Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what buildings owned by his Department are empty or vacant.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department own three buildings that are empty or vacant; all are part of the Department’s retained estate.

    They are the former Harperbury Hospital, the former Little Plumstead Hospital and 100 Churchill Rd, Wisbech.

    The future use of all sites is subject of active consideration, which is at different stages.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7103 and HL6982), whether they have received any representations from non-executive members of any Service Boards about rebalancing funds between the fighting environments.

    Earl Howe

    Non-executive members of Service Boards are appointed to advise, challenge and support the board in carrying out its responsibilities. They are able to offer their views on any topics discussed at board meetings.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We have repeatedly raised this matter with Iran. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and as such does not grant us consular access in these cases. We have therefore not been given any details about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention. We understand that she has now been released from solitary confinement. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) raised our concerns this week with the Iranian Chargé d’affaires.

  • Adam Holloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Adam Holloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Holloway on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37232, what assessment his Department made of the potential vehicular capacity of the two long tunnel options for the Lower Thames Crossing connected either (a) through junctions 2 and 30 on the M25 or (b) by direct connection to the motorway beyond the junctions.

    Andrew Jones

    Both the long tunnel options between Darenth and South Ockenden would have a nominal capacity of approximately 8,000 vehicles per hour. In the morning peak hour at the year of opening in 2025, the (a) shorter tunnel option through junctions 2 and 30 on the M25 would have an initial forecast usage of 5,600 vehicles per hour and for (b) 3,400 for the longer beyond junction tunnel option.

  • Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applicants there were for the three-year full-time graduate nursing programmes to start in autumn 2016; how many students have been offered and accepted places to commence study in 2016; how many (1) applicants, and (2) accepted offers, there were for each year from 2011 to 2015; and what is their assessment of the trends over the past six years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Information relating to the number of applicants for, and admissions to, pre-registration nursing programmes is not collected by the Department.

    Information on applications and admissions to full time education courses in the United Kingdom is collected by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming which benefit have been referred to Help to Work since April 2014.

    Priti Patel

    The number people claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal credit who have been referred to Help to Work between April 2014 and June 2015 is approximately 162,000. This breaks down as 51,430 people referred to Community Work Placement, 70,510 referred to Mandatory Intervention Regime, 40,060 referred to Daily Work Search Review.

    The Help to Work quarterly statistics: provides Official statistics to June 2015 on the numbers of people joining the Help to Work Scheme. This information can be found on the Gov.UK website.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-work-quarterly-statistics

    “

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will commission an assessment of the effect on the economy of resource insecurity.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The Government’s Horizon Scanning Programme examines emerging trends and developments, such as those related to resource insecurity, that have the potential to lead to risks and opportunities for the UK. As part of this programme, Defra led a piece of work to assess risks to theUK economy from countries or companies restricting the supply of key resources. A summary of this work was published in Civil Service Quarterly in July 2014.

    Last year, the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee set up the Strategic Resources and Risks group to coordinate work on resource insecurity across Government. As part of its remit, this group considers risks and opportunities that resource insecurity poses to the UK economy.This work is being reflected in the current refresh of the Government’s National Security Risk Assessment. Domestic risks related to resource insecurity are also included in the UK’s National Risk Register.

  • Andy Burnham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Burnham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times UK Border Force staff employed in ports were redeployed to airports in 2015.

    Mrs Theresa May

    Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on port specific deployment numbers. Border Force deploys mobile response team resources across the regions to combat both daily and seasonal pressures.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to ensure that farming business is market-led rather than production-led.

    George Eustice

    The UK has some of the best farmers in the world, producing food to the highest standards of quality, safety, traceability and animal welfare. To make the most of this talent and quality, we need to work with farmers to raise our productivity and close the gap with some of our leading competitors. This means that we shall be supporting more UK businesses to sell their top quality produce around the world; trebling the number of apprenticeships in the food and drink industry to bring new skills and innovation; and reforming tax averaging and investment allowances to help farmers plan capital spending for the long term.

    Our new 25-year food and farming plan has been developed jointly with food and farming businesses. It will set a joint vision for increasing productivity, exports, resilience and consumer confidence, thereby boosting demand for British food and the contribution of farming to our economy.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons St George’s Medical School is capped at 259 student doctors each year.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for advising the Government on the total number of medical school places and for commissioning postgraduate medical education. This aims to ensure that we have a National Health Service workforce in the right numbers, with the right skills, values and behaviour to respond to the current and future needs of patients. It takes around 5 years of medical school (undergraduate) and a year of training to become a registered doctor and a further 4 to 11 years of training to specialise in General Practice or hospital specialities.

    There are currently over 50,000 doctors in training in England according to Health Education England’s Workforce Plan (2015/16) for England.

    The latest monthly workforce statistics for November 2015 published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that there are 106,124 full-time equivalent doctors currently employed in the NHS in England which is an increase of 10,703 (11.2%) since May 2010.

    The Department and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) share responsibility for determining the medical and dental school undergraduate intakes in England. The Department (via HEE) is responsible for determining overall numbers, and HEFCE has responsibility for the individual distribution to medical and dental schools. Historically places have broadly ben allocated for each institution the same as the previous year, so as to keep stability in recruitment, to help institutions to plan for their intake and in order to meet the national target.