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Category: Speeches

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the total number of supplementary hours worked by pharmacists beyond the hours mandated in the standard NHS contract.

    David Mowat

    The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health under the National Health Service Act 2006. Our assessment considers a range of potential impacts in respect to the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services and access to NHS pharmaceutical services, including supplementary hours and 100 hours per week pharmacies. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

    Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

    Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of Health on the rate of people taking their own lives in prisons.

    Andrew Selous

    Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we are committed to reducing the rate of self-inflicted deaths in prisons.

    My department works closely with the Department of Health on measures to reduce suicide in prisons and in the wider community. Both the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Quality and I are members of the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody, which also includes the Minister for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice and Victims, senior officials from our respective departments and a range of stakeholders. There was a detailed discussion of the recent data on self-inflicted deaths in prisons at the most recent meeting of the Board on 21 October and further consideration of this topic is planned at the February meeting.

    Healthcare staff in prisons play an important role in the identification and management of prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide. Commissioners and providers of healthcare services are active partners with the National Offender Management Service in its work to prevent self-inflicted deaths in prisons.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Funeral Payment provision for funeral expenses.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide valuable help towards the cost of a funeral for people in receipt of a qualifying benefit. My department continually reviews the scheme to improve and streamline it.

    Funeral Expenses Payments are made to all applicants who satisfy the eligibility criteria. Awards cover the full necessary costs involved with either burial or cremation and up to £700 for other funeral expenses. In 2014/15 over 32,000 awards were made to people in Great Britain. These payments were worth £44 million, with an average award of £1,375. The average award has increased by 27% since 2006.

    Social Fund Budgeting Loans are also available to help with funeral expenses for people who have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least 26 weeks.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under which circumstances Southern Railway’s franchise would be withdrawn.

    Claire Perry

    Schedule 10.2 of the TSGN Franchise Agreement (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488198/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf p.506) specifies how this franchise can be terminated by the Department.

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  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Ministry of Defence Police Officers are subject to disciplinary or unsatisfactory performance procedures in the event that they are unable to undertake additional work in excess of contractual hours; and what plans he has to review that policy.

    Mark Lancaster

    In line with the rest of the police service, Ministry of Defence Police officers may be subject to disciplinary action if they fail to attend for duty when directed to do so. There are no plans to review this policy.

  • 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 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the £570 million referred to in paragraph 0.5 of his Department’s paper, Infected blood: reform of financial and other support, published in January 2016, will be spent in each year of the programme; what the average spend per recipient will be in each such year; and in what categories of spending that funding will fall in each such year.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department estimates that it would pay out £570 million over the next 45 years, based on the existing unreformed scheme. The Department currently anticipates that it will disburse the same sum under a reformed scheme plus the additional £125 million over the current spending review period of five years. We are currently consulting on the reformed scheme and are unable to estimate the future average annual spend beyond the current spending review or the categories of spend for the period. For the current spending review period the planned expenditure is £47.5 million for each of the next five years.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the current outbreak of yellow fever in Angola and its regional implications; and whether the Government will assist the World Health Organisation supported vaccination campaign led by the Angolan government.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    This Government’s assessment is that the national response to the yellow fever outbreak in Angola is growing in strength with support from the international community and the strategic use of donated vaccines. To date surrounding countries have not suffered related outbreaks and exported yellow fever cases to China, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been managed effectively.

    The United Kingdom is supporting the national vaccination campaign in Angola through its core funding to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and to the World Health Organisation. The international response has provided 7.3 million doses of yellow fever vaccine to Angola to respond to the outbreak.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to address the rise in levels of homelessness and rough sleeping in England.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative. We are also developing a new national £10 million Social Impact Bond fund to help to help homeless people with the most complex needs such as mental health difficulties or addiction.

    At Budget we went one step further and announced we will launch a new £100 million programme for low-cost move on accommodation, including for rough sleepers leaving hostels. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    We are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of any assessment of the impact on operational resilience by an experienced and professional railway operator of the decision by the Office of Road and Rail to allow further open access operators onto the East Coast Main Line.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport is not aware of any assessment of operational resilience in connection with the decision to extend open access operations on the East Coast Main Line. We expect Network Rail as network operator to ensure that their routes are able to operate effectively, whichever train operators are running on them.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change in the UK will follow the procedure for an EU external treaty.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK remains firmly committed to the Paris Agreement and to ratifying the Agreement as soon as possible. Until we leave, the UK will remain a full member of the EU, with all of the rights and obligations this entails.