UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions (a) he, (b) Edward Llewellyn, (c) Camilla Cavendish and (d) staff of the Number 10 Policy Unit have had with representatives of (i) the Food and Drink Federation, (ii) Coca-Cola, (iii) PepsiCo and (iv) the British Soft Drinks Association in each of the last 18 months; and what the subject was of each such meeting.

    Mr David Cameron

    Details of my meetings with external organisations are released on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the gov.uk website.

    My officials and special advisers have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Leader of the House, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Office.

    Chris Grayling

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 29 February 2016, to Question UIN 27946.

    “

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed.

    The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

    The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. HM Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any ground investigation work has been carried out in Eddisbury constituency in relation to the High Speed 2 project.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No intrusive ground investigation work has been carried out at this stage. Some preparatory elements of ground investigation such as the study of available information and consultation with related stakeholders has been undertaken.

    Following a route decision in autumn 2016 HS2 Ltd will begin production of a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

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

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether elderly and disabled patents are being discharged from hospitals without adequate on-going care arrangements in place in order to free up beds for other hospital admissions.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No patient with on-going care and support needs should be discharged from hospital without appropriate arrangements for meeting those needs being put in place. We expect the National Health Service and local authorities to work together to ensure that patient safety and social care needs are taken into account when decisions are made to discharge patients from hospital.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    No member of staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) or its Executive Agencies who is directly employed is paid less than the living wage.

    The FCO defines zero-hours contracts as a contract of employment which does not specify a fixed number of hours per week, and has no guaranteed minimum number of hours. The FCO uses this type of contract to cope with fluctuating demand and/or retain specialist expertise no longer available in the current workforce. For example, we bring back retired FCO officers with relevant skills/experience to act as sensitivity reviewers or VIP visit liaison officers.

    Our centrally held records do not enable us to differentiate between staff on zero-hours contracts and those on contracts with a fixed number of hours. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.

    We do not hold a record of contract status for staff employed by companies providing outsourced services to the FCO.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department has made on reducing costs for consumers in making financial claims.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    Information on the number of people who have lost more than 25 per cent of their financial claims compensation to the claims management company (CMC) handling their claim is not held centrally.

    Our priority is to protect consumers who choose to use CMCs. We have consulted on proposals to cap the level of fees that CMCs providing financial claims services can charge consumers. These proposals aim to help consumers get more of the compensation due to them. We are carefully considering the consultation responses and the Government will publish its response in due course.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent from the public purse on the payment of social security benefits to non-UK citizens in each non-European Economic Area country for each year from 1997-98 to 2014-15.

    Priti Patel

    The full information requested is not held centrally.

    The Department for Work and Pensions checks the nationality and immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud. While this information is used, it is not recorded as part of the benefit payment administrative systems.

    Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables are published on Gov.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474453/expenditure-by-country-and-region-2014-15.xlsx

    Please note that these figures include a breakdown for UK regions and a combined figure for expenditure abroad or where the region is unknown. Expenditure is not broken down by nationality.

    “

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the focus in the current dietary advice by NHS Choices to people with diabetes or who are pre-diabetic on the possible benefits of a diet combining protein with low glycemic load carbohydrates.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) advocates a healthy balanced diet for all based on the eatwell plate; the national healthy eating guide. The eatwell plate shows for a healthy balanced diet people should try to eat plenty of starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, some milk, dairy, meat, fish and other non-dairy sources of protein and only small amounts of food and drinks high in fat and/or sugar.

    The Government takes a whole population approach to healthy eating, and therefore does not provide specific dietary advice to individuals with medical needs. It is recommended for anyone with a medical condition who is in search of dietary advice to consult their local general practitioner or a dietician.

    In July 2015, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published its report on Carbohydrates and Health, a review of the latest evidence on dietary carbohydrates and health. SACN recommended reducing sugar consumption, increasing fibre consumption and minimising consumption of sugars-sweetened drinks. A copy of Carbohydrates and Health is attached.

    Following publication, advice on what constitutes a healthy balanced diet, for the general population, which includes those with diabetes, was updated to reflect SACN’s recommendations. As part of this, PHE is undertaking a review of the eatwell plate; the refreshed resource will be launched in early 2016.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has assessed the potential effects on nursing students of abolishing grants and maintenance allowances and introducing student loans and tuition fees for nurses’ training placement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department plans to issue a public consultation by the end of Febraury 2016 on how we can most successfully take forward and implement the reforms. An impact assessment will be published alongside the consultation document.