Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the situation in Yemen, and of claims that deliberate attacks on the Doctors Without Borders hospital have taken place in that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of alleged airstrikes against a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Sa’ada and on an MSF unit in Taiz, which we take very seriously. We have emphasised the importance of full compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the coalition and they have assured us of their commitment to comply with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL. We welcome the recent public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law. We continue to urge all sides to the conflict to comply with International Humanitarian Law and to investigate incidents of alleged violations fully.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy that the House be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to deploy UK Reaper aircraft outside Syria and Iraq.

    Michael Fallon

    No.

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment Highways England has made of the effectiveness of the response to the incident on the M6 Motorway between junctions 5 and 6 on Thursday 4 February 2016.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England conducted a structured debrief for this incident on 10 February. This is standard practice for any serious incident. It identified a number of recommendations, which are subject to ongoing discussions with other agencies. Once agreed, they will be used as lessons learnt for the management of future incidents.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Security Council has been involved in establishing the national requirement of 19 destroyers and frigates, and whether close allies were also consulted.

    Earl Howe

    The National Security Council was consulted at each stage of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). It gave direction on the full strategic approach required from Defence, rather than individual capability planning decisions. This Review also featured unprecedented levels of consultation with our closest allies.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32147, whether his Department plans to bring forward proposals to enable police to issue fixed notices for people smoking in cars with children present.

    Jane Ellison

    The police use traffic offender reports to record information on a range of offences, including for smoking in private vehicles carrying children. Local authorities can then take appropriate enforcement action, including the issue fixed penalty notices, rather than the police.

    Guidance on the use of traffic offender reports to share information with local authorities has been circulated to police forces.

  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support breastfeeding services; and what assessment he has made of the importance of breastfeeding to national health policy.

    Ben Gummer

    Support and information about breastfeeding is currently available to health professionals and parents through: the NHS Choices website under the Start4Life banner; the National Breastfeeding Helpline; UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative; and local peer support programmes.

    Parents-to-be and new mums and dads can also sign up to the Start4life Information Service for Parents. Subscribers receive regular free emails, videos and SMS messages offering high quality advice and information, based on the stage of pregnancy and the age of the child, including breastfeeding support. The service also signposts parents to other quality assured information about parenting, relationship support and benefits advice.

    Breastfeeding delivers significant health benefits both for the mother and her baby and is more cost effective for mothers than other methods of infant feeding. A mother’s milk provides a perfect balance of nutrients and vitamins, so exclusive breastfeeding is all a baby needs for around the first six months. This is why the Department in line with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines encourages exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what (a) funding and (b) guidance his Department provides to local authorities to enable people who have recently been granted refugee status to benefit from rent deposit schemes if they are not considered to be in priority need for housing.

    Gavin Barwell

    Any person, including those granted refugee status, who is not in priority need is eligible for homelessness assistance. Local authorities have a duty to provide advice and information on homelessness, free of charge, to anyone seeking help. Wherever possible local housing authorities will try to stop households from facing the stress and upheaval of a homelessness crisis by taking steps to prevent their homelessness. That is why government has maintained and protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019/20.

    Statutory guidance does not mandate the use of specific preventative tools but sets out a wide range of options so that local authorities can meet the specific needs of an individual on a case by case basis. Rent deposit and rent bond schemes are included within this guidance and the majority of local authorities will operate one.

    Since 2010 local authorities have prevented homelessness for over 1.1 million households. We have committed to work with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options, including legislation, to put prevention at the centre of our approach to tackling homelessness.

  • Alistair Burt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alistair Burt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on implementing 30 hours’ free childcare for working parents.

    Caroline Dinenage

    We pledged to introduce the manifesto commitment to give working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds 30 hours of free childcare from September 2017, and we have already made excellent progress in meeting this deadline.

    We have already put in place legislation to support 30 hours through the Childcare Act 2016, announced increased funding of £1billion extra per year by 2019/20 to support the introduction of 30 hours and launched a consultation on how we can allocate funding in a fairer way. We have also: identified £50million of capital funding to create new childcare places; consulted on the operational delivery of 30 hours; and have worked to provide parents applying for 30 hours and Tax-Free Childcare with a single online application process for both government offers.

    We have brought forward the implementation of the additional 15 hours to September 2016 for some families in eight areas. These areas will test how we can implement 30 hours in a way that works for children, parents and childcare providers.

    Since the beginning of this month, working parents in York, Northumberland, Newham, Wigan, Staffordshire, Swindon, Portsmouth and Hertfordshire have been enjoying the benefits of 30 hours of free childcare.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has published on the use of plastic bags to contain liquids as passengers pass through aviation security.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport has published guidance for passengers and industry on the GOV.UK website on the use of plastic bags to carry liquids through UK airport security. This includes advice on the nature of the plastic bag required. Many UK airports also provide guidance on their websites.

    The Civil Aviation Authority provides advice and guidance for airports on the definition of a liquid. The main regulation covering liquids, aerosols and gels, EU Regulation 185/2010 also sets out the rules and requirements.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to increase the number of Wellbeing Hubs nationally to help individuals with complex care requirements to access support locally for their individual requirements.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Where commissioned, wellbeing hubs can provide a range services including lifestyle advice, information about self-management courses and help to access local support, including social care. It is for the local National Health Service to decide whether to commission wellbeing hubs and which services should be offered in order to best meet the needs of local populations.