Category: Speeches

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department plans to spend on specialist kidnap negotiation and hostage rescue capabilities in British consulates in the next 12 months.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government’s response to overseas hostage taking brings together skills and capabilities across a range of Departments. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the lead Department where British nationals are kidnapped by a terrorist group. Expenditure can be dependent on factors including the number of incidents. In the current Financial Year the FCO will spend around £253,000 on specialist hostage negotiation capability, and on training for the staff in the FCO and our global network who coordinate the Government’s response to the kidnap of British nationals overseas. This training programme ensures our overseas network is prepared to respond effectively when British nationals are taken hostage by terrorists. The FCO’s exact expenditure on kidnap response in the year ahead will depend in part on the number of live cases, but is likely to be of a similar magnitude.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of members state of the European Economic Area have registered with the (a) Health and Care Professions Council, (b) General Optical Council, (c) General Osteopathic Council and (d) General Chiropractic Council since June 2014.

    Ben Gummer

    The information requested about the numbers of nationals of member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) that have registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the General Optical Council (GOC), the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) since June 2014 is not collected or held centrally.

    However, information provided by the relevant regulatory bodies to enable this parliamentary question to be answered regarding EEA registrations since 1 June 2014 to date, is shown in the table below.

    Regulatory body

    Data provided by the regulatory body*

    (GOsC)

    15 nationals of member states of the EEA have been registered by the GOsC since June 2014.

    (GCC)

    11 nationals of member states of the EEA have been registered by the GCC since June 2014.

    (GOC)

    65 nationals of member states of the EEA have been registered by the GOC since June 2014.

    (HCPC)

    1,934 individuals.

    *The individuals in question are all EEA nationals who gained their qualifications in another member state and who applied under the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications European Directive. This is with the exception of the figures provided by the HCPC where the figure may also include third country nationals (non-EEA nationals) who have become established in their profession in their home member state and have subsequently exercised their Treaty rights under the Directive.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to evaluate the progress of his Department’s ultra-low emission vehicle communications strategy.

    Andrew Jones

    The Go Ultra Low campaign, which we run in conjunction with eight major vehicle manufacturers and that is intended to explain the benefits of ultra low emission vehicles to fleet and consumer audiences, is subject to a programme of ongoing evaluation. We survey the campaign’s audiences at key campaign milestones to test its performance. To date, Go Ultra Low has exceeded government and industry campaign benchmarks on key measures. Of those surveyed who recalled seeing campaign activity, 71% have taken action as a result of having seen our advert, and the campaign’s website is now averaging 51,000 visitors a month following a four-fold increase in 2015 compared to 2014. The Go Ultra Low campaign is an important part of the UK’s programme to support the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles, leading to market growth of 94% in 2015.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many overseas visits have been carried out by UK Trade and Investment trade envoys in each year since September 2012.

    Anna Soubry

    The table below shows the number of overseas visits taken by Trade Envoys since September 2012.

    Year

    Number of Overseas visits

    2012

    1

    2013

    9

    2014

    37

    2015

    34

    2016

    12

    Total

    93

  • Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with police forces on the level of enforcement of legislation on smoking in vehicles with children present; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Discussions are ongoing between Departmental officials and the relevant authorities about enforcement action. Guidance on the enforcement process has been sent to police forces and, as with other smokefree legislation, we expect high levels of compliance with this change.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the new holding company to be created to give effect to the proposed takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Bourse will have to make its whole capital available to support a default by one of the two central clearing houses it will control, and which of those two clearing houses will receive capital priority in the event of a simultaneous or proximate failure of them both.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to my written answer of 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children from disadvantaged backgrounds in (a) Burnley and (b) Lancashire gained five or more GCSEs including English and mathematics in (i) 2014 and (ii) 2015.

    Nick Gibb

    The percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at A* -C, including English and mathematics by local authority and disadvantaged backgrounds in 2014 and 2015 is published in the GCSE and equivalent statistical first release.[1],[2].

    Burnley district level information is not available.

    2015:

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015 (table LA9)

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gcse-and-equivalent-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics-2014 (table 6)

    “

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times her Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    It has not been possible to answer this question in the time allowed. I will write to the right honourable member in due course.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time (1) from GP referral to initial specialist surgeon appointment, and (2) from initial specialist surgeon appointment to operation, for a hip replacement in the English regions of (a) London, (b) the South, (c) the Midlands and East, and (d) the North.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The information is not available in the format requested. The information which is available is from hospital episode statistics (HES), which give a detailed breakdown of individual episodes of care by procedure, including hip replacements. Within HES, it is not possible to link the outpatient and admitted patient datasets to determine if an outpatient appointment is linked to a subsequent hip replacement. It is therefore only possible to show time waited between decision to admit and admission to hospital. A table of this data is attached.

  • Lord Trefgarne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Trefgarne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Criminal Cases Review Commission to conclude its investigation and report on the case of Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

    Lord Faulks

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has not received an application from Sergeant Alexander Blackman.