Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the single-tier state pension on the level of income of widows.

    Richard Harrington

    Under the new State Pension over three million women stand to receive an average of £11 a week more State Pension by 2030.

    Around four percent of women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years following implementation will be affected by ending access to a derived basic pension while still married and/or when widowed. The proportion falls to two percent or less for succeeding cohorts. We are not able to provide an impact specifically on widows as the analysis does not separately identify the proportion of those who are affected only while married because they predecease their spouse.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many civil servants working in his Department have been seconded from other government departments; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Jones

    All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 250 staff plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly.

    The term ‘secondment’ to refers to an interchange of staff between the Civil Service and an external organisation as such we have not brought any secondees into the Department from elsewhere in the Civil Service. All joiners from other Government departments have been on a loan basis, which refers to an interchange of staff between Civil Service departments or Agencies.

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many student visas her Department issued to Syrian nationals in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is provided in the table below:

    Entry clearance student visas granted to Syrian nationals (Main Applicants, Tier 4 & pre-PBS equivalent)

    Year Granted

    2010 395

    2011 390

    2012 204

    2013 176

    2014 169

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS England Trusts provide prostate surgery; how many of those track their incontinence rates after prostate surgery; of those hospitals that track outcomes, what is the average rate of post-surgical incontinence; what assessment they have made of whether survey-based research could be used to estimate the incontinence rate of those hospitals that do not track their outcomes; and if so, what is their estimate of the incontinence rate in those hospitals.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Prostate Cancer Audit 2014 found that 61 National Health Service trusts in England currently carry out radical prostatectomy, although others may carry out other surgical procedures. Estimates are not collected centrally of the number of patients who experience post-surgical incontinence.

    According to Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors in England: Report on a pilot survey using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS), published by the Department and the NHS in 2012, 44% of prostate cancer patients reported some urinary leakage and this was associated with lower quality of life scores. A copy of the report is attached.

    Prostate Cancer UK and the Movember Foundation are currently funding a PROMS programme, Life After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, to assess for the first time the long-term quality of life of prostate cancer survivors, including the proportion who suffer from incontinence and other treatment related consequences.

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people of each gender work in his Department.

    Joseph Johnson

    The figures for BIS HQ (including UKTI), as at 31 December 2015 are:

    Gender

    Percentage (Number)

    Female

    49% (1501)

    Male

    51% (1563)

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS’ budget is spent on research and campaigns on (a) gender-specific cancers and (b) fertility treatment.

    George Freeman

    National Health Service revenue expenditure was £110.6 million in 2014/15.

    The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to provide a health research system in which the NHS supports outstanding individuals working in world-class facilities, conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients and the public. Information on total NIHR spend on research on gender-specific cancers and on fertility treatment is not available. Spend on research funded directly by the NIHR is categorised by Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health categories including ‘cancer’ and ‘reproductive health and childbirth’. There are no HRCS health sub-categories, such as for gender-specific cancers or fertility treatment.

    NHS England has advised that information on campaigns spending by NHS organisations is not collected centrally.

    Public Health England (PHE) has run gender-specific campaigns on breast cancer in women over 70, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer in black men as part of Be Clear on Cancer. Information on media spending for these campaigns in each of the last three complete financial years is shown in the table.

    2012/13 £ million

    2013/14 £ million

    2014/15 £ million

    Breast 70+

    0.50

    1.48

    –

    Ovarian

    0.44

    0.57

    –

    Prostate

    –

    –

    0.07

    Source: PHE

    Notes:

    Figures are net plus agency fees and commissions (rounded to nearest £10,000). Figures exclude VAT and Central Office of Information fees.

    Media spend includes expenditure for advertising on Television, Radio, National Press, Regional Press, Out of Home (Outdoor), Cinema and Digital.

  • 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 Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their current plans are to improve and extend the training of entering civil servants following changes to in-house training over the past 10 years; what plans they have to use universities to help provide training for civil servants; and whether they will encourage specialised agencies and departments to provide their own training or to outsource it where appropriate.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    There is a comprehensive induction programme for all new civil servants which was introduced in 2015, as well as department and role specific development provided by each department. Senior external recruits also have opportunities to hear from senior officials, network with their peers and get access to a mentor or buddy as part of their induction. As with every learning and development programme, the content and approach to induction is continually reviewed to ensure that it meets current and future needs.

    Civil Service Learning (CSL) provides a core suite of learning for all civil servants, for example on leadership and management. The learning and development providers working with CSL are based around consortia containing universities and their business schools. MIT and Cranfield University are helping to develop the curriculum for the Senior Civil Service, and the Open University is a key partner in delivering learning for all other grades. They have also worked with the London School of Economics on a Policy Masters.

    Whilst CSL provides learning that meets the needs of all civil servants, specialised agencies and departments do provide their own training. Examples include the Diplomatic Academy run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and HMRC’s Tax Academy. Professions also provide their own training – for example through the Commercial College and the Government Finance Academy. This provision represents a mix of internal delivery and outsourcing. CSL provides support and guidance on good practice to departments and professions.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in relation to reports of the targeting of civilian homes in the al-‘Eram and Sa’da areas of Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. The Saudis have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that civilians have been targeted.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the National Screening Committee’s recommendations for the bowel and cervical screening programmes; and whether he plans to support those recommendations

    Jane Ellison

    Ministers have accepted the UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) recommendation on replacing the guaiac Faecal Occult Blood test with the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Following the change to FIT we expect that around 200,000 more people per year will take up the opportunity to be screened as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England. This has the potential to save hundreds more lives by detecting bowel cancer earlier. Public Health England is responsible for the leadership of the NHS Screening Programmes and will oversee the change to the programme in partnership with NHS England.

    Ministers are currently considering the UK NSC’s recommendation that human papillomavirus testing should replace the currently used cytology test as primary screening for cervical disease.