Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people with learning disabilities who remained in long-stay hospitals for over 12 months in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is only available from 2013. The following table shows the number of patients with learning disabilities by length of stay with their current healthcare provider on 30 September 2013, 2014 and 2015.

    Date

    30 September 2013

    30 September 2014

    30 September 2015

    Length of stay over one year

    1,949

    1,920

    1,810

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has allocated for projects to prevent flooding in Burnley and Padiham.

    Rory Stewart

    Following the December 2015 flooding, the Environment Agency is developing a revised assessment of flood risk in Padiham, which may identify further measures to reduce flood risk in the area.

    The Environment Agency has also allocated £10,000 to the Burnley Ordinary Watercourse Study in 2018/19. The study aims at better understanding the flood risk from ordinary watercourses and will inform any potential future investment needs.

    The Fulledge Flood Risk Management Scheme was funded through £345,000 Flood Defence Grant in Aid and was completed in March 2013. The scheme reduces the flood risk to 781 properties in Burnley and helped to significantly reduce flooding in Burnley during storm Eva.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to whom instances of female genital mutilation should be reported, and whether there is a mechanism for doing so anonymously.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We are clear that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. On 1 April we published updated multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM including information to help professionals understand the risk factors that they should be looking out for and what action they should take. In addition, free e-learning is available to all professionals, providing training on how to recognise and respond to FGM. To date the course has been completed by over 30,000 people. In addition, the Department of Health’s £3M FGM Prevention Programme is focused on improving the NHS response and includes free e-learning for healthcare professionals. A new mandatory reporting duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police came into force on 31 October 2015. Professionals encountering instances of FGM in women over 18, or who believe that a girl or woman is at risk, should follow established safeguarding procedures. Anyone who is concerned that a girl or woman has undergone FGM or is at risk can contact the NSPCC FGM helpline. Reports to this helpline can be made anonymously. The Home Office’s Border Force plays a vital role in helping to identify and protect potential victims of FGM travelling to and from the UK. Border Force work with the police in protecting girls and young women at risk of FGM, including carrying out joint operations. FGM Protection Orders (FGMPOs) were fast-tracked for implementation last July and are being used to protect girls at risk of FGM, including those who may be taken abroad. Ministry of Justice data released on 31 March shows 32 FGMPOs were issued between July and December 2015.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 June (HL351), what consideration they are giving to (1) the issuing of guidance on the establishment of children’s social care trusts so that lessons can be learned from earlier experiences of doing so; and (2) the regulatory implications for such bodies if more local authorities establish them given the regulatory arrangements in place for the outsourcing of adult social care.

    Lord Nash

    The evaluations of Doncaster and Slough Children’s Services Trusts are underway and will provide learning from the experiences of establishing those organisations. There are no new regulatory implications for trusts. Where a trust is created to carry out children’s social care services on behalf of an authority, the statutory responsibility for those services remains with that authority. Ofsted will continue to inspect children’s social care services whether they are delivered by a local authority or by a trust.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to engage in increased consultation with civil society and UK-based and international human rights NGOs around the UK–China Human Rights Dialogue, including increasing transparency and accountability.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Ministers and officials meet civil society representatives on a regular basis to hear their views and benefit from their expertise on the human rights situation in China. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) met Chinese NGOs during his recent visit to China. He plans to host a round table with UK-based NGOs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the near future.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of smart meters which rely on 2G technology.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government has not made an estimate of the number of smart meters that operate using 2G technology. Energy suppliers are incentivised to make sure they have procured communications to allow them to carry on operating smart meters for the whole of their life.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the level of recorded crime in a police force’s area affects the amount of funding allocated under the proposed new formula for funding of police forces.

    Lord Bates

    The proposed police funding model is based on a set of objective indicators that correlate strongly with long term patterns of crime.

    As we set out in our consultation on a proposed new funding model, we believe it is not appropriate to directly base force level allocations on crime statistics as these are directly influenced by police activity.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded waiting time was between a detainee at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre sounding the emergency alarm in their room and an officer arriving to assist them in each of the last three years.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested on waiting times is not collected centrally by either the Home Office or Serco so this information cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will publish an updated Tobacco Control Plan for England.

    Jane Ellison

    This Government is committed to reducing the prevalence of smoking in England to further improve and protect the health of the nation. In line with this commitment Government plan to publish a new tobacco control strategy for England next year.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether universal credit applicants who are housing association tenants are informed upon application of the need for a letter from their landlord in order to receive housing cost assistance; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    When someone makes a claim to Universal Credit they are advised of the verification needed to receive the Housing Element of Universal Credit. This is re-iterated when the claimant is contacted to book their initial interview at the Jobcentre.