Category: Speeches

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of spit hoods; and what assessment she has made of the extent of use of such hoods by police forces.

    Brandon Lewis

    The use of ‘spit hoods’, as with any other use of restraint or force, is an operational matter for Chief Officers. The Home Office is clear that all uses of force or restraint must be necessary and proportionate.

    In recognition of the importance of ensuring transparency in how police forces use various means of restraint, the former Home Secretary asked Chief Constable David Shaw to review what data should be collected and published. The review recommended that forces record a range of data in all instances when significant force is used, including restraint techniques and the use of spit hoods.

    The data to be collected includes the age, gender, ethnicity and sex of the subject, the type of force used, reason for the use of force, and the outcome of the incident.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to review the rate at which small businesses can recover statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay.

    Priti Patel

    Small employers, defined as those who have paid £45,000 or less in gross national insurance in the preceding tax year, can recover all of the Statutory Maternity, Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Pay they pay out plus an additional amount in compensation for the employer’s share of the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) due on the statutory payments.

    The current rate of compensation paid to small employers is 3%. The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994 set out how compensation is calculated and, in addition, require it to be assessed annually which is done alongside the annual uprating of benefits.

    The rate derived for Statutory Maternity Pay is also applied to Statutory Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Pay.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to increase the number of (a) clinical nurse specialist, (b) clinical oncology, (c) medical oncology, (d) medical physics and (e) therapy radiography training positions.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations in the independent Cancer Taskforce’s report, Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 to 2020, and has appointed Cally Palmer CBE as NHS National Cancer Director to lead on managing implementation. She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, including on workforce, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work.

    We announced in September that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22858, on the basis of the evidence seen by the Government, what assessment he has made of who was responsible for the damage to the Iranian Embassy in Sana’a.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    It is important to determine the facts of any incident. From current evidence we have seen, it does not appear that a Saudi airstrike hit the Iranian Embassy. We are continuing to work with all parties to de-escalate regional tensions.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when and where they will establish application procedures for the new funds they are providing to assist the education of the children of refugees and displaced people from Iraq and Syria.

    Baroness Verma

    At the Supporting Syria and the Region conference, the UK committed to more than double our total pledge to the Syria crisis to over £2.3 billion. Within this allocation, we committed to double education funding for Lebanon to £40 million per year and increase funding in Jordan to £20 million a year to support the conference goal of getting all refugee children from Syria and vulnerable children in host communities in quality education by the end of the 2016/17 school year. We also committed to increasing access to learning for the 2.1 million children out of school in Syria itself.

    Implementation plans to deliver the Conference goals on education are currently being discussed with partner governments, UN agencies, NGOs and donors. New UK funding will be aligned with these plans, and will be implemented through partners who can deliver increases in access to quality education, quickly, efficiently and at scale. Implementing partners will be identified selected in accordance with normal DFID procedures.

  • Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luke Hall on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many patients in (a) Ashworth, (b) Broadmoor and (c) Rampton high security psychiatric hospitals received pension credit between 2012 and 2015; and what the average weekly payment of that credit was to such recipients.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the obligations for public bodies set out in the HM Treasury document, Managing Public Money, published in July 2013, will apply to the company given control of the operational functions of the Land Registry in the event that it is privatised under the (a) Government’s preferred model of privatisation with contract between the Government and a private operator and (b) alternative model of privatisation with independent economic regulation.

    Anna Soubry

    Managing Public Money principles only apply to public sector bodies, and therefore no privatised bodies will fall under its guidelines.

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to meet with Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Secretary of State has met with a number of his constituents who have raised this issue, and with Tim Loughton, who has been involved in the WASPI campaign. He has made clear that he will not be bringing forward further concessions or changes.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the accuracy of diagnosing chronic urinary tract infections.

    David Mowat

    Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by the presence and multiplication of microorganisms in the urinary tract.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publishes quality standards to define clinical best practice for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions.

    The NICE published the Urinary tract infections in adults quality standard in June 2015. The quality standard comprises of quality statements concerning the diagnosis, treatment and management of UTIs. Quality statement 1 and 2 offer specific guidance on ensuring more accurate diagnoses of UTIs in adults.

    The guidance is available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs90

    “

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in (a) Haiti, (b) Jamaica, (c) Cuba and (d) the Bahamas as a result of hurricane Matthew.

    Rory Stewart

    In Haiti, the Department is working with the United Nations, international partners and the Government of Haiti to assess the level of humanitarian need. The Government of Haiti and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimate 2.1 million people in Haiti have been affected by Hurricane Matthew. We are now beginning to see the full scale of the devastation wrought by the worst storm to hit this region in almost a decade.

    In Jamaica, no significant humanitarian need has been identified. In respect of Cuba, the Department is working closely with the International Federation of the Red Cross to ascertain their understanding of needs and potential response plans. We are also working with the British Red Cross to deepen our understanding of the humanitarian situation in the Bahamas.