Category: Speeches

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out her plans for the future of Cumbria Police; and whether that police force’s (a) budget and (b) number of police officers will be reduced in the current financial year.

    Brandon Lewis

    Decisions about the policing priorities in Cumbria are a matter for the locally elected and accountable Police and Crime Commissioner. In Cumbria, police recorded crime fell by 5% between June 2010 and March 2016.

    In 2016/17, direct resource funding to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including precept (the element of police funding derived from council tax), has been protected to at least flat cash levels. This means that no PCC who chose to maximise precept is facing a reduction in cash funding in 2016/17 compared to 2015/16 and the majority are seeing marginal cash increases in their spending power.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of how much additional surgical and diagnostic capacity independent sector healthcare organisations are able to make available to NHS patients over the remainder of 2016-17; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No assessment has been made. Decisions about whether to use independent sector capacity are generally made at local level. Use of the independent sector will depend on a range of factors including the needs of individual local health systems, patient choice and availability of suitable independent sector capacity.

  • Lord Dobbs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Dobbs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dobbs on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees how many people are employed in, and what is the annual running cost of, the House of Lords Press Office.

    Lord Laming

    The House of Lords Press and Media Team has a staff of 3 Full Time Equivalents, and its estimated total running costs are £195,000 a year (based on this financial year’s forecast outturn), including salaries, pensions, employer National Insurance contributions and running costs. The Press and Media Team provides a 24/7 service, including dealing with urgent media issues overnight and at weekends.

    The Press and Media Team promotes the Lords’ role, work and membership through the media. This includes promoting Select Committees’ work, supporting the outreach work of the Lord Speaker, responding to media stories on corporate issues and challenging inaccuracies in reporting both before and after publication, dealing with press enquiries and developing relationships with the press. The team also advises the House of Lords administration and domestic committees on media handling as well as contributing to wider Parliamentary communications work.

    The Press and Media Team is part of the House of Lords Information Office which seeks to increase understanding of the role, work, membership and structure of the House of Lords, by means of outreach work, a public enquiry service, a team developing the Lords’ digital presence, and publications such as the Work of the House of Lords, as well as the Press and Media Team.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the debate on the North Sea on 30 November (HL Deb, cols 1002–1024), whether they will provide definitions of the different types of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the UK’s coastal waters, the locations of those MPAs, of each type; and where new MPAs are to be introduced, to which type those belong.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Marine Protected Area (MPA) network is made up of different types of designations, made under national law, EU directives and international agreements. As designation of MPAs is a devolved matter, Defra is responsible for designations in Secretary of State waters only, which are, English inshore and offshore waters, Northern Irish offshore waters, and Welsh Offshore waters, with responsibility for conservation in the latter proposed to be devolved to the Welsh Government in the Wales Bill. In these waters, the MPA network is made up the following types of sites.

    • Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), which are designated under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. They protect marine habitats and species that are either typical of the life in our seas, or are rare or vulnerable.
    • Two types of MPA can be designated under European legislation: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), which protect habitats listed in Annex I and species listed in Annex II of the Habitats directive (92/43/EEC); and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), which protect birds listed in Annex I of the Wild Birds directive (2009/147/EC) and migratory species.
    • Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which are designated under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These sites can be designated for either biological or geological interest.
    • Ramsar sites, which are wetlands of international importance, designated under the Ramsar Convention. This includes marine areas with a water depth at low tide of less than six metres. Ramsar sites are generally also underpinned by designation as SSSIs.

    Together, these sites contribute to the Blue Belt, a network of sites around the coasts of the UK, which forms our contribution to an ecologically coherent network of MPAs in the North East Atlantic.

    We have already made good progress in designating a network of sites in the Blue Belt. Over 16% of UK waters and almost a quarter of English inshore waters are now within MPAs.

    Based on current evidence the SAC network contribution for habitats can be considered complete. UK governments are considering advice on SACs for harbour porpoise, although no decision with regard to consultation has yet been taken.

    Defra and the devolved administrations in the UK plan to complete the identification of SPAs for birds in the UK marine area during 2016.

    Defra is seeking to fill the remaining gaps in the Blue Belt through two more tranches of MCZs. Details of this will be announced shortly. A map showing the existing network of MPAs in the waters for which the Secretary of State is responsible is attached.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding his Department has given to the Hospitality Guild for creating centres of excellence in Asian cookery.

    Nick Boles

    The ‘Centres of Excellence in Asian Cookery’ pilots were organised by People 1st, which was operating on behalf of the Hospitality Guild, which received funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) through their grant with BIS. People 1st reported that during the period of the pilot (October 2011 to September 2013), 79 people started training at the Centres of Excellence for Asian and Oriental cuisine, out of which 46 completed the pre-employment course, 22 completed work experience and 7 moved onto an apprenticeship.

    £205,961 was provided to fund the Asian Cookery campaign. In total, UKCES allocated £1,745,785 to create the Hospitality Guild and to promote skills training, apprenticeships and innovation in the hospitality industry through a range of measures. These included apprenticeships as chefs, baristas, bar staff and hotel management, training provider accreditation, work placements and launching the Hospitality Guild Portal where careers tools, an employer guide and a vacancy matching service can be accessed.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many police officers have been convicted of an assault committed while on duty in each year since 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • 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 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23396, for what reasons the Sexual Health Forum was discontinued; and what Public Health England’s future plans are for stakeholder engagement with sexual health organisations.

    Jane Ellison

    The Sexual Health and HIV Forum played a useful role in aiding the transition to new commissioning arrangements and locally based decision making. These changes have taken place, the Forum was not considered to be the best use of resources either for Departmental or stakeholder organisations. Departmental officials continue to meet regularly with a range of stakeholders on a more focussed range of issues. Public Health England is still considering plans for future stakeholder engagement.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been purchased in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands and (c) Ashfield constituency through the Help to Buy Scheme in each year since that scheme was introduced.

    Brandon Lewis

    Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan, Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee and Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes, the total number of homes sold under all schemes total 138,997 in England, of which 15,684 are in the East Midlands.

    Figures for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee show 494 homes sold in the Ashfield constituency. Figures for the total number of homes sold under the Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes are not published at this level.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress the Joint Work and Health Unit has made on its priority of (a) productivity and growth in the economy, (b) halving the disability employment gap and (c) reducing health inequalities relating to gender, age and geographies; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    The Work and Health Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with disabilities and long term health conditions, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.

    Since Q1 2014 the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 365,000 people, with a total of 3.3million disabled people now in work as of Q1 2016.

    The Unit will build on this progress by improving integration across healthcare and employment services as well as supporting employers to recruit and retain more disabled people and people with long term health conditions. We have set up work-streams focused on delivery workforce, fitness for work, culture change and stakeholder engagement, employers and building the evidence base through developing a ‘test and learn’ approach.

    We have been seeking and listening to the views of people that use current health, care and employment services, engaging with charities and other stakeholders, to understand what works and what needs to change and will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.

    The Work and Health Unit is leading the process for preparing a green paper which will be published later this year that will begin the consultation about how to improve support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions.

  • Alex Salmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alex Salmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Salmond on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle food insecurity in Southern Africa.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Southern Africa’s unprecedented El Nino-related drought has triggered a second year of hunger and hardship. More than 31 million people are estimated to be food-insecure across the region. DFID was one of the first donors to respond to the crisis and has already increased the levels of our humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zambia. We have also allocated additional funding to support the regional response. As well as responding to the immediate humanitarian needs, we will have increased our efforts to ensure our programme portfolios continue to build resilience and preparedness.

    DFID is using its influence within the international community to encourage the scaling up of support and to strengthen coordination regionally and at country level. We are also using our influence with partner governments to advocate for the logistical measures to improve the transport of supplies into and within the region.