Category: Speeches

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency is taking to respond to the oil spill on the River Lea near Tottenham Lock.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency attended the site on the morning of 5 April and worked with Thames Water Utilities (TWU) Ltd to trace the source, identifying it as a ruptured diesel oil tank.

    The Environment Agency is working alongside contractors and the Canal and River Trust (CRT) to clear up the oil. Absorbent booms are in place to contain the spread of the oil. Any residual patches of oil not trapped by the booms are being mopped up by absorbent pads. The Environment Agency attended the site on 11 April and will continue to oversee the clean-up operation.

    The Environment Agency is continuing investigations with a view to possible enforcement action.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the current political crisis in Brazil on the country’s stability and security ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The ongoing impeachment process in Brazil is a domestic issue for the people of Brazil and their elected representatives. We continue to follow developments closely. Preparations for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games are being led by the State and City of Rio de Janeiro. Experts from the London 2012 team have been working closely with the Rio 2016 authorities and we are confident they will deliver a successful Games.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37443, what guidance her Department provides to school admission authorities on engaging with those people that the Schools Admissions Code requires them to consult.

    Nick Gibb

    It is for admission authorities to decide, in light of their local circumstances, how best to fulfil the duty set out in the School Admissions Code to consult on their admission arrangements.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes specialist nurses are employed by the NHS.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS Digital provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills such as diabetes nursing and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many hostel places for the homeless there were in (a) London and (b) each London borough on 1 October in each year since 2008.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department does not hold information regarding the number of places in hostels for rough sleepers in London. It is for London boroughs to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area, including provision of suitable accommodation.

    This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we have invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. In London, we have given the Mayor £34 million to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, with an extra £8.5 million for this work in 2015/16.

    We have supported local areas, including London, to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme, which provided £42.5 million of capital funding in 2012 – 2015 for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to supporta pathway to independent living. For 2015 – 2017, the Department of Health will make available funding for local areas, including London, to invest in tailored hostel accommodation to improve the physical and mental health of rough sleepers, and successful partnership bids will be announced shortly.

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure there are enough neonatal nurses to enable neonatal units to meet markers of good practice 2.2.5, 2.2.6 and 2.2.7 in the Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services, published by the NHS and his Department in October 2009.

    Ben Gummer

    A key standard set out within NHS England’s service specification for specialised neonatal critical care is that hospitals trusts who do not meet the staffing levels recommended by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, must be working towards an agreed plan with their respective Regional Specialised Commissioning Teams to meet and maintain the nurse staffing levels in line with the Department’s Toolkit for High Quality Neonatal Services.

    The increasing demand for neonatal care has resulted in additional challenges for some trusts in meeting the recommended nurse to patient ratios. However, 71 (54%) of the 131 neonatal critical care services now meet required staffing ratios and NHS England Regional Specialised Services Commissioning Teams continue to work with their respective hospital trusts to improve this situation.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West had an appointment with an NHS dentist in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (v) 2014 and (vi) 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    Information is not available in the format requested.

    The table below shows the unique number of patients who received National Health Service dental care in the previous 24 months. An equivalent measure covering the 12 month period is not available.

    1 April 2008 – 31 March 2010

    1 April 2009 – 31 March 2011

    1 April 2010 – 31 March 2012

    1 April 2011- 31 March 2013

    1 April 2012 – 31 March 2014

    1 April 2013 – 31 March 2015

    NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

    –

    –

    –

    –

    218,979

    222,038

    Lancashire Local Authority

    –

    –

    –

    –

    671,482

    670,931

    NHS England North (Lancashire and Greater Manchester)

    –

    –

    –

    –

    2,496,149

    2,508,845

    East Lancashire Primary Care Trust (PCT)

    186,295

    200,034

    210,839

    219,406

    –

    –

    North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA)

    4,180,855

    4,251,505

    4,302,218

    4,323,082

    –

    –

    Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)

    Notes:

    1. Includes patients seen by an NHS dentist, including work undertaken by dentists under vocational training and orthodontic patients. Does not cover dental treatment carried out in hospitals under Hospital Dental Services, nor under services provided privately.
    2. Number of patients seen shows the number of individual patients who received care or treatment from an NHS dentist at least once in a 24 month period (patients are counted on their first visit only, e.g. if a patient has visited the dentist twice, they will only appear in the patients seen data set once).
    3. HSCIC dental data are not available at the geographies requested. The latest information is available at CCG, LA and NHS Geography Region and earlier years are only available at PCT and SHA level.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on proposed changes to the contracts of Experts by Experience.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and adult social care. The CQC is responsible for its own staffing requirements, including any decisions on contracts around the supplying of experts by experience for its inspections of providers.

    In line with Cabinet Office approvals processes, the Department:

    • gave approval for the CQC to invite tenders for the Experts by Experience programme; and
    • having sought and received clarification of the business case from CQC, approved the business case, to enable the CQC to proceed with finalising new contracts for Experts by Experience.
  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to reduce carbon emissions from wood stoves.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Directive 2009/125/EC established a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. In April 2015 Commission Regulation 2015/1185 was published, which provides minimum standards for efficiencies of wood burning stoves placed on the European market from 2022 that will reduce their carbon emissions.

    Wood burning stoves that have a back boiler attached are supported through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The scheme applies only to Great Britain.

    Wood burning stoves are treated as having zero emissions for most inventory purposes, given that the biomass combustion releases the carbon captured during the trees’ lifetime; and that this loss of carbon from the forest is already recorded in the forestry section of the emissions inventory.

    Different carbon emissions figures are used for lifecycle analysis of biomass – but these often relate to the transportation of the fuel and fuel preparation. Evidence to date suggests the fuel used in wood burning stoves, such as logs, is frequently sourced very locally with minimal preparation, and therefore has a relatively small footprint.

    A tool is also available from Ofgem for calculating carbon emissions from biomass. It can be found on the Ofgem website at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/uk-solid-and-gaseous-biomass-carbon-calculator .

    “

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking through its membership of the UN Security Council to achieve (a) democratic sustainability, (b) economic viability and (c) physical security in Libya.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK continues to play an active role in the UN Security Council in supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) as the only legitimate government in Libya, endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council Resolution 2259 (2015). That resolution, drafted by the UK, highlighted the importance of the Libyan State financial institutions, including the National Oil Corporation, the Central Bank of Libya, and the Libyan Investment Authority, continuing to function for the benefit of all Libyans, and stressed the need for the GNA to exercise sole and effective oversight over them as a matter of urgency.

    The UK also worked in the UN Security Council for the adoption of Resolution 2278 (2016) on 31 March, which renewed measures against illicit oil exports from Libya, extended the mandate of the Expert Panel assisting the UN Libya Sanctions Committee, and affirmed the Security Council’s readiness to consider changes, when appropriate, to the UN asset freeze at the request of the GNA.