreign visitors.

    This estimate includes arrivals and departures at Heathrow but excludes transfer passengers.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Skills Plan, what her policy is on enabling students to continue to study a mixture of both (a) academic and (b) vocational subjects.

    Robert Halfon

    As set out in our Post 16 Skills Plan, we will take forward the recommendations of the Sainsbury Review to put in place a world-class technical option that provides preparation for highly skilled employment. The technical option will be a prestigious and high-quality option for 16 year olds as an alternative to academic study. Applied general qualifications such as BTECs are not designed to be part of the technical education option. We plan to review the contribution of these qualifications to preparing students for higher education and the impact any reform would have on widening participation. We will announce our decisions later in the year.

    It is important that individuals are able to switch between the academic and technical options so that students’ options are not closed down. Flexible learning will be important to learners of all ages, given the changing labour market. We accepted the Sainsbury panel’s recommendation that there should be appropriate bridging courses to make movement between the two options easily accessible and will be looking at options for putting these courses in place.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Equitorial Guinea on human rights and freedom of speech in that country.

    James Duddridge

    We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Equitorial Guinea, including the lack of freedom of expression and assembly, the lack of transparency and high levels of corruption. We are concerned about a recent Presidential decree which saw a total dissolution of the judiciary. Equitorial Guinea must meet its international obligations to protect the independence of the judiciary and respect the rule of law.

    We have no diplomatic mission or resident diplomatic staff in Equatorial Guinea. Nonetheless we remain committed to raising human rights concerns with the Government of Equitorial Guinea where we can, and we have outlined concerns to the Equitorial Guinea Ambassador in London, and through visits to Equitorial Guinea of our non-resident Ambassador (based in Cameroon). We will continue to raise our concerns through these channels.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the Syrian resettlement scheme is funded through (a) Official Development Assistance and (b) funds from the EU.

    Richard Harrington

    All of the first year costs of the Syrian Resettlement Scheme are funded through Official Development Assistance. None of the costs are currently met using EU funding.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken to ensure the maximum number of people meet the 31 January 2016 deadline for providing their tax returns.

    Mr David Gauke

    The vast majority of Self Assessment customers complete their returns on time (92% last year).

    This year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is sending millions of targeted emails and texts to remind customers to submit their return by 31 January, for instance to customers who missed the deadline last year or those who are new to Self Assessment. Alongside this, HMRC is running a national marketing campaign to remind customers of the 31 January deadline. Support is available to those who need it as HMRC is putting hundreds of extra people on its helplines during this very busy period, and has introduced new support channels like webchat and online video guidance.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when meetings have taken place between the Rail North board and his Department in the last six months; and what the subject of those meetings was.

    Andrew Jones

    On 21st December 2015, a meeting took place between Rail North Ltd Directors and the Department at which the two Project Directors presented the outcome of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchise competitions.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2015 to Question 1205, how many UK nationals are currently employed by the European Commission; and what proportion of the total number of Commission employees they represent.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The latest figures from October 2015 state that there are 1000 British citizens working in the European Commission as Permanent Officials and Temporary Agents, which represents 4.3% of the total. In addition there are 142 employed as Contract Agents.

    UK representation was at its peak in the late 70s but since then, it has been falling steadily across all EU institutions as UK officials retire and are not replaced by the same number of new UK entrants. The Government is committed to reversing this picture but recognises this will require sustained efforts over the long-term. The EU Staffing Unit, established in April 2013, works to promote EU careers across the UK and support candidates through the application process. It has increased secondments in positions of strategic importance to the UK. The European Fast Stream within the Civil Service has also been re-launched.