UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment his Department carried out on the changes proposed in the Consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payment, Cm 9171, published in December 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP has conducted a consultation to seek views on how support can best be provided to help meet the costs of disability faced by people who are currently awarded points due to aids and appliances. The department has received responses from a range of interested parties, including disabled people and disability organisations. The consultation has now closed and the department is considering these responses.

    No decision has yet been made as to whether any change should be made to the current system and the department does not have any preference between the five options presented in the consultation. We also invited additional suggestions for change.

    If the department decides that change is required, a full equality analysis will be conducted and considered prior to a final decision being made, in line with the Department’s obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many representations he has received from (a) European and (b) American officials pertaining to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the last 12 months.

    Anna Soubry

    Ministers and officials in the Department, for Business, Innovation and Skills are in regular contact with officials from the European Commission, EU Member States and US, as we work to secure a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement that benefits UK businesses, workers and consumers. This includes discussions with negotiators, legislators, administrations, and various other stakeholders from the EU and US.

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on prisoners of conscience in that country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The release of political prisoners has been an early priority for the new NLD-led government, with over 100 having been released since Friday.

    The UK Government has long campaigned on the issue of political prisoners in Burma and we welcome this quick action.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-04-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out research to ascertain the degree of awareness of small businesses about intellectual property rights.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) IP Awareness Survey was first conducted in 2006 and was rerun in 2010 and early 2015. The survey establishes a sense of understanding of IP and IP rights across all sizes of UK firms and all sectors of UK industry. The most recent survey contained 3 sections: an IP knowledge section which tested the respondent’s familiarity with IP, a management section which sought to discover how firms were administering IP within their organisation and a final section which focussed on where IP information and advice was sourced from.

    Key findings include:

    • 94% of respondents thought that it was important for businesses to understand how to protect their IP.
    • 52% of responding firms had protected some sort of IP (either through a single right or a combination).
    • 65% of respondents thought that confidentiality agreements are important to protecting their IP. This method of protection was the most popular.
    • The majority of surveyed firms have not been involved in a dispute around IP, (over 75%).
    • 96% of firms have not valued their IP.
    • 79% of firms did not know that telling people about an invention before applying for a patent could lead to an unsuccessful application.
    • 28% of firms check they are not infringing other people’s IP, the most popular IP management activity amongst respondents.
    • 20% of firms indicated that they license their IP, allowing others to use it for a fee.

    In addition to this formal piece of research the IPO routinely surveys businesses in the course of designing and delivering its business support and outreach activities. This is intended to help to monitor and assess the effectiveness of these activities to ensure they are fit for purpose and if necessary improve, develop and even cease them for alternative approaches.

    The IPO is using findings from its own and other business surveys to inform its approach to business outreach and the creation of IP advisory and support tools.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will place in the library an unredacted copy of Lady Macur’s review of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in North Wales.

    Alun Cairns

    No. Lady Justice Macur specifically cautioned Ministers against publishing certain groups of names, for example to protect against prejudicing pending and ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions.

    An unredacted version of the report has been provided to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by Justice Lowell Goddard, and was seen by representatives from Operations Pallial, Hydrant and Orarian.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the proposed A52 improvement programme.

    Mr John Hayes

    Highways England, in accordance with its Delivery Plan, is delivering the A52 scheme in Roads Investment Strategy Period 1 (2015-2020) and plans to start construction by 2019/20. The scheme will deliver a package of measures to improve junctions along the A52 near Nottingham to assist with the development of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone adjacent to the A52.

    Highways England has appointed design consultants to work up and assess a range of options and will be engaging stakeholders in the coming months.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to local NHS consortium formed of Lewisham and Greenwich Healthcare Trust, Local Care Networks and Oxleas Trust was of preparing their unsuccessful tender for the contract to provide musculoskeletal services in Greenwich; and if he will assess the effect of such spending on resources available for services to patients; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is not centrally held and is a matter for the local National Health Service consortium which submitted the tender in question.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the potential numbers for junior doctors who may leave the NHS should a new contract for that role be imposed.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government has received a number of representations from individuals and on behalf of organisations about the introduction of a new junior doctors contract.

    The proposals are for a fairer contract that will maintain average earnings and will not require juniors to work longer. It will also put in place improved safeguards for patients and doctors that go beyond those in legislation (and go beyond those in the current contract) that will reduce maximum working hours which will not be the case in other countries. On 28 October, the Government also committed to protect the pay of all junior doctors working safe hours in the transition to a new contract, and appealed to the British Medical Association (BMA) to return to negotiations.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the national consultation on the future of children’s centres will be launched; what its terms of reference will be; and what the timetable is for responses to be received and the Government to announce its proposals.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We value the services provided by children’s centres. We intend to consult to see what role children’s centres should play to ensure they are able to have the most impact as part of integrated local services for families. An independent survey carried out by the national children’s charity, 4Children (published October 2015) estimated more than a million children and families are now using children’s centres.

    The consultation will offer parents, carers, local authorities and key stakeholders the opportunity to influence and drive what we expect from children’s centre services and where we see them having the greatest impact. We plan to launch the consultation shortly.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to collect data on the number of underage girls who marry overseas and subsequently return to the UK.

    Lord Bates

    The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage, with our Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad.

    In 2014, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,267 cases. Of those cases, 11% involved victims below 16 years (where the age was known), and 77% involved an overseas element (meaning the victim was at risk of, or had been taken, overseas). To provide a further breakdown of this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

    FMU data is published on an annual basis, and figures for 2015 are due for publication shortly.