Category: Speeches

  • Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions Ministers have had with Govia Thameslink on improving the punctuality and reliability of that company’s train service in the last six months.

    Claire Perry

    I am chairing a monthly meeting involving Network Rail, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southeastern and Transport Focus to monitor and co-ordinate improvements in both performance and passenger experience in the South East. This work builds upon the Joint Improvement Plan that was developed in the Spring. This Group is absolutely committed to see improvement and, crucially, to make sure that rail customers see the benefits of these improvements.

    GTR failed to meet their benchmark for cancellations set out in their Franchise Agreement and in the view of the Secretary of State they are also likely to exceed their delay minutes benchmark in the near future. In order to address their poor performance and hold them to account we issued them with a Remedial Plan Notice that requires them to set out the measures they will take to improve their performance. GTR have submitted their plan and once the measures are agreed by the Secretary of State they will become contractually binding through a Remedial Agreement. Officials regularly monitor GTR’s performance and this will include the delivery of the measures and performance improvements agreed through the Remedial Plan. Non-compliance may result in further enforcement action in line with the Franchise Agreement should the need arise.

    Network Rail’s performance is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road, who have recently agreed a £4.1m package of improvements to be delivered by Network Rail on the Southern part of GTR franchise area in order to address performance issues.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the mental welfare of officers in the Greater Manchester Police Service.

    Mike Penning

    The Government recognises the importance of police welfare. In October 2014 we allocated £10m to help support emergency services personnel and volunteers, focused on mental health, physical recuperation and bereavement support for those who need it. Policing, by its nature, can be a stressful and demanding job and it is the responsibility of chief officers, supported by the College of Policing, to ensure that good management systems are in place to support police in their work.

    The Home Office is working with the national policing lead on wellbeing and engagement on the development of his strategy but this must remain a sector led initiative.

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

    Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that learning disabilities services are commissioned by the NHS in every prison in England.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England, NHS England and the National Offender Management Service commission individual health and wellbeing needs assessments (HNAs) in all prisons and young offender institutions in England on a regular basis. An HNA identifies the health needs of the population for which health services will be commissioned in that establishment, which includes learning disabilities.

    NHS England commissions health services to standard specifications which ensures that evidence-based clinical standards of care are delivered in individual prisons.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 28259, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to people who pay council tax of that tax in (a) Stevenage, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England in (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Council tax decisions are a matter for individual local authorities and we have not made estimates of council tax in individual areas for future years.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Scotland who reach state pension age in 2016-17 will receive the full flat rate of the new state pension.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department cannot model the impact of the new State Pension at a regional or country specific level. Results for the whole of Great Britain can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491845/impact-of-new-state-pension-longer-term-reserach.pdf

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to increase the installation of home insulation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We have made a commitment to insulate 1 million more homes this Parliament.

    We are providing support for households to improve their energy efficiency through a reformed domestic supplier obligation (ECO) from April 2017. This will run for five years, with a value of around £640 million per year.

    Additionally, our Private Rented Sector Energy Efficiency Regulations, made law from March 2015, will help domestic tenants in the private rented sector by making it illegal to rent out a property with an energy efficiency rating below band E from April 2018 onwards.

  • Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bob Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the final decisions on the Pharmacy Integration Fund.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England is responsible for the oversight of the Pharmacy Integration Fund. Initial priorities for the Fund in 2016/17 will be to support urgent care services and enhancing the health of care home residents. NHS England will publish further details throughout the five-year period of the Fund.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 22 January 2016 to Question 22462 and 28 June 2016 to Question 40748, when NHS England plans to publish findings from its review of individual funding requests for palivizumab; whether that review will include details of the number of individual funding requests submitted, accepted and declined; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish the findings from that review.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS England has advised that, due to issues with patient identifiable information, it has not been possible to analyse the information on individual funding requests (IFRs) for palivizumab in detail at this stage.

    However, NHS England has advised that 57 IFR requests were received between August 2015 and January 2016 and that 11 (19%) were approved and 16 (28%) were rejected as they were outside the age range criteria. The remaining 30 were declined for a range of conditions that are not normally associated with respiratory syncytial virus.

    NHS England has issued a circular to its specialised commissioning teams and to providers of neonatal services, congenital heart services and specialised respiratory services outlining its 2016 commissioning position.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the current levels of, and recent increases in, the total remuneration paid to the executive heads of the major charities in England and Wales.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    Charity trustees, almost all of whom are unpaid, set levels of executive remuneration and must do so acting in the best interests of the charity. A 2014 study by The National Council for Voluntary Organisations found that senior executives in charities were generally paid substantially less than for similar roles in the public or private sectors. Charities are legally required to provide details of the number of staff in pay bands over £60,000 in their publicly available annual reports, and many charities go further in their accountability and publish full details as a matter of good practice.

  • Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Nokes on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of increasing free childcare provision to 30 hours per week on the number of nurseries which offer free childcare.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Introducing the new entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare for working parents will require growth in the childcare market and the government is confident this will be achieved. Since 2009, 230, 000 places have been created.

    It is of course essential that the funding for the entitlement is right to ensure that a sufficient number of nurseries are able to deliver it. The government has already committed to an increase to the average funding rate paid to providers.

    The government’s review on the cost of providing childcare will inform decisions on a rate that is fair and sustainable for providers. Findings from the review will feed directly into the Spending Review which will be published on 25 November.