Category: Speeches

Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons were for the delay in announcing the route of phase 2B of High Speed 2 to Manchester and Leeds.

Mr Robert Goodwill

HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport have been analysing route and station options in light of the responses received following the Phase Two consultation.

We have also been considering Sir David Higgins’ proposals to bring forward the benefits of HS2 to the North with a new Crewe Hub station, improve connectivity between Northern cities, and further integrate with Network Rail’s Strategic Business Plan, before deciding how to proceed.

HS2 Phase Two remains on target to open in 2033.

01/01/2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the process is for ensuring that quick decisions are made about the treatment of critically ill infants suffering from hypophosphatasia in cases where effective drug treatment is available.

Lord Prior of Brampton

National Health Service commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Highly Specialised Technologies evaluations. If the drug is not recommended, and until NICE’s final guidance is issued, it would be for NHS England to decide whether to make it available to patients.

NICE is currently evaluating asfotase alfa (brand name Strensiq) for the treatment of paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia under its Highly Specialised Technologies programme, which looks at drugs for very small patient populations.

The Evaluation Committee’s preliminary recommendation, published in December 2015 for consultation, was not to recommended asfotase alfa, within its marketing authorisation, for long-term enzyme replacement therapy in paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia to treat the bone manifestations of the disease.

NICE makes its recommendations based on the available evidence and in consultation with stakeholders, including manufacturers and patient groups.

This is not NICE’s final guidance and its recommendations may change after consultation. NICE currently expects to publish its final guidance to the NHS in October 2016.

01/01/2023
Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what grants for what purpose his Department is making to the National Childbirth Trust in 2016.

David Mowat

The Department awarded the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) an Innovation Excellence and Strategic Development Grant in 2015-16 under the Innovation strand.

The grant is funding a Perinatal Mental health project. The main aims of the NCT project are, to promote positive maternal mental health and support engagement with specialist services for women experiencing perinatal mental illness.

01/01/2023

Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many level 2 apprenticeships have been available in her Department in each year since 2010; how many such apprenticeships were completed in full; and how many such apprentices subsequently progressed to level 3 or above.

Robert Halfon

The table below shows numbers of apprentices in the Department for Education in each financial year since 2009/10.

Financial Year	Number of Apprentices in DfE	Level
2009/2010	19	All Level 3
2010/2011	12	all Levels 2 and 3
2011/2012	0
2012/2013	32	all Levels 2 and 3
2013/2014	15	all Level 4
2014/2015	34	20 Level 4 14 Levels 2 and 3
2015/16	64	48 Level 4 16 Levels 2 and 3

The Level 4 apprentices were all from the Civil Service Fast-track apprenticeship scheme, which lasts at least two years. The Level 2 and Level 3 apprentices were recruited directly by the Department.

The Department does not hold information about progression between levels or numbers completing apprenticeships.

01/01/2023

Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international partners on Syrian representation at the talks in Vienna on 30 October 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

At the Vienna talks on 30 October Foreign Ministers discussed the crucial role of the Syrians in any political process. The UN has been asked to launch a new political process which will convene Syrian representatives for a political process on future governance, a new constitution and elections. As the Vienna Communiqué noted: “This political process will be Syrian led and Syrian owned, and the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria.”

01/01/2023
Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many special advisers were employed on 1 November 2009, and at what total annual cost, and what were the figures on 1 November for each year thereafter.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Information on the number and cost of special advisers for 2009 and subsequent years is available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2015 will be published shortly.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Government spent on creating flood prevention schemes since 2007.

Rory Stewart

Government funding on flood and coastal erosion risk management is available in the ‘Central Government Funding for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in England’ document. This is available in the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/480527/Funding_for_Flood_and_Coastal_Erosion_in_England_Dec_2015.pdf

This document sets out both capital and resource expenditure from 2005.

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01/01/2023
Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Duty Provider Crime Contracts have been awarded to companies in (a) the West Midlands, (b) the city of Birmingham and (c) Birmingham, Hodge Hill constituency.

Mr Shailesh Vara

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of Thursday 28 January, the crime Tender process has been withdrawn.

01/01/2023
Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

The Northern Ireland Office’s wellness strategy is to promote and sustain a healthy, safe and supportive working environment for all our people. We do this by:
- Providing absence and welfare policies and workplace support services;
- Maintaining a zero tolerance policy towards discrimination, bullying and harassment in the workplace;
- Ensuring the working environment is safe and meets Health and Safety legislative requirements;
- Promoting an open-minded, respectful and inclusive workplace.
As a small department the Northern Ireland Office has also secured access to the Ministry of Justice’s networks and services for our staff to use.
01/01/2023
Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what planning his Department is undertaking on the collation of block chain data; and what discussions he has had with the Bank of England on that topic.

Harriett Baldwin

Digital currencies, and the distributed ledger technology that underpins them, have the potential to bring innovative services and products to UK customers and firms – particularly in areas like international transfers.

The Chancellor announced in March 2015 that the Government will bring digital currency exchange firms into regulation in the UK to help the legitimate industry flourish, and to create a hostile environment for illicit actors. We will publish proposals on this regulatory regime in due course.

As outlined in Deputy Governor, Ben Broadbent’s recent speech, the Bank of England is also exploring this emerging sector and the implications it could have for monetary and financial stability as part of its broader research agenda.

Separately, academics at University College London’s (UCL) digital currency research centre have also been looking at how the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currencies could be harnessed by central banks. The Government is encouraged to see this research from one of the UK’s world-leading universities. However, this a theoretical paper by an independent institution, separate from the Bank of England’s work and from Government policy.

It is the Government’s ambition to foster the growth of legitimate digital currency firms as part of the wider FinTech ecosystem here in the UK. As part of this, the Government will consider the wider implications of a growing digital currencies sector for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole. Some parts of Government are also looking at how the benefits of distributed ledger technology can be harnessed to deliver greater innovation. However, the Government and the Bank of England do not currently have any plans to introduce a centrally issued digital currency.

The UK has been rated as having the world’s leading FinTech ecosystem in a recent global benchmarking exercise and attracted c. £524mn in investment in 2015.

01/01/2023