Category: Speeches

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the potential effect of the latest version of the Fourth Railway Package would be on the ability of his Department to directly award passenger service contracts to public sector operators, as defined by section 25(1) of the Railways Act 1993.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Fourth Railway Package has no impact on this provision of domestic primary legislation, which prohibits the award of passenger rail franchises to public sector operators. The EU legislation would not itself prohibit awards to public service operators if in future the domestic prohibition were removed. Similarly, section 30 of the Railways Act 1993, which puts the franchising authority under a duty to secure the continuity of services – including by directly operating the services – will continue to apply.

    The current text of the Fourth Railway Package permits direct awards, including to public sector operators, in a range of circumstances including where they can be justified by the characteristics of the network and potential benefits to passengers.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of his Department’s staff are seconded to work in other countries.

    Mike Penning

    There are no Ministry of Justice staff seconded to work in other countries.

  • Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether train operating companies (TOCs) are required to make available split ticketing options when they are cheaper for a journey than the purchase of a single ticket; if so, what action they are taking to make sure that this happens in all cases; and if not, whether they will recommend it to the TOCs.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Rail passengers should always be able to get the best deal and the industry must work harder to make this a reality. We are aware that there are a number of routes in England for which it can be cheaper to purchase two or more tickets for individual parts of the route than a through ticket for the entire journey. Anyone is entitled to purchase two or more separate tickets for their journey so long as the train they are travelling on stops at the stations indicated at the end of each ticket.

    Train operators are obliged to sell the most appropriate through fare based on the information the passenger gives them. This will depend on what time the passenger wants to travel and how flexible they need to be. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage, which form the basis of the contract you enter into when you buy a rail ticket, allow passengers to use combinations of tickets. However, it is vital that industry improve information available to passengers and the Rail Minister will be raising this with the Rail Delivery Group as a priority.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Democratic People’s Republic of Korea officials the British Embassy in Pyonyang has met in the last year; and how many such officials were women.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British Embassy in Pyongyang met a range of officials from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the past year in support of UK policy objectives. This contact enables our Embassy to deliver our policy of “critical engagement” with the DPRK, and helps inform our diplomatic reporting and analysis. However, given the breadth of contact, it is not practical for the Embassy to maintain a list of all individual meetings.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16092, how many UK nationals remain in Sharm el-Sheikh.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Regular flights to and from the UK to Sharm el Sheikh were suspended on 4 November. Flights to return UK nationals from Sharm el-Sheikh to the UK, supported by special security measures, ended on Tuesday 17 November. Those flights provided sufficient capacity to return all UK nationals who wished to travel home.In total over 16,000 passengers were returned home, and I commend the carriers who helped in facilitating this process. At the point at which flights stopped, we estimated that there were fewer than 200 UK nationals remaining in Sharm el-Sheikh. UK nationals who chose to remain in Sharm el-Sheikh were advised that they would need to make their own arrangements to travel.

    We are working closely with the Egyptian authorities on the implementation of sustainable security measures so that flights between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh can resume as soon as possible.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment on the financial effect on the UK manufacturing sector of reductions to (a) capital allowances and (b) corporation tax since 2010.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government recognises the importance of the manufacturing sector in the UK economy.

    In order to support investment across the economy, including in the manufacturing sector, since 2010, the Government has reduced the corporation tax rate from 28% to 20%, and it is due to fall to 18% in 2020. Overall the corporation tax cuts delivered since 2010 will save businesses £10 billion a year from 2016. Further cuts in the corporation tax rate in this Parliament, to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020, will save small and large businesses a further £6.6 billion by 2021, and will benefit 1.1 million businesses. The manufacturing sector, alongside other sectors of the economy, have benefited from the corporation tax rate changes.

    At Summer Budget 2015, the government announced that it would increase the permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000, its highest ever permanent level. The sectors with most companies benefitting include manufacturing as well as wholesale and retail, and agriculture.

  • Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential annual savings to the NHS through greater generic substitution compared to using their reference originator products; and what assessment he has made of the obstacles to implementing such a policy for (a) inhalers and biologics and (b) after complex products.

    George Freeman

    The Government has made no such assessments. England has one of the highest levels of generic prescribing in Europe. In 2014, the Health & Social Care Information Centre report Prescriptions Dispensed in the community: England 2004-14, shows that of all medicines dispensed in 2014, 84.1% were dispensed generically.

    Prescribers are ultimately responsible for their own prescribing decisions. We expect them to always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and that patients are adequately monitored.

  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of HM Revenue and Customs in handling written correspondence from members of the public.

    Mr David Gauke

    Such a review has not been carried out recently. However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly publish general performance reports at Gov.uk. HMRC targets for post are to reply to 80% within 15 working days, 95% within 40 working days, and 90% accuracy.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has a communication’s strategy to tackle violent extremism.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October last year, set out government’s response to the threat posed by extremism. As part of that response, the Department is supporting the Home Office led communications strategy. This includes work with broadcasters and technology companies to counter extremist ideologies, and to disrupt those sharing extremist content in the media and online.

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

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government for what reason NHS England intends to treat only a specified number of patients in 2016–17, as defined by recently published run rates for operational delivery networks services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) specifically requires Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to prioritise hepatitis C patients on the basis of highest unmet clinical need, as part of a progressive rollout of treatments over the next five years.

    NHS England is funding providers to double the number of patients treated and this number will ensure the National Health Service fully meets in 2016/17 the patient numbers NICE set out for progressive rollout of the treatments at the time it published its guidance.

    NHS England has invested in a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to incentivise ODNs to meet their agreed rate of roll-out. If their treatment rates deviate from this agreed rate of treatment, they are no longer eligible for these incentives.

    In meeting the obligations of its Mandate, NHS England has set out a planning approach for hepatitis C that delivers access to NICE recommended treatment without disinvestment in other health services.