Category: Speeches

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.47 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, Cm 9161, which of the two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will be adapted to support amphibious capability.

Mr Philip Dunne

The two new Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers, currently under construction in Rosyth have a planned service life of 50 years each. They will be capable of a spectrum of roles including battlefield helicopter support to littoral operations. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 made provision to enhance this capability in the QEC aircraft carriers.

01/01/2023
Wayne David – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on (a) setting a fixed price for Energy Performance Certificates and (b) ensuring that Energy Performance Certificates are valid for more than 10 years.

James Wharton

The overall price charged by accredited energy assessors to house holders and businesses for the preparation of Energy Performance Certificates is not set by government.

The validity period is determined by the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings which does not allow the validity period to be extended past 10 years.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on research into the use of aspirin to reduce incidents of cancer.

Jane Ellison

Ministers have had no such discussions.

Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes A Strategy for England 2015-2020 includes a recommendation that NHS England should commission the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop updated guidelines for the use of drugs for the prevention of breast and colorectal cancers including the use of aspirin for individuals with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer. Once these guidelines are published, clinical commissioning groups should ensure that general practitioners implement them. A National Cancer Transformation Board will oversee the implementation of the strategy, and an implementation plan will be published shortly.

The Strategy also noted that Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research will continue to monitor outcomes from trials under way in the United Kingdom and internationally regarding the role of aspirin in cancer prevention more generally. They will make evidence available to NHS England and NICE as results become clear.

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reported personal injury road accidents in each category of severity there were on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in each month during the last five years for which figures are available.

Andrew Jones

The following tables contain validated, personal injury data for the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 from 2010 to 2014.

Number of Personal Injury Road Accidents (Collisions)

Collisions	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Grand Total
2010	2	0	0	2	0	1	3	2	2	1	3	1	17
2011	0	0	0	2	1	2	1	2	1	2	1	1	13
2012	0	0	1	1	1	2	1	1	3	1	0	3	14
2013	3	0	2	4	5	2	4	1	1	1	0	0	23
2014	1	2	2	0	1	3	1	4	1	3	2	1	21
Grand Total	6	2	5	9	8	10	10	10	8	8	6	6	88

Number of Casualties – Fatal

Fatal	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Grand Total
2010	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2011	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2012	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2014	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3
Grand Total	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	4

Number of Casualties – Serious

Serious	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Grand Total
2010	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
2011	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2012	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	4
2013	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
2014	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Grand Total	1	0	1	0	2	0	1	2	1	0	0	2	10

Number of Casualties – Slight

Slight	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Grand Total
2010	2	0	0	6	0	2	5	4	3	2	3	1	28
2011	0	0	0	6	3	3	1	4	1	4	2	1	25
2012	0	0	0	1	1	4	1	2	5	1	0	1	16
2013	4	0	5	5	6	3	4	1	1	3	0	0	32
2014	2	5	2	0	1	5	1	2	1	3	2	2	26
Grand Total	8	5	7	18	11	17	12	13	11	13	7	5	127

01/01/2023

Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mandatory reconsiderations for personal independence payments have resulted in a revised decision as a result of further evidence in each of the last three years.

Penny Mordaunt

The information requested is not available.

01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to make sex and relationships education compulsory in all schools.

Edward Timpson

We want schools to provide all young people with a curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education have a vital role to play in this.

SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE, but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The existing SRE guidance was last updated in 2000. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

Schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources that can be used and adapted by schools.

We hold regular meetings with Ofsted about a range of matters. As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high-quality PSHE, including SRE. We are considering all the options, including the need for any statutory powers, and will come to a view soon.

01/01/2023
Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of urgent care in Brighton and Hove.

Jane Ellison

The provision of urgent care is the responsibility of NHS England, which is currently reviewing nationally urgent and emergency care and proposes a fundamental shift in the way urgent and emergency care services are provided, delivering more care closer to home where clinically appropriate.

The review is now within its implementation phase. A key aspect of this implementation is the establishment of Urgent and Emergency Care Networks (UECNs).

NHS England has developed a suite of tools and guidance to support implementation of the review, including advice on the role and establishment of UECNs.

In the hon. Member’s constituency, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) undertook a two-day unannounced inspection of urgent and emergency services at the Royal Sussex County Hospital during June 2015. The CQC published the report of this inspection on 23 October 2015 and rated urgent and emergency services inadequate at this hospital.

The CQC expect the Trust to regularly report, in a single and standard approach, the improvements in quality to all stakeholders through the risk summit process.

Following the CQC report publication, the Trust will take the following actions:

– Changes to the Emergency Department floor;

– Improving ward processes;

– Hospital Rapid Discharge Team will review support packages with patients and their family when they first arrive in the Emergency Department; and

– The opening of additional beds at the Princess Royal Hospital.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints from (a) employees and (b) third parties were received by HM Revenue and Customs’ National Minimum Wage Risk Unit in each of the last six years.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them. However, some complaints may not lead to the commencement of an investigation. This might be due to incomplete information being provided, or the worker subsequently wishing to withdraw their complaint. Similarly, multiple complaints about the same employer would only be recorded under one investigation.

In 2014/15, 2489 worker complaints and 691 pieces of third party information were referred to HMRC. However, I reiterate that not all complaints will lead to an investigation. In previous years, HMRC did not record statistics by complaints received, but by investigations completed. In 2014/15, HMRC completed 2204 investigations. I refer the honourable member to the answer provided to her on 6 May 2014 at Hansard Column 110W for information on prior years.

Staff across HMRC contribute to enforcing NMW, including people who work in legal advice, debt management, technical support and criminal investigation amongst others, but HMRC does not record the specific numbers of those staff involved beyond this. The budget allocated to HMRC by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is provided as an overall amount. I therefore refer the honourable member to the answers provided to her at UIN 16853 for budget details & UIN 16938 for information on staffing.

01/01/2023
Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harry Harpham on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which coal-fired power stations her Department expects to close before 2020.

Andrea Leadsom

Decisions to close power stations are taken by their owners based on market conditions. The owners of Longannet, Lynemouth and Ferrybridge have announced their intention to stop generating by March 2016. The owners of Eggborough (2GW) have announced they may close by March 2016. Following the European Commission’s approval of state aid in December 2015 followed by its sale, EPH are converting Lynemouth to biomass. We expect this process to take about 18 months.

01/01/2023
Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-01-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the timescale for carrying out reviews of post-16 education and training institutions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Individual area reviews are expected to take about four months, the timescale being dependent on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved in each area. The overall review process has been divided into five waves of area reviews and is scheduled to be completed by March 2017.

01/01/2023