Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations were made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs at the EU Environment Council on 4 March 2016 on the EU action plan for the circular economy.

    Rory Stewart

    The Council debated the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy. The UK highlighted work that had been done domestically, expressed support for elements of the Action Plan such as industrial symbiosis, and expressed overarching concerns for the proposed waste targets, stressing the need to pay close attention to the costs and benefits. These concerns were shared by Ireland, Lithuania and Portugal. Most Member States also sought reassurance that a joined up approach was being taken by the Commission. The Presidency stated that they will aim for a set of Council Conclusions on the Action Plan to be agreed at June Environment Council.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the likely timescale of type approval of first modular nuclear technology.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK will be subject to robust and independent regulatory scrutiny.

    Therefore, any small modular reactor (SMR) design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment. A reactor design would only be allowed to progress if the independent regulator was satisfied it was compliant with the UK’s stringent safety standards.

    At Budget 2016, the Government committed to publishing a SMR delivery roadmap that will clarify the UK’s plan for addressing SMR related regulatory approvals, along with siting and skills issues.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were subject to do not resuscitate orders in the last year for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally.

  • Lord Adebowale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Adebowale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Adebowale on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children aged 16 or 17 have presented to their local authority as homeless, and how many of those were accommodated under the Children Act 1989, in (1) 2015–16, and (2) 2014–15.

    Lord Nash

    The Department for Education does not collect information on the number of children aged 16 or 17 who have presented to their local authority as homeless, or how many have been accommodated as a result of homelessness.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training and support the NHS provides to doctors who have returned from long-term career breaks.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Induction and Refresher Scheme for general practitioners (GPs), launched in 2015, is designed for doctors who have been out of practice in the United Kingdom for more than two years and have therefore dropped off the national performers list.

    NHS England also funds the Retained Doctor Scheme. This scheme provides doctors, who are on the performers list but who want to remain in or return to practice (for example after a career break) and work a maximum of four clinical sessions, with protected time for continuing professional development (CPD) and educational support. The scheme is designed to allow doctors to remain in practice when standard part time working is unavailable or does not suit the doctor’s working patterns.

    The GP easy return to practice forms part of the GP Forward View, published in April 2016 by NHS England.

  • 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, what recent discussions Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of mental health charities on the design of contracts for new welfare to work schemes.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP Ministers meet regularly with a wide range of organisations in relation to the Department’s work and welfare reform, where they discuss a variety of issues.

  • 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 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s publication, Mandatory Programmes official statistics: May 2011 to August 2015, published on 25 November 2015, how many people who joined the Mandatory Work Activity scheme during this period finished their work placement early as a result of taking up paid employment.

    Priti Patel

    Mandatory Work Activity is a supportive programme designed to help claimants who need extra support from a short work placement to re-focus their job search activity and gain further experience of work. Unemployed Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit claimants are referred for up to 4 weeks work experience and will participate on the placement for up to 30 hours a week.

    The number of referrals and starts is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working.

    An impact assessment of Mandatory Work Activity was published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-work-activity–2) which considered referrals to the programme in the period May to July 2012. An evaluation of Mandatory Work Activity also published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-mandatory-work-activity-rr823) which included a telephone survey of participants who had been referred to and started an Mandatory Work Allowance placement.

    The evaluation and impact assessment were conducted in 2012 and does not cover the period of the Official Statistics from May 2011 to August 2015.

    “

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have in place to ensure that asylum seekers in Calais have access to legal advice on their rights to enter the UK.

    Lord Bates

    All migrants, including families and children, in Calais who wish to seek asylum should do so in France and provide information to the French asylum authorities about any family members in other Member States, including the UK. We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family who are legally in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child.

    If not claiming asylum, individual migrants in France, as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate visa application.

    Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK has increased the frequency of communications campaigns involving British officials, French authorities and NGOs speaking to migrants in Calais to inform migrants of the reality of life in the UK, and their rights to claim asylum in France. The UK is also helping to fund dedicated facilities away from Calais to allow migrants to reflect on next steps and to consider an asylum claim.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce country of origin labels for dairy products in (1) the UK, and (2) across the EU; and if so, when.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government supports the industry voluntary agreement for labelling origin of food, which has resulted in clear and honest origin labelling in the vast majority of dairy products sold in UK shops.

    We have also been pushing for improved origin labelling for dairy products in Europe, including a proper consideration of mandatory origin labelling for lightly processed dairy products such as butter, cheese and cream. Many producers and retailers in the UK provide this information voluntarily, reflecting consumer demand and the acceptable cost of such schemes, but consumers can feel misled where this information is not available.

    New Implementing Acts on origin labelling of the main ingredients of food where these are different from the place of production of the food itself have recently been proposed by the Commission and the UK will engage with the Commission to ensure that these measures are effective.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which overseas territories and crown dependencies have published registries of the beneficial ownership of the legally registered companies that are conducting business through their jurisdictions.

    James Duddridge

    I had productive discussions with Overseas Territories leaders in December when they agreed to hold beneficial ownership information in their respective jurisdictions via central registers or similarly effective systems. This is an important step forward. We further agreed that we should develop a timely, safe and secure information exchange process to increase our collective effectiveness for the purposes of law enforcement. The Overseas Territories have had productive technical discussions with UK officials and have expressed their willingness to work with us to stamp out criminal financing. I want to see significant progress ahead of the May Anti-Corruption Summit.

    The Government is also in dialogue with the Crown Dependencies on this issue.