Category: Speeches

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 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients were treated for hepatitis C and what were the actual or estimated costs of such treatment in each of the years 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Comprehensive data on all hepatitis C treatment in the United Kingdom is presented in the Public Health England annual report on Hepatitis C in the UK. The latest version published in July 2016 is called Hepatitis C in the UK 2016 report: Working towards its elimination as a major public health threat, and reported that treatment rates increased by around 40% in the calendar year 2015, up to 8,970 from an average of 6,400 in previous years. A copy of the report is attached. The report also presented preliminary figures to show that deaths in the UK from hepatitis C-related end stage liver disease and liver cancer fell for the first time in 2015, suggesting that access to new oral treatment via the early access schemes for patients with decompensated cirrhosis and cirrhosis may be having a positive impact.

In April 2014, NHS England announced an interim commissioning policy to make these new highly effective oral treatments available to patients with liver failure. In June 2014, NHS England implemented a second Interim Commissioning Policy, extending access to patients with cirrhosis.

Hepatitis C drugs are subject to commercially confidential discounts and rebate agreements. Releasing estimated or actual spend data includes the impact of these confidential prices which if released would inhibit the ability of companies to do business with the Department in the future. The Department has a duty to ensure that they adhere to the terms of confidentiality agreements when considering the release of information under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme or other Commercial Medicines Unit drug framework agreements.

January 1, 2023
Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government had with the Angolan government on the case of Luaty Beirão while he was on hunger strike in prison.

James Duddridge

The UK continues to follow the case of Luaty Beirão and 14 other activists under arrest in Angola with concern. On 17 October, a British Embassy representative along with representatives from other EU Member State missions and the EU Delegation in Angola visited Mr Beirão at the Clinica Girassol. We and EU partners are calling for due legal process and will continue to raise cases of concern with the Angolan authorities.

January 1, 2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions the Financial Conduct Authority and the Financial Services Authority used powers under Section 382 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to compel a registered firm to compensative investors for losses incurred as a result of that firm’s breaches of its statutory obligations; and whether he is satisfied that the legislation is being implemented effectively.

Harriett Baldwin

This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

January 1, 2023
Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.1 of the briefing by the National Audit Office entitled Delivering major projects in government, published on 6 January 2016, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of its monitoring the benefits of (a) ongoing and (b) complete infrastructure projects.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport (DfT) accounts for a whole life value of £92bn within the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

The DfT follows the Cabinet Office transparency policy by publishing the Department’s data in line with requirements, including the annual publication of GMPP data, SRO appointment letters and individual project cases.

The Department continually assures project delivery in relation to costs, timings and benefits through clear governance and project and programme management (PPM) requirements, which must be satisfied throughout the life cycle of a project. This includes investment board endorsement at key project planning and delivery stages, and independent assurance within the Department. Further external assurance is provided for example by the Infrastructure and Project Authority (IPA). The department uses a widely understood and highly regarded economic tool, known as WebTAG, for calculating costs.

In addition to individual project assurance, the Department works with the IPA on both GMPP and its own portfolio reporting requirements. The Department has been actively involved in work to improve the collection, collation and analysis of key areas of project delivery, including costs and benefits, in line with the recent IPA review and refresh of GMPP data collection.

As part of the Department’s internal governance, regular portfolio reporting on the aggregated performance and health of major projects is presented to the Department’s investment board. The Department has recently assessed the maturity of its portfolio reporting and has an action plan to further develop its capability in key areas.

The Department reports infrastructure projects that are £50m or more on the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) which details public and private infrastructure investment which is either forecast, being delivered, or completed. It is published on the Treasury’s website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-pipeline-july-2015).

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January 1, 2023
Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultations her Department has undertaken in developing the proposed annual asylum strategy; and whether her Department plans to undertake any consultation on that strategy after it is published.

James Brokenshire

The asylum strategy will outline how we will focus our efforts on the most vulnerable refugees, and how we will take a tougher approach to those whose asylum claim is unfounded or could reasonably have been made in another country. This will include looking again at the end-to-end asylum process from upstream to in-country.

We will publish the strategy annually, as set out in the Home Secretary’s party conference speech. There are no plans to run a formal consultation but officials are engaging with a range of partners in preparing the strategy.

January 1, 2023
Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average number of households using smart (a) electric and (b) gas meters was in (i) St Helens North constituency, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the UK in 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department collects quarterly aggregated data from large energy suppliers on the number of smart meter installations, but does not collect data on the number of households with smart meters.

Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-3-2015.

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January 1, 2023
Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to ensure that no bank accounts of military personnel are closed as a result of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive while they are on active service; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

There is no reason why the bank accounts of any military personnel would be closed as a result of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, whether or not they were on active service, unless financial institutions suspected individuals of fraudulent activity.

January 1, 2023
Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of recent trends in life expectancy.

Jane Ellison

We welcome the overall trend to longer life expectancy. Annual fluctuations in life expectancy do occur, but the overall trend remains positive. We are committed to helping people live longer, healthier lives. Tackling health inequalities amongst people of ages is embedded in policy right across the Department.

January 1, 2023
Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on benefits eligibility of the conclusion in the University of Hull report, entitled Mapping hunger, published in April 2016, that food bank use is highest in areas with people in skilled manual work or where more people are unable to work due to long-term sickness or disability.

Justin Tomlinson

This government is determined to move to a higher wage society, introducing the new National Living Wage that will benefit over 1 million workers directly this year, and spending £80 billion on working age benefits to ensure a strong safety net for those who need it most. We are also committed to supporting people with disabilities and currently spend a record £50 billion a year doing so.

There are no plans to amend our reforms that are ensuring that work always pays and are restoring fairness for hardworking taxpayers. As the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger noted, the reasons why people use food banks can be complex and are frequently overlapping. Their use cannot be attributed to a single cause.

Our welfare system provides a strong safety net to those who need extra support.

January 1, 2023

Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Attorney General, how many offenders have had their sentence increased under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright

The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.

The number of offenders who have had their sentence increased under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Offenders who have had their sentence increased by the Court of Appeal	95	62	61	106	102

Some cases attract multiple referrals from various sources and we do not record how many referrals each case has received. The total number of cases where requests were received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total number of referrals received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed under the scheme	377	435	498	674	713

The number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that were (a) increased and (b) kept the same in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal	117	82	70	122	136
Total number of sentences that were increased	95	62	61	106	102
Total number of sentences that remained unchanged	22	20	9	16	34

The number of referrals under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that have been rejected due to falling outside the remit of the scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Number of referrals that have been rejected due to the offence falling outside the remit of the scheme	62	75	131	194	228
Number of referrals received out of time	3	12	9	10	16

January 1, 2023