Category: Speeches

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how many children and young people are admitted to hospital due to mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    Hospital Episode Statistics data already gives details on the number of admissions to hospital by age group and by condition, including mental health conditions. We are also investing in new data sources on both prevalence and service use. From January 2016, the new Mental Health Services Dataset will begin to provide data for both adults and children on outcomes, length of treatment, the source of referral, location of appointment and demographic information.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they make available for stand-alone academies facing budget deficits and the possibility of becoming bankrupt.

    Lord Nash

    Academy trusts are required to set balanced budgets each year, and it is the trustees’ responsibility to manage the funding for their school effectively and appropriately.

    Where stand-alone academy trusts are facing genuine financial difficulties, there are a number of ways they can access support to help them return to financial stability. These include:

    • Accessing the recently launched suite of tools and information designed to improve financial health and efficiency within schools
    • Working with the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to agree a recovery plan to identify savings and ensure value for money
    • In the most serious cases, the EFA may agree to provide an advance of funding that is repayable over an agreed timeframe
    • If appropriate, working with Regional Schools Commissioners to consider joining a multi-academy trust
  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his EU counterparts the EU undertaking a rule of law procedure against Hungary; and what representations he is making to his counterparts on recent reforms by the Hungarian government.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Commission said on 2 December 2015 that the conditions for starting a Rule of Law framework procedure against Hungary had not been fulfilled. The UK Government expects all member states of the EU to respect human rights, including freedom of speech and of the media, and to respect the rule of law.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of the Government’s proposals for community pharmacies on rural communities.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course. This will include the impact on rural communities.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Boeing Poseidon P8s acquired by the UK will use Mk 54 torpedoes.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

  • Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the effect of the introduction of the new soft drinks industry levy on the level of the consumer prices index.

    Damian Hinds

    The information on the effect of the introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy on the CPI are available at page 51 of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook published by the OBR, available at:

    http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/March2016EFO.pdf

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the extension of the mental health officer pension age to 65 on the health and income of pension scheme members with Mental Health Officer status.

    Alistair Burt

    Mental Health Officer status is a reserved right for members who joined the NHS Pension Scheme before 6 March 1995 and have continued working in a role that qualifies for this status. The historic rationale for Mental Health Officer status related to working in long stay mental hospitals that no longer exist. It was clearly inappropriate and unnecessary to retain different pension arrangements for staff working in mental health to other National Health Service staff. This was recognised in 1995 when it was removed for new entrants.

    When the normal pension age (NPA) for new members of the scheme changed to 65 in 2008, the only Mental Health Officers with an NPA of 65 are those who, at the time, chose to transfer to the 2008 section of the scheme. Those who did not transfer retained their Mental Health Officer status. As part of the Hutton reforms to public service pensions, scheme members who on 1 April 2012 were not within 10 years of their NPA moved to the 2015 scheme for future service with an NPA the same as their state pension age. Most Mental Health Officers were within 10 years of their NPA of 55 and so were unaffected. A minority of Mental Health Officers did transfer to the 2015 scheme but all their benefits earned up to that point are fully protected and payable in accordance with Mental Health Officer status rules, so without reduction at 55 and including a calculation to reflect the doubling of the value of some service for accrual purposes.

    The Working Longer Group, a partnership group of nationally recognised NHS trade unions, NHS employers and health department representatives, was established by the Government to review the implications of the NHS workforce working to a later, raised retirement age. The Group is taking forward its recommendations, accepted by Ministers, to support staff working longer in the NHS.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made by the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.

    Robert Halfon

    The Apprenticeship Delivery Board was announced in July 2015 and launched in January 2016. Board members are senior figures representing eight key sectors with potential for apprenticeship growth.

    Board members have input to the apprenticeship reforms, supported the Get In Go Far campaign, helped to achieve 500,000 apprenticeship starts in the 2014/15 academic year, and are targeting major employers to advocate the case for apprenticeships.

    An evaluation of the impact of the board is planned and will report its findings in January 2017.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent in legal costs on the Information Rights Tribunal case on the Reducing Regulation Sub-Committee Freedom of Information request.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    Litigation and Counsel’scostswill be accounted for at the end of the process.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Equality Act 2010 on the care of older adult mental health patients.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no assessment of the effect of the Equality Act 2010 on the care of older adult mental health patients.

    In September 2012, following the introduction of the Equality Act 2010, the Department published guidance Implementing a ban on age discrimination in the NHS – making effective, appropriate decisions. This is available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-a-ban-on-age-discrimination-in-the-nhs-making-effective-appropriate-decisions

    “