Category: Speeches

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the UK’s sixth periodic report in relation to social security and unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Hinds

    In paragraph 73 of the UN recommendations, the UN requested that the UK submits its next period report under the Covenant (inclusive of a response to all the recommendations from this year’s examination) by 30 June 2021; it would therefore not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this report by anticipating what we might say in 2021. In any event, the Government regularly assesses the impacts of its policies and will continue to do so.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to promote the welfare of members of the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Armed Forces Covenant ensures that those who serve and have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly. In June 2013 the Chancellor announced that the financial commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant would be made permanent through a £10 million fund per annum in perpetuity from 2015-16.

    The Annual Report on the Armed Forces Covenant from December 2015 detailed a number of achievements of which this Government can be proud, including allocating £40 million for accommodation projects for veterans; the £200 million Forces Help to Buy Scheme; and a world class centre for excellence for the training and delivery of Defence Medical Services.

    In 2016 to date under the large grants scheme we have awarded a total of almost £7.5 million to 24 projects supporting community integration, criminal justice system initiatives and the co-ordination and delivery of support. Under the small grants scheme we have awarded a total of almost £2.4 million to 150 community integration projects. Depending on the quality of the bids, we hope to be able to announce the preferred bidder for the Veterans Gateway Service in November, as well as further tranches of Covenant Grant funding.

    In January 2016, the Department published the first ever Armed Forces Families Strategy, embracing seven key themes – partner employment, accommodation, children’s education and childcare, community support, specialist support, health and wellbeing, and transition. This is now routine business supporting our families.

    We have reviewed our casualty and compassionate processes, and this autumn we are introducing a new reserves welfare health-check. In the last year Defence has enabled payroll deductions for Service personnel to take advantage of the savings and cheap loan facilities from selected credit unions. This facility was extended to veterans in receipt of a pension in March 2016.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what analysis his Department has conducted or commissioned on the number of doctors likely to retire in the next five years; and what assessment his Department has made of whether sufficient numbers of doctors are in training to maintain current service levels.

    Ben Gummer

    The Centre for Workforce Intelligence medical workforce modelling, estimates that around 13,500 consultants and general practitioners (GPs) in England will retire in the five years from 2015 to 2019 inclusive.

    Taking account of expected retirements the consultant and GP workforce is projected to grow by around 9,400 posts by 2019, or 2.2% per annum, which is a considerably faster rate of growth than that projected baseline demand for healthcare services (reflecting population growth and the ageing of the population) over this period.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the cost of broadband access for primary and secondary schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    £1.7 billion of public funding has been committed to support improvements in broadband services across the UK. The Superfast Broadband Programme aims to make superfast broadband available to 95 per cent of UK premises by 2017.

    Costs will vary from school to school depending on location and how much they use the internet. The type of connectivity that the government funded broadband programme needs will not be suitable for secondary schools. They will need a dedicated connection because of their high bandwidth demands. The Department for Education does not hold information about the cost of broadband access for schools.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the end of year budget surplus or deficit was for each further education college in London in each financial year since 2010-11.

    Nick Boles

    We will collate this information and deposit it in the Libraries of the House shortly.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23290, what his Department’s policy is on (a) the application of the convention on giving Parliament the opportunity to debate military intervention abroad to armed drones and (b) informing the House of any exceptional operation on the grounds of self-defence of the UK.

    Michael Fallon

    The Government is committed to the convention that, before UK troops are committed to conflict, Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there is an emergency. It is fitting to keep Parliament informed of major new developments and to answer questions on them.

    The Government will inform the House of any exceptional operation where there has not been prior debate in Parliament as the Prime Minister did on 7 September 2015 in relation to the precision airstrike that took place on 21 August 2015.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will carry out a review of UK dairy processing capacity.

    George Eustice

    Dairy processors have undertaken a sustained high level of investment in the UK. In recent years, capital investment by the top five dairy organisations in the UK has regularly exceeded £100m per annum. In total, over the period March 2006 to 2013, capital expenditure by these organisations exceeded £1.2bn.

    It is important to continue to encourage high quality inward investment from around the world to boost security and growth. UKTI, the Great British Food Unit and Dairy UK are hosting a senior delegation of dairy companies from China in March 2016. These companies are interested in building stronger relations with British counterparts whether through the development of direct imports of finished products into China, collaboration on ingredients and processing, or joint ventures.

  • 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 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in which areas other than Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Spirit Healthcare’s Empower type 2 diabetes education programme is expected to be implemented.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the outcome, and (2) the cost effectiveness, of the use of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent clostridium difficile.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance on faecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. NICE has recommended that the procedure is safe and effective for use in the National Health Service, but no assessment of its cost effectiveness has been made by NICE.

    Data on the uptake of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile by the NHS is not collected centrally.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The spend on non-payroll staff in Department for Work and Pensions in 15-16 will be published in the Departments Annual Report and Accounts on 30th June 2016 following completion of the audit and Permanent Secretary and Comptroller and Auditor General sign-off.