Category: Speeches

  • Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure disabled access on all platforms at Bingham railway station.

    Claire Perry

    I would like to assure the hon. Member that we are committed to improving accessibility at railway stations. However, many stations date from a time when the needs of disabled customers were simply not considered and at present only around 460 of our 2,500 stations have step free access to every platform. We have therefore continued with the Access for All programme, launched in 2006, which by 2019 will have provided step free access at more than 200 stations and has already delivered smaller scale access improvements at over 1200 stations.

    In 2013 we asked the industry to nominate stations for the latest tranche of Access for All funding. 278 were put forward and we selected 68 of these to add to the programme. To ensure the best possible value for money, these were chosen based on their annual footfall, weighted by the incidence of disability in the area. We also took into account the priorities of the industry and other factors such as the availability of third party funding. Around a third were also chosen to ensure a fair geographical spread across the country.

    Bingham was not among the 278 stations nominated.

  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, UK citizens living in EU member states would continue to be treated as all other UK citizens in the event of their death, in particular regarding their domicile status and death duties on their estates.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Domicile in the UK is an English common law concept which is distinct from citizenship and nationality. It is not dependent on EU law nor on the UK’s membership of the EU.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the annual societal costs of occupational cancer.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has carried out research on the total societal costs of new cases of work-related cancer diagnosed in Britain. This research is due to be published later this year.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library a copy of the report about Bright Tribe Multi-Academy Trust prepared by the Risk Analysis Division of the Education Funding Agency.

    Edward Timpson

    The Education Funding Agency is due to publish a report about Bright Tribe Trust. This final report will include the Trust’s progress in implementing recommendations set out by the EFA in December 2015; and will incorporate how assurance is obtained that services are provided at cost. Once this report is published, a copy will be placed in the Library.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of her Department.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office does not employ cleaning staff. The cleaning of the Home Office estate is outsourced. The contract requires that all contracted staff have undergone the necessary pre-employment checks and have the right to work in the UK.

  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve children’s oral health in England through (a) diet and (b) other methods.

    Jane Ellison

    Our comprehensive childhood obesity strategy, due to be published in the new year, will be looking at areas for potential action including diet and sugar consumption which are risk factors in poor oral health and tooth decay.

    The Department is working with NHS England to test a possible new dental contract which will increase access and improve oral health. Building on earlier pilots we are about to move to a new stage of testing by establishing prototypes. The new dental prototypes will continue to test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease. This approach includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice to both patients and parents on diet and good oral hygiene.

    In 2014 Public Health England (PHE) published an evidence informed toolkit for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement among children and young people. PHE also published an evidence based toolkit for dental teams to support preventive advice and treatment for their patients. These toolkits include oral health improvement programmes and advice focussing on a healthier diet and reducing the consumption of free sugars.

    In addition these toolkits include other methods to improve oral health, for example tooth brushing programmes and fluoride varnish application.

    The PHE report Local authorities improving oral health: commissioning better oral health for children and young people: An evidence-informed toolkit for local authorities is attached and can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321503/CBOHMaindocumentJUNE2014.pdf

    The PHE report Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention is attached and can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/367563/DBOHv32014OCTMainDocument_3.pdf

    “

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions (a) RAF Reapers, (b) RAF Tornados and (c) other RAF aircraft have come into radar contact with Russian military aircraft inside Syria since 30 September 2015.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We do not routinely collect information on radar contacts. It is inevitable when operating in the same airspace as other nations that RAF aircraft will come into radar contact with those nations. This is one of the ways in which the RAF, as part of the US-led coalition, ensures safe-separation of aircraft in Syrian airspace and enables the UK to continue to fly missions to help degrade and destroy Daesh.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mental health services take account of the experiences and needs of women (a) in general and (b) who have experienced extensive abuse.

    Alistair Burt

    The focus of our mental health service transformation is supporting increased equitable access to high quality care for all people. Local health economies consider the local populations needs, including access to services, when they commission and provide services and support.

    The Prime Minister recently announced a £290 million investment over the next five years to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services. This builds on the initial investment announced in the March 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2015/16 to 2020/21 of £365 million. The settlement is expected to enable NHS England to build capacity and capability in perinatal mental health services, with the aim of increasing access to The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-concordant care for women in all areas of England by 2020/21.

    We know that vulnerable women can experience abuse and that abuse can also increase vulnerability. It can take many years, if at all, for women to disclose that they have been sexually or otherwise abused, whether as adults or children. The Department is exploring how enquiries can be routinely made of patients using a number of services such as substance misuse, adult mental health and sexual health clinics to help with early identification and support for women to get the services that they need, much earlier.

    Health care professionals are in a unique position to identify abuse and to intervene early with women to direct them to the most appropriate statutory and non-statutory services for support.

    Focussing health professionals on better identification and actions that will break the cycle of violence, means that health care staff can then enable those affected to access the therapeutic support they need, including counselling.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the average broadband speed in (1) North Yorkshire, and (2) London.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Data published by Ofcom shows that in 2011 the average broadband speed for London was 8.8 Mbit/s, with North Yorkshire averaging 6.6 Mbit/s and that by June 2015 commercial and BDUK programme roll-outs had led to an increase in the average speed to 32.6 Mbit/s for London and 22.5 Mbit/s for North Yorkshire.

    This data can be downloaded the attached sheet and here:

    http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/broadband-data-2011/

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support refugees in camps in the Middle East.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    At the Syria Conference the UK announced that we will more than double our commitment to the Syria crisis, to £2.3 billion. The UK supports refugees, displaced and vulnerable people and host communities across the Middle East including in Yemen, Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories.