Category: Speeches

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to improve the transparency and accountability to (a) Government and (b) Parliament of the UK Debt Management Office.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The UK Debt Management Office’s (DMO) key objectives are required to be met with due regard to the principles of ‘openness, transparency and predictability’, as set out in the annual Debt and Reserves Management Report. The DMO publishes and lays before Parliament its annual Business Plan and Annual Report and Accounts (and also publishes an Annual Review), providing information about its operations in line with these objectives. As an Executive Agency of the Treasury, the Chief Executive of the DMO is accountable to government and parliament, as set out in the DMO’s Executive Agency Framework Document.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to provide aid to Barbados; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Barbados does not qualify for Official Development Assistance (ODA) by the Department for International Development under internationally agreed ODA criteria.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many residences classified as social housing (a) do not have access to superfast broadband, (b) have connections slower than 10 Mbit/s and (c) have connections slower than 2Mbit/s; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is on target to deliver access to superfast broadband for 95% of all UK premises – including social housing – by December 2017, and to extend coverage beyond that as far as possible. We do not hold a breakdown of this information by housing tenure centrally, however this investment is benefiting all types of housing, as well as businesses, and we are proud to be delivering on this critical piece of infrastructure as set out in our manifesto.

    Currently, superfast broadband is available to almost 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK – up from 45 per cent in 2010. Around 5 per cent of UK homes and business are currently experiencing connection speeds below 10 Mbit/s.

    Having reduced the proportion of all UK premises with speeds less than 2 Mbit/s substantially from 11% in 2010 to around 1% in December last year, we have now implemented our commitment of having at least 2 Mbit/s per second basic broadband available to all homes and businesses.

    All premises which are not currently scheduled to get an increase in speed to at least this level are eligible for a subsidised satellite broadband service that can deliver speeds of 10Mbps or more.

    The Prime Minister has also announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) which is set at 10 Mbit/s. This new broadband USO will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection, at a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live. We will be consulting on these proposals shortly.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on developing a national measure of child development at age two to two-and-a-half as part of the public health framework; and when he expects that measure to be introduced.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department is leading work to develop an indicator of child development at age 2-2½ to be included in the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) from 2017. The population measure will give a national picture of child development at age 2 and will also help local areas to assess the impact of services for 0-2 year olds and inform local commissioning.

    Since April 2015, the Department has asked all health visiting teams in England to use the evidence based Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3) as part of children’s health and development reviews at age 2-2½ to generate data for the indicator. The Department has worked with Health Education England to develop e-learning materials to support health professionals using ASQ-3 as part of the two year review.

    From October 2015, health visiting providers were asked to report ASQ-3 scores to the Children and Young People’s Health Services dataset, which is being developed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The dataset is expected to publish its first report in April 2016.

    Public Health England will draw on ASQ-3 data from the children’s dataset to report the PHOF outcome measure of child development at age 2-2½, reporting on a yearly basis the percentage of children with a positive outcome across all five domains of development in ASQ-3 at age 2-2½. The first reporting of the outcome measure is planned for inclusion in the PHOF in spring 2017.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women referred to the National Referral Mechanism for trafficking victims were subsequently removed from the UK in each year since 2012.

    James Brokenshire

    Year Referred

    Total

    Subsequently
    Removed

    2012

    626

    45

    2013

    839

    48

    2014

    1,095

    44

    2015

    1,338

    14

    Data refreshed 09March 2016

    • Data shows number of women referrals recorded on the Case Immigration Database since Jan 2012, broken down by year of referral at the reasonable grounds stage.
    • Removed subsequently shows the people removed after their referral, the removal might have occurred in subsequent years.
    • Voluntary returns consist of Assited Voluntary Returns, Notified Voluntary Departures, and Confirmed Voluntary Departures.
    • The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
    • This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to address the rise in levels of homelessness and rough sleeping in England.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative. We are also developing a new national £10 million Social Impact Bond fund to help to help homeless people with the most complex needs such as mental health difficulties or addiction.

    At Budget we went one step further and announced we will launch a new £100 million programme for low-cost move on accommodation, including for rough sleepers leaving hostels. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    We are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the draft recommendation from NICE not to recommend the drug Strensiq for the treatment of hypophosphatasia for critically ill infants who are otherwise likely to die, what other treatment options are available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Strensiq (asfotase alfa) for the treatment of paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia under its highly specialised technologies programme.

    NICE’s draft guidance, published in December 2015 for consultation, did not recommended asfotase alfa. However this is not NICE’s final guidance to the National Health Service.

    NICE’s draft guidance states that there are currently no other treatments available that specifically prevent or delay the progression of hypophosphatasia.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the status of British academics wishing to be included in cross-European research project applications funded by the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    I have been in close contact with Commissioner Moedas on the topic of cross Europe research funding. The Commission have been very supportive of the UK perspective that while the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU funding and collaboration arrangements continue unchanged. And as we announced on the 13th August, the Treasury will underwrite funding for approved Horizon 2020 projects applied for before the UK leaves the European Union.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many citizenship applications from EU nationals have been rejected as a result of changes to the rules on the evidence required to demonstrate permanent residence since those changes came into force.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No statistical information is available showing the reason for rejection of citizenship applications.

  • Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect on air quality of levels of emissions from motor vehicles.

    Elizabeth Truss

    We have been open about the difference between real world and laboratory testing for diesel cars and our modelling takes into account the gap between laboratory testing and real world emissions. The UK government is committed to taking action on emissions testing. We see real world testing as the ultimate solution and a vital step in tackling air pollution. The vote to introduce RDE in 2017 is an important milestone but we will continue to press at EU level for a comprehensive approach to emissions testing to restore consumer confidence and deliver our wider air quality and climate objectives.