Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the future viability of the Thames Barrier will be considered as part of the National Flood Resilience Review.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The viability of the Thames Barrier has been extensively reviewed, and conclusions were published in 2012. This Review will focus on updating our climate modelling and stress-testing the nation’s resilience to flood risk.

    We will make appropriate decisions on next steps using any new evidence that comes out of that work.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department is making on helping implement the European School Milk Scheme.

    George Eustice

    If the European Parliament formally endorses the proposal for a revised School Milk Scheme in Plenary on 8 March 2016, it is likely to enter into force in spring 2016 and apply in schools from August 2017. We will use this period to consider the new requirements and consult with interested parties. Decisions about the scheme can be made at regional or national level.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31709, how many incidents of face-down restraints there have been in mental health services in (a) January and (b) February 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    No information is currently available regarding the number of incidents of face down restraint for the months requested. The first publication by the Health and Social Care Information Centre of January 2016 information is due during April 2016. Data will only be published when the Health and Social Care Information Centre is confident that the dataset is accurate and complete.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    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 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rate of uptake by the NHS of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent clostridium difficile.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance on faecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. NICE has recommended that the procedure is safe and effective for use in the National Health Service, but no assessment of its cost effectiveness has been made by NICE.

    Data on the uptake of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile by the NHS is not collected centrally.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, following the review of homelessness legislation undertaken by the charity Crisis entitled The homelessness legislation: An independent review of the legal duties owed to homeless people, published on 25 April 2016, whether he plans to undertake a review of such legislation.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I welcome the recent report from the Crisis Expert Panel into the legal duties owed to homeless people. It provides a valuable insight into how aspects of the current legislation in England can learn from the model adopted in Wales.

    We are considering all options, including legislation, and will continue to talk to local authorities, homelessness organisations and other government departments.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the combined total financial penalty was for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage imposed on the 197 employers who were named and shamed by his Department for such non-compliance on 11 August 2016.

    Margot James

    The Government is committed to cracking down on employers who break National Minimum Wage law. In addition to the repayment of arrears to workers, named employers are subject to financial penalties.

    The total financial penalties for employers named for non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage on 11 August 2016 was £254,953.04.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value was of his Department’s naval maintenance contracts by shipyards in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in the last 10 years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government had with the Chinese government during the state visit to London in October 2015 on reducing restrictions on the Christian minority in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Religious freedom was not raised during the recent State Visit. However, the Prime Minister my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) was very clear during his wide-ranging discussions with President Xi Jinping of the importance that the UK attaches to human rights as part of our wider relationship with China.

    We believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. I therefore remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs.

    We raise the range of our human rights concerns directly with China. We do so during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, most recently in April 2015. We also highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk). We will continue to pursue our concerns both privately and in public fora.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s planned savings in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what plans he has to reduce the number of civilian staff in his Department.

    Mark Lancaster

    The civilian staff reductions announced as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review will be managed in a number of different ways. In the short term, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to make further savings and adjustments in this current financial year as part of the Government’s commitment to reducing the deficit. This is still on-going and may mean restrictions on recruitment.

    Over the longer term, a number of change programmes already under way across the Department are reducing our civilian workforce. These programmes will continue, and individuals are already aware if they are affected. We will also drive forward programmes to consider better ways of delivering services, and explore opportunities to deliver outputs in more efficient or innovative ways.

    We are confident these programmes will deliver the required reductions to meet the efficiency and reform savings announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on Israeli products in each of the last three years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    This information is not held centrally in the format requested. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made the total value of payments below against contracts where the MOD Commercial teams have identified Israel as the location of some or all of the work required for the completion of the overall contract.

    Financial Year

    Total Value of Payments (£ million)

    2012-13

    18.9

    2013-14

    25.5

    2014-15

    15.8

    These figures may not include all subcontracted components of Israeli manufacture and may include subcontracted components manufactured in countries other than Israel. The analysis is based on Location of Work codes and does not relate to the billing address of companies nor is it based on ownership of the companies involved in the production of the product.