Category: Speeches

Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reunite lone refugee children in mainland Europe with family members in the UK.

James Brokenshire

Unaccompanied children in other EU countries should be able to access the support needed in those countries. The European countries in which they arrive have international obligations and a duty to provide adequate protection and support to refugees within their territory.

We are working closely with UN agencies, NGOs and the Member States involved to ensure that protection is provided. We will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help in border “hotspots” in Greece and Italy to help identify and register children at risk on first arrival in the EU.

The Government remains concerned about the needs of vulnerable children on the move in Europe and the Balkans, and the needs of those who become stranded along the route. The UK has therefore increased its aid to refugees and migrants, including children, in Europe and the Balkans to £46 million, divided among the most affected countries and including specific support of £2.75 million to UNICEF, which will benefit 27,000 children. In addition, the Department for International Development (DFID) is creating a new fund of up to £10 million to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children in Europe, the Refugee Children Fund for Europe.

This will include targeted support to meet the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children who face additional risks. The support will be delivered through a range of UN agencies and NGOs. Unaccompanied children that have a close family link to the UK and claim asylum in another EU country may be entitled to be transferred to the UK under the family unity provisions of the Dublin Regulation. We want to ensure we reunite children with any close family in the UK as quickly and as safely as possible, and we work closely with EU partners on this issue.

01/01/2023
Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

Mr Robert Goodwill

At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

01/01/2023
Barbara Keeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2016-03-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing the national living wage into social care from April 2016.

Greg Hands

At the time of the Summer Budget 2015 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated the costs of the National Living Wage to employers across the economy would be almost £4 billion in 2020, equivalent to just over 1 per cent of corporate profits.

It was in recognition of costs such as the NLW and growing demand for care services that the Spending Review announced we would be making additional funding available to local government for social care, worth up to £3.5 billion a year by 2019/20. This will support councils to continue to focus on core services and to increase the prices they pay for care, including to cover the costs of the National Living Wage.

01/01/2023
Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by when will 2015 payments to farmers from the Rural Payments Agency be completed; and when can farmers receiving a 50 per cent bridging payment expect to be paid in full.

George Eustice

As of 2 May, some 79,013 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) claims have now been completed. This represents 78,102 payments and 911 that resulted in no payments being due. Bridging payments were made by the end of April to those farmers not in receipt of their BPS 2015 claim payment in recognition of the cash flow pressures they are facing.

The Rural Payments Agency will continue to make full payments throughout the remainder of the payment window and anticipates completing this work by the end of June 2016.

01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the largest financial contracts between the NHS and pharmaceutical companies were in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

Details of the largest¹ financial contracts between the National Health Service and pharmaceutical companies in each of the last five calendar years are given in the table:

Year	Supplier Name	Department of Health Tender Reference	Framework Agreement Title
2011	Gilead Sciences Ltd	CM/PHR/08/5000	Pharmaceuticals Antiretroviral pan-London April 2010
2012	Gilead Sciences Ltd	CM/PHR/10/5203	Pan London Antiretroviral
2013	Gilead Sciences Ltd	CM/PHR/10/5203	Pan London Antiretroviral
2014	Gilead Sciences Ltd	CM/PHR/10/5203	Pan London Antiretroviral
2015	Pfizer Limited	CM/PHR/13/5415	Branded Pharmaceutical Products – National (05-2014)

Source: Department of Health Commercial Medicines Unit

¹Based on pre-agreement estimated values for framework agreements for the use of hospitals in England.

01/01/2023

Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will increase investment in decentralised renewable energy in areas where it will benefit the world’s poorest people.

James Wharton

The UK Government is playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries, including through our Energy Africa campaign which is working with solar firms to help them access the finance they need to expand their businesses, create jobs and help reach millions of people in Africa without electricity access.

01/01/2023
Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what checks his Department and its agencies undertake to ensure public funding for new innovation facilities does not result in a duplication of existing commercial assets.

Joseph Johnson

All potential major capital projects are assessed against the additional value they add, including an evaluation of whether the research or innovation activity is already being undertaken elsewhere. The majority of decisions about which research investments to undertake are taken directly by Research Councils, based on rigorous criteria including peer review.

In respect of the establishment of Innovate UK’s 11 Catapult Centres, all candidate areas have undergone a robust evaluation by Innovate UK’s Senior Innovation Leads who have relevant domain expertise. In addition, facilitated workshops, with leading figures in the relevant industries – including business, academic and representatives from the public sector, are held to ascertain whether Innovate UK’s analysis of the market opportunities in this area is correct. Each candidate area is evaluated according to an agreed process to assess the size of the global market opportunity and the demand for a Catapult to help business build on their capabilities to commercialise innovation and realise this potential in the UK.

In setting up new Catapult centres Innovate UK take into account the option of working within or alongside existing physical centres in the UK either to avoid duplication or to achieve quicker delivery.

At a local level, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are responsible for identifying, assessing and approving Local Growth Funded projects. They do this in accordance with their strategic economic objectives and Local Assurance Frameworks which have to comply with the LEP National Assurance Framework. The National Assurance Framework covers value for money and states that methodology should be proportionate to the funding allocated and in line with established Government guidance including the HM Treasury Green Book.

01/01/2023
Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how many people over the age of 55 are likely to be affected by the Government’s changes to tax credits.

Damian Hinds

This information is not available.

This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

01/01/2023
Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many barrels of oil Daesh sell on a daily basis; and which countries are involved in the purchase of that oil.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We estimate that Daesh generates around $1.5 million a day in revenue from oil sales, equating to a daily crude production of between 34000 and 40000 barrels. The oil comes primarily from fields in Northern Syria. The vast majority is consumed by Daesh, sold within the territory it controls, or smuggled into regional black markets. The only Government we have evidence of being involved in purchasing oil from Daesh is the Assad regime.

Individuals involved in brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime have been sanctioned by the EU. The UK has also led efforts at the UN to make it illegal for any state, company or individual to trade in oil or oil products with Daesh, including co-sponsoring UN Security Council Resolution 2199 in February 2015. We work closely and continually with allies, particularly in the region, to ensure Resolution 2199 is implemented, sanctions are enforced and all smuggling is stopped.

01/01/2023
Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of local authority funding reductions on the provision of transport for vulnerable adults.

Alistair Burt

The Department does not collect data on how much is spent by local authorities on vulnerable adult transport.

Social care is a key priority for this Government. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances; we have taken steps to protect social care services. As announced in the Spending Review, the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20.

This means local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

01/01/2023