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Category: Speeches

  • Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of levels of blindness and low vision are classifiable as preventable.

    Alistair Burt

    There is a range of information already available about levels of preventable sight loss. The indicator within the Public Health Outcomes Framework brings this together in a single place. The indicator is made up of four sub-indicators which will measure the crude rates of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, and of the rate of sight loss certifications per 100,000 population. Data has been collected since 1 April 2013.

    Baseline data for 2010/11 was published in November 2012, broken down by local authority and data providing a time series up to 2013/14 has now been published. It is available to search at:

    http://www.phoutcomes.info/public-health-outcomes-framework#gid/1000044/par/E12000004

    “

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-01-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many evasion referrals were made to the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Evasion Referral Team in each year since 2012-13; and how many such referrals were adopted as working cases by HMRC’s (a) Criminal Investigation, (b) Specialist Investigation and (c) Local Compliance Fraud business unit in each such year.

    Mr David Gauke

    The figures requested are in the following table:

    Year

    Referrals made

    Adopted CI

    Adopted SI

    Adopted LC Fraud

    2012/13

    2888

    332

    122

    225

    2013/14

    3298

    387

    300

    217

    2014/15

    2749

    374

    146

    129

    The referrals are made by HMRC officers when they suspect or discover evasion. The process is designed to escalate this type of case to a specialist team for review. If the case is not adopted by one of these teams it is returned to the referring officer to continue the investigation.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been extradited from Pakistan to the UK in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 there were no extraditions from Pakistan to the UK.

    There is no bilateral extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan and, unless a multilateral convention applies, extradition is on the basis of reciprocity.

    The Government will neither confirm nor deny whether it is considering or is involved in negotiations with a particular country regarding an extradition treaty.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, to PQ UIN 27946 on 29 March.

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

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 March (HL6801), what plans they have to introduce locally managed and self-financing schemes to deal with air pollution and the provision of urban bus services.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We do not have specific schemes focused on self-financing urban bus services and air quality. However the Government is investing significant funding to help local authorities improve air quality and reduce emissions of harmful pollutants. This includes provision to bus fleets.

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published an air quality plan for nitrogen dioxide in December 2015 setting out a comprehensive approach to meeting our ambition for the UK to have some of the cleanest air in the world, including by implementing a new programme of Clean Air Zones. Under the Plan, by 2020 the most polluting vehicles, including older polluting buses, will be discouraged from entering the centres of Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby. DEFRA has allocated funding to help these five cities implement Clean Air Zones. Additionally cities including Oxford, Norwich and Brighton have already taken steps to introduce zones to ensure the operation of cleaner buses in their areas.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency provided for the Climate Ready Support Service in 2015-16; and what assessment her Department has made of the performance of that Service in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Rory Stewart

    Funding provided for the Climate Ready Support Service in 2015-16 was around £1 million. The Climate Ready Support Service Programme Board had regular overview of the performance of the Service. The majority of National Adaptation Programme actions to which the Service was contributing have now been completed.

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

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 29364, what the grounds are for the Public Health England Office for Data Release denying requests made to it for information collected via the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy dataset; what the timescale is for that office to respond to any requests made; and whether there will be a public announcement setting out the date when requests for data may be made to that office.

    George Freeman

    Public Health England (PHE) is making data collected as part of the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy dataset available through its Office for Data Release (ODR) function. The data have been available since April 2016 and the ODR is currently processing requests. The priority of PHE, and the ODR, is to maintain patient confidentiality and therefore data will only be released to external parties in a format that does not compromise patient confidentiality either directly or by inference.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) models and (b) criteria his Department is using to make a cost and benefit analysis of the effect of the proposed Northwest runway at Heathrow Airport on economic growth and the environment.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work and nor would it be appropriate to outline specific pieces of evidence before an announcement on its preference. Any work to inform an announcement will be set out in subsequent publications and associated consultation.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of changes to the cap on religious selection on the opening of new Catholic state schools.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Some faith groups, including the Catholic Church, have felt unable to open new schools through the free schools route because they believe it contravenes religious rules. This has meant, for example, that in areas where there has been significant growth in the Catholic population, the Catholic Church has not set up sufficient school places to meet demand.

    We want more high quality providers to be able to set up new schools and we are consulting on how best to do that. The consultation document, ‘Schools that work for everyone’ is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-frameworks/schools-that-work-for-everyone

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote wildlife-friendly farming practices.

    George Eustice

    Agri-environment schemes play a major role in the conservation of wildlife in England. More than £900 million will be available for Countryside Stewardship for 2014 to 2020.

    Biodiversity is one of the main objectives of Countryside Stewardship. The Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package options within the scheme will be of particular benefit to wild pollinators, farmland birds and other species. The package will play a key role in supporting Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy.