Category: Speeches

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will estimate how many (a) people and (b) organisations will be affected by the interim guidance on the new anti-lobbying clause in government grant agreements.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is not held centrally. We are currently working on improving the data collected on grants through the development of an internal Government Grants Information System. The clause will apply to all grants except in exceptional circumstances as set out at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-grants-register.

    “

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have received, or will receive, bilateral funding for technical assistance for programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2015–16, and (3) 2016–17.

    Baroness Verma

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a critically important part of the international architecture for fighting the three diseases. The UK provides technical assistance to programmes funded by the Global Fund through the following organisations: the Stop-TB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria, UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation’s Global Malaria Programme. The table (below) shows DFID’s spend to these organisations over the last five financial years.

    (£ Millions)

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    WHOs Global Malaria Programme

    –

    1.50

    3.50

    1.50

    3.50

    Roll Back Malaria

    0.52

    1.00

    1.63

    0.63

    1.23

    Stop TB Partnership

    1.00

    1.90

    1.50

    0.50

    1.00

    UNAIDS

    10.00

    10.00

    15.00

    15.00

    15.00

    Total (£ Millions)

    11.52

    14.40

    21.63

    17.63

    20.73

    The UK is committed to remaining a world leader in tackling global diseases and ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2030. Our future contributions to the Global Fund will be determined following the completion of the Bilateral and Multilateral Aid Reviews.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015, HCWS113, on Publication of Learning not Blaming and Review of NHS Leadership, what plans he has for a reporting mechanism to replace Local Supervising Authorities following the implementation of his plan to end statutory supervision of midwives.

    Ben Gummer

    In the ‘Learning not blaming: The government response to Freedom to Speak Up, the Public Administration Select Committee report on clinical incidents, and the Morecambe Bay Investigation’, the Government accepted the recommendation to remove the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) current responsibility and accountability for statutory supervision of midwives in the United Kingdom and committed to changing the law as speedily as possible.

    The abolition of the statutory Midwifery Committee at the NMC is a consequence of the Law Commission review of professional regulators. The Midwifery Committee does not have a role in the statutory supervision of midwives. The NMC is considering how midwifery advice will be secured by the NMC if the Midwifery Committee is, after consultation, abolished. It has set up a Midwifery Panel of interested parties to do this.

    The proposals for a new design of supervision for midwifery, incorporated setting up a task force in each country of the UK under the auspices of each UK Chief Nursing Officer. They are currently working through plans to create new mechanisms and considering what systems and processes will replace the Local Supervising Authorities.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK businesses operating in Colombia respect the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights sets out how the Government is implementing the UN Guiding Principles. British firms are expected to uphold these principles in their overseas operations, as well as in the UK. It is for each country to implement a National Action Plan to ensure compliance with the Guiding Principles.

    We worked closely with the Colombian authorities to develop their National Action Plan, published in December. All companies operating in Colombia, including British ones, should comply with the requirements and guidelines set out in that National Action Plan.

    The Minister for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, the Lord Price of Sturminster Newton, launched a campaign for British businesses to support peace, primarily through respect for human rights, during his visit to Colombia last month. Twenty of the largest British companies operating in Colombia subsequently agreed to align themselves to the Colombian National Action Plan for business and human rights.

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, entitled Voices of the hungry, published in April 2016, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) initiate regular annual monitoring of adult and child food insecurity in the UK and (b) determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Food insecurity is a global problem which the United Nations (UN) agreed to confront at the World Food Summit in 1996 and has framed subsequent sustainable development goals. Getting accurate and informative data was the motivation for the ‘Voices of the Hungry’ project. This project has established an annual universal metric to measure lack of access to food and the severity of this in over 150 countries, and help inform UN policy. The Department for International Development has provided financial support to enable the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to take this forward.

    The United Kingdom is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the data the FAO commissions and manages. There are therefore no plans for the Department of Health to independently monitor food insecurity going forward, or determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.

    The Government is committed to tackling childhood obesity and launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. A copy of the plan is attached and is also available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf

  • Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Gerald Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will regulate the sale of ex-emergency service vehicles.

    Margot James

    The Government does not regulate the sale of decommissioned emergency fire and rescue vehicles. It is for each emergency rescue authority to dispose appropriately of its assets as it sees fit.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people likely to have age-related macular degeneration in 2050.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no estimate of the number of people likely to have age-related macular degeneration in 2050.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 4.105 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, how much of the £1.9 billion investment in cyber defence he plans to spend in each year until 2020.

    Matthew Hancock

    As announced in the Chancellor’s speech of 17 November, a new National Cyber Security Strategy will be launched in 2016, implemented through a new National Cyber Security Programme. The new programme will determine how much of the £1.9 billion investment is spent each financial year to March 2021.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-British EEA nationals with a National Insurance number who arrived in the UK prior to four years ago (a) paid National Insurance contributions, (b) paid PAYE income tax and (c) claimed benefits or tax credits in the last year.

    Mr David Gauke

    Calculating the number of individuals who were paying PAYE income tax and National Insurance contributions who were citizens of the EEA when they first registered for a National Insurance Number is complex and cannot be done quickly. However, HM Revenue and Customs are planning to produce further information early in 2016 on this issue, once it has been properly collated.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department will agree to Legislative Consent Motions to the devolved government on the issue of public sector exit payments.

    Greg Hands

    The public sector exit payment cap will come into effect at a date after the Enterprise Bill has received Royal Assent. The Enterprise Bill is currently expected to receive Royal Assent by May 2016. A set of secondary regulations which will give effect to the public sector exit payment cap are currently expected to come into force during autumn 2016.

    In the response to the consultation the Government stated that ‘the government would request Legislative Consent Motions from the Devolved Administrations where appropriate, however it would be for the Devolved Administrations to decide the approach they wish to take to this measure.’

    On 7 December 2015 the Northern Ireland Assembly declined to agree a Legislative Consent Motion. Subsequently, no provisions relating to Northern Ireland are included in the clauses relating to exit payments.