Category: Speeches

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of North Koreans who work in Russia as labourers or who have entered Russia to escape North Korean human rights violations; and of the potential contravention of Russia’s international obligations and violation of human rights should North Koreans be repatriated from Russia to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We estimate that there are approximately 20,000 – 35,000 workers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the Russian Federation. We do not hold detailed information on the number of DPRK refugees currently in the Russian Federation.

January 1, 2023
Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will estimate the proportion of rebel ground forces in Syria which could be considered moderate.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) stated in Parliament in December 2015 that we assessed at that time that there were around 70,000 non-extremist fighters in Syria, standing up to both the tyranny of the Asad regime and the poisonous and murderous ideology of Daesh. Since the time of that assessment, there have been significant shifts on the ground, particularly as a result of Russia’s military escalation, the majority of which has directly targeted the moderate opposition.

January 1, 2023
Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the estimated value is of his Department’s shareholding in NATS Holdings.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The most recent valuation in the Department for Transport’s accounts is £425m.

January 1, 2023
Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from Sustainability and Transformation Plan leadership teams on the deadline for delivery of Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

George Freeman

Footprints were asked to make a submission by 15 April focusing on the critical decisions needed to drive sustainability and transformation. The next checkpoint will be on 30 June, when each footprint will submit the next draft of their plans. These will form the basis of a conversation with each of the 44 footprints. We are not aware of any representations on this deadline.

January 1, 2023

Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish a list of all secondees to his Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

David Mowat

In line with privacy and data protection legislation as well as standing Cabinet Office instructions, the exact numbers and details of individual roles cannot be published. This is to prevent the personal identification of individuals either directly or in combination with other published information.

There have been two appointments in total into Senior Civil Servant roles as follows, during the years in question as follows:

Name	Start date	Grade	End date	Seconding Organisation	Role
Robin Furnell	24/08/2015	SCS1	31/12/2016	Accenture	Contract Management Function Implementation Lead
Nicole Mather	22/04/2014	SCS2	22/10/2016	Deloitte (formally seconded to BEIS and part-time to DH)	Director – Office for Life Sciences

During the same period of time, at lower grades the following table summarises the disclosable information

Company	Numbers	Grades of role
PwC	5 or fewer	HEO and SEO
Deloitte	5 or fewer	Analyst and G7
Ernst and Young	5 or fewer	G7
KPMG	0	–
Accenture	0	–

The above information does not include secondees to the Department’s agencies or arms’ length bodies.

January 1, 2023

MiDavies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of a reduction in the number of healthcare professionals trained to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception on women’s access to contraception.

Nicola Blackwood

No such assessment has been made. Since 2013, local authorities have been mandated to commission open access contraceptive services, including intra-uterine methods that meet the needs of their local populations. Data published by NHS Digital on 19 October 2016 showed that the number of women fitted with intra-uterine methods in sexual and reproductive health services increased slightly from 2014/15 (121,900) to 2015/16 (123,500) and by 79% compared to 10 years ago.

January 1, 2023
Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women detained in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre went on hunger strike in 2015.

James Brokenshire

For the period 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2015 provisional management information shows that 84 women were recorded as refusing food or fluid at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre (IRC).

January 1, 2023
Mark Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Field on 2015-12-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average unit cost of caring for a victim of human trafficking in a government-funded shelter is; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley

The Government funds a range of support services through a contract with The Salvation Army. It is not possible to provide an average unit cost because the needs of potential victims of trafficking are varied, as is the length of stay in accommodation, where provided.

January 1, 2023
Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by what mechanism residents can challenge a local authority’s assessment of the adequacy of drainage systems for a new housing development where they believe it will contribute to additional flooding in an area which has recently flooded.

Brandon Lewis

There are strict tests in the National Planning Policy Framework to protect people and property from flooding, and we are very clear that where these tests are not met new development should not be allowed.

The Framework must be taken into account in the preparation of local plans, drawn up by local councils in consultation with local communities, which should steer inappropriate development away from areas at risk of flooding. Local Plans should be supported by Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and develop policies to manage flood risk from all sources, taking account of advice from the Environment Agency and other relevant flood risk management bodies. A Local Plan must be published for consultation before it can be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination. This provides a formal opportunity for the local community to consider the local plan which the local planning authority would like to adopt.

For planning applications, local planning authorities are also required to undertake a formal period of public consultation prior to making a decision. When determining planning applications in flood risk areas, the Framework is clear on the importance of demonstrating that the development will be safe, resilient and not increase flood risk elsewhere. The Framework also sets out when applications should be supported by a site-specific flood risk assessment. These assessments provide a source of information for local residents together with representations on proposed development from flood risk management bodies. Planning law requires that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions, as are the planning concerns of residents.

January 1, 2023
Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what options they are considering to ensure that the student numbers for podiatry are maintained after August 2017.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department will run a consultation on how the funding reforms for nursing, midwifery and allied health education can be most successfully implemented. We currently expect to consult during March 2016. As part of this, an economic impact assessment and equality impact assessment will be published.

Health Education England (HEE) will continue to have a key leading role in the commissioning of nursing, midwifery and allied health courses. It will continue to provide sufficient clinical placement funding for those places needed to meet the workforce planning needs of the National Health Service.

January 1, 2023