Category: Speeches

  • Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered seeking UN authority to establish safe holding areas outside the EU, to which refugees seeking to enter the EU could be transferred.

    Lord Bates

    The current migration crisis requires a global response. This may necessitate radical measures to address the unprecedented situation. We regularly engage with EU and multilateral partners, including the UN on a wide range of migration issues in order to find an effective and sustainable solution. Ideas about establishing safe centres outside the EU are at an early stage of development and we will consult appropriate organisations as discussions on these with EU and other partners progress.

  • James Cartlidge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    James Cartlidge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the representation on the boards of NHS England, Monitor and other relevant health bodies at local, regional and national levels of people with a background in the mental health services; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    Non-executive appointments to the boards of the Department’s arm’s length bodies, including NHS England and Monitor, are advertised widely and open to all in line with the requirements of the Commissioner for Public appointments. The application process is open to candidates with a background in mental health services.

    Applications are treated equally and appointments are made on merit. There are board members of arm’s length bodies appointed through this process that have a mental health services background.

    Non-executive appointments to National Health Service trusts are made by the NHS Trust Development Authority and are also regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

    Candidates are appointed on merit where they can add the best value to the needs of the individual board, ensuring that the board contains a balance of experience and skills in different areas, which can include mental health services.

    Executive board appointments are made by the organisations themselves.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with businesses on increasing the gender balance on corporate boards.

    Caroline Dinenage

    I have met with many business representatives since taking on the role of Minister for Women and Equalities and always ensure I use these opportunities to raise the issue of achieving a better gender balance on boards. More recently (October 2015) I spoke at the launch of Lord Davies’s final report where I was able to engage with a broad range of stakeholders who all have a key role to play in this agenda including Executive Search Firms, Chairs and Investors.

    Lord Davies’s collaborative approach, which engaged all parties, was crucial in achieving the unprecedented number of women on boards we now have in the FTSE 350. The Government looks forward to continuing this approach with the new review on the executive pipeline.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to strengthen planning regulations in respect of air quality considerations when a planning application falls within an Air Quality Action Plan.

    James Wharton

    There are already strong protections in place to safeguard people from unacceptable risks from air pollution with particular recognition given to Air Quality Management Areas in national planning policy. The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning policies to sustain compliance with and contribute to EU limit values or national objectives for pollutants, taking account the presence of Air Quality Management Areas. The Framework is also clear that planning decisions should ensure that any new development in Air Quality Management Areas is consistent with the local air quality action plan.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25652, what media outlets will be used to carry advertising as part of the national campaign for apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    The national campaign for apprenticeships will target a range of audiences including young people, employers and parents.

    Advertising will be through a number of different media channels including television, out of home advertising (e.g. posters), radio, digital and social media.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to assist the Nigerian government to support access for internally displaced children in that country to (a) education and (b) healthcare.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    In education, DFID is supporting the Government of Nigeria’s Safe Schools Initiative, which aims to restore safe access to learning for children affected by conflict. The Initiative has supported over 90,000 displaced children to return to school, providing learning materials and training teachers on psychosocial support. In health, DFID is supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross, who have helped restore basic health care services for 225,000 people affected by conflict, and provided 150,000 immunisations for children.

    All of our programmes, including those that assist internally displaced children, work with government authorities and other donors to influence national plans and strategies, and to strengthen education and health systems.

  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there is still a development case for bilateral aid for India and Turkey; and whether they have plans to end bilateral aid to those, and similar, countries.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK does not have a bilateral aid programme in Turkey. We help Turkey address the consequences of the Syria crisis and migration challenges as the country hosts the highest number of refugees in the world, by providing support to refugees in Turkey, jointly with international partners.

    The UK’s bilateral aid programme in India has changed with India’s development. A middle-income country and major trading partner, India is still home to one third of the world’s poorest people. The UK ceased its traditional aid programme to India in 2015, and our support now focuses on promoting inclusive economic development, both reducing poverty and strengthening UK trade and investment opportunities.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many civil servants in her Department are paid through limited companies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    All Civil Servants employed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change are paid through the departmental payroll system and none are paid through limited companies.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the estimated cost to the public purse is of implementing online voter registration in Northern Ireland.

    Kris Hopkins

    The cost of extending the digital registration service to Northern Ireland is being met by the Cabinet Office as part of the wider project to implement digital registration throughout the UK.

    This work is ongoing and the current estimate of costs is approximately £250,000.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether additional resources allocated for mental health services are ring-fenced in order to prevent any of those resources being used for alternative services in order to offset any NHS spending constraints.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England is responsible for allocating funding resources for health services including mental health. The Government has committed to an additional £1 billion by 2020/21 to support the implementation of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. This is in addition to the £1.4 billion over five years to improve children and young people’s mental health announced in 2014/15. We are holding NHS England to account through the NHS Mandate to ensure this investment delivers improvements in mental health.

    We will continue to work with NHS England and other arm’s length bodies to monitor and track progress against the mental health commitments of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and Future in Mind.