Category: Speeches

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4074), by what means they give public access to the grounds for retention linked to retention instruments in order to explain which official records are being withheld from transfer to the National Archives and why.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    I refer the noble Lord to the responses to HL4703 and HL4704. The attached Access to Public Records Manual is published by The National Archives and sets out the grounds for retention.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 February (HL5598 and HL5599), whether they intend to reject calls to impose a sugar tax.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched shortly, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese including sugar.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued withholding of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, and whether they have determined why those bodies have been kept for so long.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have raised the withholding of bodies of suspected perpetrators of terrorist attacks on a number of occasions, at senior levels in the Israel National Security Council and with the Israel Defence Forces since the increase in violence in October.

    We continue to urge both the Israelis and Palestinians to maintain calm and refrain from taking actions which could make peace more difficult to achieve.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25082, how many unauthorised entries to military bases were (a) investigated by a military police force, (b) investigated by Ministry of Defence Police and (c) referred to a local civilian police force for investigation in 2015.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) treats all unauthorised entries to military bases very seriously. They are investigated to a level commensurate with their complexity and impact by Military Police, MOD Police or local constabulary.

    A breakdown of how unauthorised entries to military bases recorded within the MOD for 2015 were investigated is set out below.

    Unauthorised Entries recorded in 2015

    Investigated By Military Police Force 14

    Investigated By Ministry of Defence Police 5

    Referred to a local Civilian Police Force 27

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps law enforcement agencies can take to ensure that community resolution agreements are honoured.

    Mike Penning

    A community resolution is a voluntary agreement between the victim and offender to a low level crime where the offender has admitted responsibility and as such is unenforceable.

    If an officer has concerns at the outset that the offender may not comply an alternative course of action should be taken.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2016 to Question 39361, on his Department’s reorganisation, how many of the 1,500 policy posts reduced will be (a) in and (b) outside London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The answer to question 39361 stated that policy posts would be reduced to around 1,500, not by around 1,500.

    The Executive Board announced on 26 May that from January 2018 all policy roles will be based in our single HQ and policy centre in London.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of comments by the Children’s Commissioner for England on the impact of bureaucracy on the ability of school nurses to promote children’s well-being.

    Lord Nash

    It is important that there is clarity about the roles that school nurses should, and should not, take on. That is why Public Health England (PHE) and its partners published a model specification for commissioning services for 0-19, in order to help inform decisions around the commissioning of the school nursing service and integrated services for school-aged children and young people.

    PHE has also developed a number of professional pathways and guidance to support local delivery of school nursing services, including safeguarding. This guidance is currently being reviewed by partners, including National Health Service England (NHSE), and is expected to be published in early-spring 2017.

    Adoption of technology is one way of addressing the burden of paperwork. Many services are now using technology and digital platforms to improve productivity and access, particularly for young people who may not usually access services through more traditional methods.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the extent to which Northern Ireland’s land border with another EU member state creates a challenge in protecting Northern Ireland from terrorist threats.

    Mr John Hayes

    The UK and the Republic of Ireland have long enjoyed a Common Travel Area (CTA) free of routine border controls. However, there are long-established and effective working relationships between the police and intelligence agencies in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to mitigate threats. The Government takes protecting our border security very seriously, and there is a high level of collaboration on work with the Republic of Ireland to also strengthen the CTA’s external border.

  • Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Sharp of Guildford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what cross-Government estimates they have made in 2016–17 departmental budgets for the extra cost of agency and contract staff of HMRC’s proposals on not allowing staff employed through agencies or contractors to claim tax relief on their travel and subsistence expenses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    No cross-government estimates have been made for the extra cost of agency and contract staff in 2016-17 departmental budgets, following the restriction of tax relief on travel and subsistence for workers engaged through an employment intermediary.

    The changes are aimed at ensuring the tax system provides no individuals or business with an unfair advantage by preventing temporary workers, who are employed through employment intermediaries, and their employers, from benefiting for relief for home-to-work travel and subsistence expenses. This relief is not generally available to other workers who are employed directly or through temporary work contracts.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the cancer panel test used at the main NHS tertiary hospitals will provide the vast majority of clinically actionable information in a tumour genome, in the light of the NHS reimbursement environment for targeted therapies.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    A range of cancer panel tests are undertaken by National Health Service trusts. Whether or not these tests capture the majority of clinically actionable information in the tumour genome will not be known until the outcomes from the cancer element of the 100,000 Genomes Project is known.