Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues in the Cabinet Office on the removal from the Ministerial Code of a reference to Ministers having a duty to comply with the law including international law and treaty obligations and to uphold the administration of justice.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not normally disclosed.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue a response to the report by the National Cancer Action Team, Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change, published in March 2013; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    At its meeting on 15 October 2015, the Prescribed Specialist Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) considered a proposal from the British Lymphology Society for a service for lymphoedema to be nationally commissioned. PSSAG’s recommendations on all proposals considered at this meeting will be put to Ministers shortly.

    It is for Ministers to decide which services should be prescribed as specialised services and therefore nationally commissioned by NHS England. Ministers make these decisions based on advice from PSSAG.

    Regarding the Lymphoedema Services in England: A Case for Change report, published by the National Cancer Action Team in March 2013, the main recommendation for the NHS Commissioning Board (now NHS England) to consider was the creation of a lymphoedema strategy for England.

    NHS England is focused on a system-wide approach that aims to ensure improvements in outcomes for all individuals with long-term conditions, including lymphoedema, rather than focusing on individual strategies for specific conditions.

    The commissioning of services for the treatment and care of lymphoedema patients is a local matter, and information concerning the arrangement of such services is not collected. People with lymphoedema can usually be managed through routine access to primary or second care services and there is range of guidance to support local commissioning, including: an international consensus document on best practice in the diagnosis, treatment care and support of people with; and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on advanced breast cancer, which provides advice on lymphoedema care. Both sets of guidance can be found at the following links:

    www.woundsinternational.com/media/issues/210/files/content_175.pdf

    www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg81/resources/advanced-breast-cancer-diagnosis-and-treatment-975683850181

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials of her Department in each of the last three years.

    Karen Bradley

    Non-consolidated performance payments are one-off payments which are paid only to the top achievers and are used to help drive performance.

    As part of the Government transparency agenda all year end and in-year bonuses are published in the Non-Consolidated Performance Related Pay (NCPRP) return. The amount that the Department has paid in bonuses for each of the last three years (2011/12 to 2013/14) is provided at Table 1.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to support research into new aircraft and engine technologies to reduce noise emissions from aviation.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is supporting industry investment in the development and deployment of technologies for new aircraft, including technologies for new engines, aero structures and advanced systems, to reduce noise and other emissions from aviation.

    This support is integral to the work between industry and Government through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which published its Technology Strategy 2015 in July. To date, 100 ATI projects, worth around a total of £1bn, jointly funded by industry and government have been approved; and the majority of these are focused on technologies required to produce greener, more efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many key performance indicators are used by the Office of Rail and Road to monitor Network Rail’s performance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have informed me that in the current five yearly regulatory cycle (Control Period 5) that started on 1st April 2014, they established 13 categories of regulated outputs,some of which are disaggregated further, such as by franchised train operator route or by delivery milestones.These outputs include train service reliability, enhancements, health and safety, network availability, network capability, stations, depots, asset management and environment.

    There are 25 categories of core indicators from these outputs, which are disaggregated further. Full details of the regulated outputs can be found on table 3.11, page 125 of the Final Determination for Control Period 5, a copy of which is attached.

    The ORR publishes six monthly reports on Network Rail’s progress in relation to these regulated outputs in the ‘Network Rail Monitor’ and the ‘Network Rail Monitor for Scotland’.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many citizens of each European Union member state, other than the United Kingdom and Ireland, aged 18 or over are resident in the United Kingdom; and of those, how many have been resident in the United Kingdom for more than five years, broken down by their country of citizenship.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to hold an inquiry into testing processes for emissions from diesel vehicles and so-called defeat” devices.”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There is no plan to hold an inquiry, however, the Government is taking this issue very seriously. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), the UK vehicle approval authority, is working to ensure that the use of defeat devices is not industry wide. VCA is rerunning laboratory tests starting with those VW Group engines for which VCA has provided approvals. These tests are comparing real world driving emissions against laboratory performance.

    There is no evidence that these emissions tests have been falsified in the UK.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which towns in the United Kingdom have been designated as potential destinations for Syrian refugees arriving under the Government’s Gateway Protection Programme; which town councils have so far indicated acceptance; and of what numbers.

    Lord Bates

    Syrian refugees are brought to the United Kingdom as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme. This scheme has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. This is in addition to those we resettle under the Gateway and Mandate schemes which are completely separate schemes.

    Resettlement under the government schemes is voluntary on the part of local authorities. We are grateful to those who take on this role and will continue to work in partnership with them. We do not disclose the details of where refugees will be resettled upon their arrival in the UK under the Government resettlement schemes as this may undermine the privacy and recovery of this vulnerable group of people.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether hon. Members are always informed when a post-16 area-based review is announced for an area which includes their constituency.

    Nick Boles

    Yes. The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit supporting the area reviews will advise Hon. Membersas a matter of course when reviews are due to be undertaken in any part of their constituency.

    Area reviews should take place as quickly as possible, the typical timescale being 3-4 months but this could vary depending on the number of colleges and complexity of the local issues involved.

    The reviews are aimed at delivering a skills system that meets the economic and educational needs of areas whilst also ensuring the long term sustainability of colleges to support productivity. Their purpose is not to secure savings to Government. However, early evidence from the pilot reviews indicates that there is potential for the reviews to secure efficiency savings.

    All applications to open a free school, academy, school sixth form or university technical college will be assessed on a case by case basis against the published criteria and taking account of local needs and circumstances.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to provide ring fenced funding for a feasibility study into the trunk road section of the A595.

    Greg Hands

    Highways England will soon start a new programme of Route Strategies, aiming to develop an investment programme for the years 2020-25. These will be the forum where MPs and members of the public can make the case for improvements in their area. If improvements to the A595 are proposed through this process, they will be considered carefully for investment in the next Road Investment Strategy.

    Further details of Spending Review decisions will be announced on 25 November.