Category: Speeches

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Open Banking Standard report published in February 2016, how the Government plans to ensure that customers provide informed consent when using open banking services.

    Simon Kirby

    The Open Banking Working Group was created at the request of the government to explore options for allowing customers to use their bank data in a safe, secure and efficient manner. The Group published its report in February 2016. The conclusions reached represent the views of the Working Group and are not government policy.

    Subsequently, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued the final report of its investigation into retail banking on 9 August 2016. As part of this, the CMA requires nine leading UK banks to create an open API (Application Programming Interface) to allow access to customer account information as set out in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSDII), which will come into force in January 2018. Informed consent, data protection and cyber security are key considerations in the PSDII, and the government will be consulting on the transposition of this directive shortly.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2016 to Question 46555, what estimate he has made of the number of care home closures in each of the last three years; and what assessment he has made of the effect of those closures on hospital services.

    David Mowat

    The Department continues to monitor the market of care providers.

    There has been no significant change in capacity in care homes in the last three years. The total number of beds for older people and those with dementia in England has remained stable at around 410,000.

    Figures from Christie & Co show a differential between fee rises for self-funders & those paid by local authorities, but we are not aware of this driving changes in provision.

    The Department continues to monitor the whole of the market of care providers and engage with the sector to better understand the challenges they face and support local authorities who purchase services.

    The Department recognises that social care has a key role to play in reducing delayed transfers of care from hospital.

    The National Health Service takes Delayed Transfer of Care seriously. As well as funding the NHS’ own plan for the future with £10 billion, we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion extra a year for adult social care.

    The Department works closely with the NHS, local government and the independent care sector to help improve transfers out of hospital, share good practice and minimise delays.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask NHS England to undertake a further review of clinical commissioning groups’ spending on mental health in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    Information will be provided in respect of spend during the financial year 2015/16 when it becomes available after that period.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient lift capacity to airlift the two new strike brigades to theatres of operation.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As part of the SDSR and our plans for Joint Force 2025 we are investing more than £178 billion in buying and maintaining equipment over the next decade. This includes the modernisation and investment in our air transport fleet which will include the C17, A400M, Voyager and C130J platforms. We are still developing our plans for how the Army’s new strike brigades will be deployed, but part of the extra capability we expect them to offer is the ability to deploy at pace by air, sea or to self-deploy over land.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18729 and the oral contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury of 6 January 2016, Official Report, columns 274-5, whether he has discussed the introduction of the new Work and Health Programme in Scotland with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

    David Mundell

    Further to my answer of 10 December 2015, UK and Scottish Government officials are discussing the introduction of the new Work and Health Programme and broader welfare reforms, including the implications for Scotland in the context of the devolution of welfare powers in the Scotland Bill. In due course, I would expect these issues to be discussed by the Joint Ministerial Welfare Group, which I co-chair with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners’ Rights and is attended by DWP and HM Treasury Ministers.

  • Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans that the Government’s proposed annual asylum strategy will include third-country asylum application processing arrangements for people who have attempted to claim asylum in the UK at port or in-country.

    James Brokenshire

    The asylum strategy will outline how we will focus our efforts on the most vulnerable refugees, and how we will take a tougher approach to those whose asylum claim is unfounded or could reasonably have been made in another country. This will include looking again at the end-to-end asylum process from upstream to in-country.

    We will publish the strategy annually, as set out in the Home Secretary’s party conference speech. There are no plans to run a formal consultation but officials are engaging with a range of partners in preparing the strategy.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average number of households using smart (a) electric and (b) gas meters was in (i) St Helens North constituency, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) the UK in 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department collects quarterly aggregated data from large energy suppliers on the number of smart meter installations, but does not collect data on the number of households with smart meters.

    Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-3-2015.

    “

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to establish a minimum price below which Government shares in Royal Bank of Scotland will not be sold.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The first sale of Government shares in RBS was conducted in August 2015 and raised £2.1 billion for the taxpayer. This was an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership, which is the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses: it will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy.

    The government will conduct further sales of RBS shares subject to market conditions, and in doing so will maximise value for the taxpayer. The returns on the government’s interventions in RBS will be determined by the success of the whole of the selling programme, rather than the terms achieved on the first few disposals.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 26 April (HL7737), what representations they have made to the government of Israel about why it rejected Turkey’s proposal of a floating power-generating ship to help solve the electricity crisis in Gaza.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has not made representations to Israel about this specific issue. We are in regular discussion with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the UN and EU, about Gaza’s energy crisis. Improving Gaza’s provision of electricity will in turn improve Gaza’s water supply and wastewater treatment. We regularly call on both parties to work on solutions to increase the electricity supply, including press for the extension of the 161 power line and progress towards the conversion of the Gazan power station to gas.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 26 May (HL137), whether they will place a record of their consultations with the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities in the Library of the House; and if so, by what date.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Explanatory Memorandum to the regulations amending the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 will record the outcome of both the public consultation in 2012 and the Government’s further discussions with the Stakeholder Working Group and local authorities.

    Extracts of the minutes from the relevant meetings of the Stakeholder Working Group will be placed in the Library of the House when the amendments to the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 are laid before the House for approval.