Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the powers of UK pensions schemes to indirectly invest in companies linked with the manufacture of cluster-munitions.

    Richard Harrington

    Trustees and managers are responsible for acting in the best interests of beneficiaries, including the investment of members’ funds. They must, under existing obligations, prepare a statement of investment principles. This must set out the extent to which social, environmental, or ethical considerations are taken into account in the selection, retention, and realisation of investments.

    We have no immediate plans to change these existing obligations, but will keep them under review.

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to review the outcomes of NHS England’s clinical policy prioritisation process for specialised services; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    The Clinical Priorities Advisory Group assesses drugs, medical devices and treatments according to their clinical effectiveness benefit for patients and value for money. When doing this it follows the published procedure which was subject to recent public consultation. This can be found at the following address:

    https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/investment-decisions/supporting_documents/consultationguide.pdf

    NHS England has given a commitment to review the learning from the 2016/17 process to inform future years.

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    David Mundell

    No items of stationery have been reported as lost or stolen in the last five years.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many positions are being created within his Extended Ministerial Office in each pay grade.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave her on 26 November 2015 to UIN: 10865-10866 and on 30 November 2015 to UIN: 17505.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of her Department’s employment of interpreters for immigration purposes in 2014-15; and what the roles and responsibilities were of those interpreters, beyond assisting with the processing of refugee applications.

    James Brokenshire

    The total spend on interpreters in 2014-15 was £749,746 for Border Force, £1,455,375 for Immigration Enforcement and £5,366,622 for UK Visas and Immigration (Asylum) for translation in asylum claims.

    Responsibilities include but are not limited to enabling a full and accurate two way interpretation service whilst not impeding the progress of any formal interviews or encounters.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how Government targets for the proportion of business created in supply chains for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) under public procurement contracts apply to companies subject to mergers, acquisitions or other changes in status that take those companies out of the SME category.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government has a target that 33% of central government business, by direct spend and through the supply chain, will go to small and medium businesses by 2020.

    We assess progress against the overall target on a regular basis, including an assessment of those companies identified as Small or Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Where companies no longer meet the statutory definition of an SME at the time of assessment, they are no longer counted.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Hungarian government on the sale of residency bonds through off-shore companies.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has had no discussions with the Hungarian government on this issue.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 1.233 of the March 2015 Budget, how much of the £1.25 billion funding for child and adolescent mental health services has been allocated.

    Alistair Burt

    Following the March Budget 2015 announcement of £1.25 billion additional funding for children and young people’s mental health services being available over the following five years, £143 million has been allocated for 2015-16. From this, £75 million has been allocated to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to work intensively with key partner agencies to transform local services through delivery of their Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and £68 million is being spent centrally on workforce and system development to support local transformation. For 2016-17, £119 million has been included in CCG baseline allocations. The profile of spending for future years has not yet been fully determined.

    The guidance for LTPs issued in August 2015, specified that plans had to be signed off by Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure a shared ambition across all local partners, and included details of a robust bespoke assurance process for 2015-16, put in place by NHS England. This included the completion of detailed financial tracking templates, backed by a programme of regional and national support, to ensure that the additional money was spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators are being met. The intention from 2016-17 is to mainstream children and young people’s mental health as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle and to integrate LTPs into the new Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many journalists have been imprisoned in the occupied Palestinian territories since October 2015 and what representations they have made to the government of Israel.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As of the beginning of March 2016, we were aware of four Palestinian journalists from the West Bank arrested since October 2015. We are also aware of a Gazan journalist who was detained for seven hours at Erez crossing. We are clear that journalists should have the necessary protection to do their jobs in safety, and strongly believe freedom of the media is an important human rights principle.

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

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many train paths an hour will be freed up on the West Coast Main Line when HS2 Phase 1 is operational according to Network Rail’s West Coast Main Line Capacity Plus study, and when that study will be published.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    HS2 Phase 1 will add significant additional capacity to the London to West Midlands rail corridor, and this provides an opportunity for the industry to evaluate how best to make use of the released capacity on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line. Network Rail continues to develop the evidence base to support the Capacity Plus study. Train operating companies and freight operating companies, passenger transport executives and local authorities and High Speed 2 Ltd are supporting Network Rail in its ongoing work. Network Rail will use this work to inform the Initial Industry Advice for Control Period 6 which is expected to be published by the end of 2016.