Category: Speeches

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS Improvement (NHSI) is responsible for overseeing National Health Service trusts. NHSI advises that East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s (EEAST’s) performance has seen a sustained improvement since March 2016. However, the Trust is still not meeting the national standards for category A (immediately life-threatening) calls. In August 2016, it responded to 68.9% of Red 1 calls and 62.3% of Red 2 calls within eight minutes, against a standard of 75%. For all category A calls, it responded to 90.8% within 19 minutes, against a standard of 95%.

    NHSI advises that overall demand on the Trust’s services has increased by 4.6% over the last 12 months, although the higher acuity ‘Red’ demand has increased by approximately 15%. This substantial increase in high acuity demand represents thousands more calls needing a response against the eight-minute standard. In 2016/17, to the end of August 2016, the Trust had responded to 3,699 more high acuity patients (Red 1 and Red 2 calls) in eight minutes than in the same period in 2015/16.

    NHSI advises that staff turnover at EEAST has been steadily reducing over the last eight months. Turnover of EEAST frontline staff for the period 1 August 2015 to 30 September 2016 was 7.12%. The Trust’s reference period for reporting staff turnover is 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015, and within this period turnover was 8.31%. Based on the most recent national benchmarking data for June 2016, turnover for all staff at EEAST was 9.85%, fifth lowest of the 11 English ambulance trusts.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many of his Department’s policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. Department of Work and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the Test should be applied when formulating policy and my Department follows that guidance- Family Test Guidance

    The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. As a result potential impacts of policy on family functioning and relationships are considered as part of the normal process of agreeing policy and any outcomes will be incorporated into the impact assessments published on legislation.gov.uk.

    “

  • Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.62 in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, published on 23 November 2015, what areas his Department plans to sell to reduce the size of the built estate by 30 per cent; and by what process those areas were chosen.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Defence Footprint Strategy examines the Defence Estate across the UK, with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of military capabilities. Work to identify the sites which may be released to enable the reduction of the estate through the Footprint Strategy will conclude in 2016, contributing to the Government’s commitment to release public sector land for house building during this Parliament.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Network Rail is taking to ensure co-ordination between its regional units for the purpose of redirecting traffic affected by the closure of the West Coast Main Line north of Carlisle.

    Claire Perry

    Co-ordination arrangements for managing passenger and freight traffic whilst the West Coast Main Line route through Lamington is closed are operational matters for Network Rail.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid out in compensation to (a) internal and (b) external claimants in each year since 2010.

    Karen Bradley

    This information is not available, except at disproportionate cost.

    The Home Office records all Special Payments (of which compensation is a type). However, we are not required to report whether the recipient is internal or external to the Department.

    It is therefore not possible, from the data we have, to provide a compensation figure that separates out internal and external claimants.

    Page 154 of the Home Office’s 2014/15 Annual Report and Accounts has a table that lists the total value and number of all Special Payments

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to meet the target of reaching a national recycling rate of 50 per cent by 2020.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK recycling rate has increased from 11% at the turn of the century, to 44.9% now. This progress is thanks in large part to the hard work of Local Authorities and householders.

    The Government is committed to meeting the 2020 EU recycling target of 50% of household waste.

    Local Authorities are best placed to determine the most appropriate waste collection and recycling services in their areas and we work with them and the Waste and Recycling Action Programme (WRAP) to promote best practice.

    I have asked WRAP to look at what further measures can be taken to improve recycling rates and, in particular, the benefits and opportunities there are from having greater consistency in the materials collected and collection systems, to enable Local Authorities to recycle more, and to make it easier for householders to put the right materials in the right bin.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his visit to the Mersey Gateway on 23 April 2015, what progress has been made on ensuring support will be provided to small businesses in Runcorn and Widnes when that bridge opens in 2017 related to the cost of tolls crossing the Mersey Gateway.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Residents of Halton will already be able to use the bridges for free following previous Government decisions to fund an extension to the original, limited, resident’s discount scheme proposed by Halton Borough Council. Heavy goods vehicles and coaches will pay the same wherever they are geographically based which will ensure a level playing field for businesses across the North West.

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

    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 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they are making to press for the publication of the UN Security Council Sudan Panel of Experts’ most recent report, presented to the Sudan Sanctions Committee in December 2015, detailing the use of cluster munitions and gold smuggling in Darfur.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK fully supports the work of the UN Panel of Experts on Darfur. We are extremely concerned that last year’s report has not been published and have raised this issue with our UN Security Council partners.

  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about the banning of the Istanbul LGBT Pride march.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not discussed these specific cases with the Government of Turkey. We regularly underline the importance of all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government, including the freedom of assembly and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex persons. We did not fly the rainbow flag over our Embassy in Ankara over the weekend commencing 24 June. British Missions overseas fly the Diplomatic, Union or Consular flag throughout the year, the flags of the constituent countries of the UK on their respective national days and in certain countries the European flag. Missions do not fly any other flags.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games on the success of the competitors at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

    Tracey Crouch

    The London 2012 Olympic Games were a huge success with sold-out venues and the best British performance for over 100 years in winning 65 medals. The Games left a legacy of increased participation and world-class sporting venues which are now being used by our elite athletes as well as local communities.

    The commitment from the Government immediately following the London 2012 Olympic Games to confirm and sustain Exchequer support for the UK Sport World Class Programme was a significant moment in underpinning the success of Rio, providing UK Sport, and the National Governing Bodies of sport, with the necessary financial support to invest in medal success across the Olympic and Paralympic sports.

    I am confident that this success will continue at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, and through to Tokyo in 2020 and beyond. Since 2012, UK Sport funded athletes have given back over 18,000 days visiting schools and local projects as part of our commitment to inspire the next generation.