Category: Speeches

  • Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many acres of farmland she plans will be protected by government investment in flood defences over the next six years.

    Elizabeth Truss

    As a result of the Government’s £2.3 billion, six year capital investment programme more than 420,000 acres of farmland will be better protected by 2021.

    Together with our investment in the last parliament this means that more than a million acres of farmland will be better protected from flooding over this decade.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Stephen Crabb

    I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, on 29 February 2016.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30208, whether she plans to give Ministerial approval to relax the restrictions of the public sector exit cap on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority who leave work after 1 October 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The proposed public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as being within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This includes the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s sites, which are funded by the UK taxpayer.

    It is envisaged that there will be discretion to relax conditions of the cap in exceptional circumstances, for example where there are genuine cases of hardship. This discretion, which would be considered on a case by case basis and which would be subject to Ministerial approval, will be provided for in the exit cap regulations.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who was responsible for the maintenance of the access ramps to the mezzanine deck on the St Helen ferry at Fishbourne, Isle of Wight, which collapsed on 18 July 2014 causing several injuries; whether any prosecutions are planned; and who would be responsible for any resulting prosecutions.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Maintenance of all parts of a vessel is the responsibility of the ship owner or operator.

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) examines significant breaches of safety and environmental aspects of Merchant Shipping legislation to determine what action is appropriate, which may include prosecution.

    The MCA is considering the circumstances of this particular incident in light of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s report.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Department of Energy and Climate Change plans to spend on the Green Climate Fund in each financial year from 2015–16 to 2017–18.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change contributed £80 million to the Green Climate Fund during the 2015-2016 financial year. DECC plans to contribute £80 million in FY 2016-2017 and £80 million in FY 2017-2018, dependent on the financial needs of the Green Climate Fund.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the introduction of tolls on the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee bridges; and whether a decision has been taken on discounts for local businesses and residents.

    Andrew Jones

    Following the previous Chancellor’s further statement in July 2015 that the Government is looking at extending Mersey Gateway bridge toll discounts to residents of Chester West & Chester and Warrington, officials are currently working through what the proposed further extension means for the scheme both by way of the cost to the Department but also and importantly what this would do to the commercial structure of the contracts already signed for the scheme. Once this is clear we will be able to provide more information.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the names of chair and members of the Specialised Ophthalmology Services Reference Group.

    David Mowat

    Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) are currently undertaking a process of recruitment. Once all appointments have been made, a full list of members for each CRG will be published on NHS England’s website. However, for the Specialised Ear and Ophthalmology CRG, the Chair and Lead CRG Commissioner have been confirmed as Alison Davis and Nicola Symes respectively.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what provisions her Department makes for long-term humanitarian funding for children in protracted crises (a) in Central African Republic and (b) elsewhere where aid organisations are inhibited in providing psycho-social support for children affected by armed conflict because of short-term funding cycles.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Since 2013, the UK has committed £58 million to address the needs of Central Africans, Central African children and of CAR refugees. This funding has enabled agencies to support children who have been separated from their families, provide services for girls and boys who have suffered sexual and gender-based violence, to reduce malnutrition, and give children access to education and training. The UK monitors need in CAR and reviews regularly the strategy and level of support it provides.

    In many other conflict affected countries DFID is providing multi-year funding to help humanitarian agencies with strategic longer term plans to assist conflict affected populations, including children.

    In the Syria region for example, the UK has allocated £111 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. In Iraq, this includes funding to establish women and children’s centres, which provide counselling and support for women, and safe spaces for children to play and learn. In Syria, the UK is supporting children with food, shelter and health. The UK also helped launch, and mobilise international support for, the ‘No Lost Generation’ Initiative (NLGI), which aims to prevent a whole generation being lost to the Syria conflict through physical and psychological trauma and lack of access to quality education and other basic services.

  • John Mc Nally – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Mc Nally – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the value of the hair industry to the economy.

    Anna Soubry

    In Official Statistics types of business are subdivided by internationally agreed Standard Industrial Classification codes. These do not have sufficient detail to separately identify the hair industry but group this under SIC 96.02 – Hairdressing and other beauty treatment, which also includes facial, nail care and other make-up and beauty services. According to the latest ONS Annual Business Survey this industry contributed nearly £2.7bn in gross value added to the UK economy in 2014.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure that all NHS trusts are (a) identifying patient safety incidents, (b) conducting full investigations to identify the causes of such incidents and (c) implementing measures to prevent recurring such incidents.

    Ben Gummer

    Currently, NHS England has a leadership role for patient safety in the National Health Service and supports providers to identify, understand and manage risks that might affect the safety of patients. The primary source for identifying risks is the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS). The NRLS operates as a database and holds over 1.4 million locally reported patient safety incidents. These are reviewed to help address the identified issues or risks in the NHS. NHS England alerts NHS trusts of emerging patient safety risks via the National Patient Safety Alerting System – a three-stage alerting process which ensures the timely sharing of relevant safety information. The system also encourages information sharing between organisations so that examples of best practice can be widely adopted.

    NHS trusts are expected to review their own patient safety incidents. The revised Serious Incident Framework published in March 2015 has sought to simplify the incident management process and ensure that serious incidents are identified correctly, investigated thoroughly and, most importantly, learned from to prevent the likelihood of similar incidents happening again.

    The NHS standard contract also stipulates that providers must consider and respond to the recommendations arising from any audit, Serious Incident report or Patient Safety Incident report.