Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what mitigating actions they propose to take in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 showing that certain features of the new contract for doctors in training will have an adverse impact on carers, who are disproportionately women.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The contract published on 31 March is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement and pay progression will be linked to level of training rather than arbitrarily to time served.

    All junior doctors should have the same terms and conditions – a level playing field – which is ultimately what employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) want and everyone deserves.

    When the Secretary of State published the Equality Analysis on the new contract for doctors and dentists in training in the NHS (“Doctors”) on the 31 March 2016 on the GOV.UK website he made it clear that, as a result of considering the Equality Analysis, in accordance with his duties and obligations, he had asked for a number of changes to the draft contract to address specific issues for certain groups with protected characteristics. This has been done and the contract has been duly amended. These changes included changes that benefited staff who work part time. The new contract is not discriminatory it ensures that all junior doctors receive equal pay for work of equal value. The BMA’s own lawyers have advised that nothing in the new contract is discriminatory. Nevertheless the equality duty is an ongoing duty and it is intended that monitoring will continue after the introduction of the new contract in accordance with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010.

    A copy of the Equality Analysis is attached.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Highways England had agreed with Dartford Borough Council an up-to-date contingency plan for emergencies.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England has a Dartford – Thurrock Crossing Emergency Response Plan which covers 11 major stakeholders. Version 9.0 was issued in September 2015, and the document is reviewed annually.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to improve mobile telephone coverage in the Liverpool City Region.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Improving mobile coverage remains a priority for the Government, and our landmark agreement in December 2014 with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) for each to provide voice and SMS text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017 will significantly improve coverage in the UK, including the Liverpool City Region. The additional licence obligation on Telefonica, which the other MNOs have publicly stated they will match, will deliver significant improvements in 4G coverage – covering 98% of UK premises by the end of 2017.

    In support of this work, the Government is also reforming mobile planning laws (in England only) and the Electronic Communications Code to make it cheaper and quicker for industry to invest and deliver coverage improvements.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases each presenting office referred to HM Revenue and Customs in 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Information on how many cases each presenting office referred to HM Revenue and Customs in 2015 is not held centrally.

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has conducted an investigation into how Demie Omol was able to travel through the UK to the Republic of Ireland; and what steps she is taking to prevent further victims of trafficking being similarly transported by the same agents and through the same routes.

    Karen Bradley

    We do not routinely comment on individual cases. With regard to onward travel through the UK, we have rolled out Safeguarding and Trafficking teams at a number of major UK ports so that trained officers can help identify victims, disrupt organised criminal groups, collect intelligence and provide a point of expertise and guidance for other frontline officers.

    With regard to Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland also works closely with An Garda Siochana on an operational basis to tackle cases of suspected cross border human trafficking and exploitation.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent aid agencies, including both UN and voluntary organisations, are working in the Greek islands nearest to Turkey; and whether they plan to encourage those agencies to do further work.

    Baroness Verma

    Meeting the humanitarian needs of the huge numbers of refugees arriving in Greece this year is a major challenge. The UK has so far provided £4.5 million to trusted partners working in Greece in support of the Greek authorities. With our funding, the Red Cross is providing assistance and emergency first aid to refugees and migrants arriving on the beaches. We are also providing assistance through the International Organisation for Migration and UNHCR, who are delivering essential coordination, reception and registration support, direct physical assistance, and protection services for the most vulnerable people. UK support is also being delivered via a consortium of NGOs led by the Start Network, and via the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, through which we have provided in-kind assistance of blankets, sleeping bags and tents.

    The scale of the response by aid agencies has been impressive but we continue to push for greater coordination, both between agencies and with the Greek government. We are holding discussions with major agencies and NGOs to assess the best way to do this and to plan effectively for 2016. We remain committed to responding in the most effective and comprehensive manner. DFID officials have also recently travelled to Greece to assess the current situation on the ground and how to further scale up support. We will consider further support as needs emerge.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of alcohol misuse in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Figures of the cost to the National Health Service of alcohol misuse for each of the past five years is not available. The most recent estimate from 2014 is that alcohol costs the NHS around £3.5 billion per annum(1), just under half of which is due to alcohol related inpatient admissions to hospital.

    (1)Source: “Alcohol and drugs prevention, treatment and recovery: why invest?”, Public Health England, http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/why-invest-2014-alcohol-and-drugs.pdf

    “

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timescale for reviewing the formula that assesses a local authority’s needs against the costs that it incurs in addressing such needs.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    By the end of this Parliament, local authorities will fund local services from local taxes, including £26 billion raised from business rates. This is a real opportunity to reshape the role of local government and a major step forward in our plans to boost growth and give local people more control over how their money is spent.

    We have announced that we will conduct a review of what the needs assessment formula should be in a world in which all local government spending is funded by local resources not central grant, and use it to determine the transition to 100 per cent business rates retention. We will develop this approach in partnership with local government.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people using the Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre required a mandatory reconsideration of funeral payments in each month in 2015; and how many of the decisions on those reconsiderations were in the claimant’s favour.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reports of the high flooding risks in 57 stations on the London Underground.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The operation and resilience of the London Underground system is the responsibility of the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). London Underground routinely examines the risk of flooding and other issues that might affect the smooth running of the Tube service and these reports are part of that process. London Underground and TfL are investigating what more can be done to mitigate these risks and minimise any potential future disruption.