Category: Speeches

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the level of co-operation between local authorities, the emergency services and Highways England in connection with the incident on the M6 Motorway between junctions 5 and 6 on Thursday 4 February 2016.

    Andrew Jones

    The structured debrief for this incident was carried out by Highways England on 10 February and included a representative from Central Motorway Police Group.

    Three recommendations relating to multi-agency coordination resulted from this meeting and Highways England will continue to work closely with these agencies to take away the lessons learned.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when repairs to the main generating capability of the six Daring Class destroyers will be completed.

    Earl Howe

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 8 February 2016 to Question number HL5630 to Lord Campbell of Pittenweem.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of trends in diabetes incidence on changes in medical provision for people with diabetes.

    Jane Ellison

    Both the prevalence and incidence of Type 2 diabetes has been rising, driven by increasing obesity and an ageing population. The numbers of people diagnosed with the condition are projected to grow from 2.9 million in 2014/15 to 4.6 million by 2030. In addition, a further 5 million people are estimated to be at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

    The Government is therefore committed to introducing a national Type 2 diabetes prevention programme and improving the management and care of people with diabetes within the lifetime of this parliament. These commitments are reflected in Government’s 2016/17 mandate to NHS England. This is in the context of our wider public health programme to prevent disease and promote good health which includes a strong focus on tackling obesity, one of the most common, modifiable risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes. For example, the announcement for a soft drinks industry levy by the Chancellor in the budget is the first step in this Government’s comprehensive childhood obesity strategy, which we will be launching in the summer.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the level of student debt among nurses.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government is currently consulting on its proposed scheme for student finance. As part of that consultation a number of questions are asked about student support. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

    It is for the respective Governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to consider such issues for their health system.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency and (b) Liverpool City Region do not have access to high speed broadband.

    Karen Bradley

    There is a substantial commitment by national government for superfast broadband rollout and £5.46 million of central government funding has been allocated to the Merseyside Connected project. This has led to 39,216 additional homes and businesses now being able to access superfast broadband as a result of the local project, with the aim to have 42,204 additional premises by the end of the project. This will bring superfast coverage in Merseyside to 99% of premises.

    The Department does not hold data specifically for businesses. The table below shows estimates of the number of premises (both residential and business) without access to superfast broadband in all of the Merseyside and Liverpool City Region constituencies.

    Constituency

    Number of Premises

    Premises Without Access To Superfast Broadband

    Birkenhead

    44,111

    458

    Bootle

    47,396

    304

    Garston and Halewood

    45,355

    836

    Halton

    44,739

    1,098

    Knowsley

    48,681

    596

    Liverpool, Riverside

    54,717

    9,022

    Liverpool, Walton

    43,483

    157

    Liverpool, Wavertree

    41,345

    215

    Liverpool, West Derby

    40,579

    0

    Sefton Central

    37,979

    792

    Southport

    43,576

    1,209

    St Helens North

    45,188

    1503

    St Helens South and Whiston

    49,194

    2,410

    Wallasey

    42,239

    562

    Wirral South

    33,425

    760

    Wirral West

    32,212

    816
  • Alistair Burt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alistair Burt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that 16 to 18 year-olds take up apprenticeships.

    Robert Halfon

    Apprenticeships are paid jobs that give young people the chance to reach their potential; acquire transferable skills much valued in the labour market and the apprentice does not have to contribute to the costs of their learning.

    We are encouraging a wide range of people into apprenticeships – our ‘Get In Go Far’ campaign is aimed at 14-24 year-olds, their parents, teachers and employers. This major four-year campaign aims to influence public perceptions, awareness and attitudes towards apprenticeships as a route into a successful career, encouraging more young people to apply and more employers to offer apprenticeship opportunities.

    From May 2017, we have proposed giving employers and providers a cash payment each of £1,000 when they train a 16-18 year old, and we will fund 100 per cent of apprenticeship training costs for small employers with fewer than 50 staff when they employ 16-18 year old apprentices.

    The National Careers Service provides independent, professional advice on careers, skills and the labour market, including on the benefits of apprenticeships and how to apply for vacancies.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has published for the aviation industry on the definition of liquid.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport has published guidance for passengers and industry on the GOV.UK website on the use of plastic bags to carry liquids through UK airport security. This includes advice on the nature of the plastic bag required. Many UK airports also provide guidance on their websites.

    The Civil Aviation Authority provides advice and guidance for airports on the definition of a liquid. The main regulation covering liquids, aerosols and gels, EU Regulation 185/2010 also sets out the rules and requirements.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance is being offered to social work teams to equip them with the necessary resources to provide high quality and affordable residential care both (1) nationally, and (2) in North Lincolnshire.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government is committed to improving the quality of adult social care and has taken a number of steps to improve it in all localities.

    The Department is working with its delivery partner Skills for Care to improve training and development for the workforce. In April 2015, we introduced a Certificate of Fundamental Care, now known as the Care Certificate. This will help ensure that care workers can deliver a consistently high quality standard of care.

    The Department is funding and working with a number of organisations, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Skills for Care, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government Association on a range of projects to help adult social care organisations and staff improve the quality of care. These resources include new NICE Quality Standards and Guidelines, which bring clarity to what excellence looks like in care.

    Ultimately it is a local decision as to how to allocate resources for social care, as such the Department cannot comment specifically on North Lincolnshire.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what amount of additional funding her Department has allocated to Ofsted to carry out local area inspections of provisions for children with special educational needs and disability; and if so, what amount has been allocated for each of the next three years.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities have made good progress complying with the statutory special educational needs duties in the Children and Families Act 2014 since they came into force in September 2014. We continue to monitor progress.

    All local authorities have published a Local Offer of the services and support available to children and young people in their area with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Responsibility for publishing and maintaining Local Offers lies with each local authority. The Department supports local authorities to help make sure they meet all statutory requirements for their Local Offer, and that the quality of services continues to improve.

    In summer 2014, the Department conducted a review of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and plan templates from half of local authorities. The majority of the EHC plan templates we reviewed were judged likely to meet the requirements in the SEND Code of Practice. Where changes were needed, this was often due to inaccurate labelling of the required sections. Feedback was provided to individual local authorities alongside information to all local authorities about the key areas for focus. Since September 2014, EHC plans have been continually monitored. Where individual EHC plans are considered not to be fully compliant, advice on improvement is provided to the local authority.

    Figures returned by local authorities and published in the Statements of SEN and EHC plans Statistical First Release[1] in May 2015 show that, of the 1,360 new EHC plans issued between 1 September 2014 and 15 January 2015, 64.3% were within the statutory 20 week time limit when excluding exception cases.

    The Department for Education is providing specific additional funding to Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to support their inspection of the effectiveness of local areas in fulfilling their new SEND duties. We are in the process of setting individual budgets as part of our internal business planning process.

    Ofsted and CQC conducted pilots as part of their wider consultation on their inspection proposals. These pilots explored different approaches to securing evidence in what is a complex area, involving a range of education, social care, and health providers at the local level. Ofsted and CQC will publish their response to the consultation on these new inspection arrangements in spring 2016. In addition, they will evaluate the impact of inspections, which will begin later in 2016.

    The Department draws on a wide range of evidence to determine whether the SEND provisions of the Children and Families Act have improved outcomes for children. Our intention is that a combination of local accountability measures; data and analysis; and independent inspection will show how the SEND system is performing and whether outcomes are improving for children and young people.

    The SEND inspections will evaluate local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people. We will draw on a wide range of statistics[2], including information on educational attainment, absence and exclusions and research into families and young people’s experience of the new system.

    A summary of the available data on SEN and disability is available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472575/Special_educational_needs-_an_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources.pdf

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2015

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen

    “

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of new claims for universal credit were paid within 42 days of a claim being made in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

    Priti Patel

    The information you have requested is currently not available.

    The department does not hold information on time taken to make a payment for jobseeker’s allowance, or employment and support allowance.

    Additional breakdowns will be included in the Universal Credit official statistics as quality assurance of data from the Universal Credit systems progresses during 2016.