Category: Speeches

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26284, on what date NHS England took the decision to seek external consultancy support for the development of its clinical commissioning policies; whether the contract for external consultancy support for the development of NHS England’s clinical commissioning policies was competitively tendered; who in NHS England took the decision to award the contract to Deloitte; what discussions his officials have had with NHS England on the contract with Deloitte since 1 January 2016; what the subject of those discussions was; and which clinical commissioning policies are being developed by NHS England.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England decided to seek external support to supplement in-house capacity to deliver its clinical commissioning policy programme for specialised services in early 2015. The recommendation for contract award followed consideration by the Efficiency Controls Committee, which is a subcommittee of NHS England’s Board. This was subject to ministerial sign off.

    Following the completion and approval of a business case by NHS England’s Efficiency Controls Committee, a competitive tendering process was undertaken within the Department of Health’s Framework Agreement. A contract award was subsequently made in September 2015, following ministerial approval.

    NHS England has not published a list of the clinical commissioning policies under development in 2015/16. However, individual clinical commissioning policy proposals are made available through NHS England’s website once they have met NHS England’s governance gateways and have been agreed as ready for public consultation, together with a range of supporting information including a clinical evidence review and impact assessment.

    While the Department approved the initial procurement of these services, they have not been involved in official discussions with NHS England regarding the contract since 1 January 2016.

  • Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the objectives of the hepatitis C improvement framework can still be achieved.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has been rapidly working on their plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 following enactment of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technical appraisal guidance and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the assets of community value scheme in protecting community pubs in (a) Sheffield and (b) England.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of the scheme in protecting community pubs in Sheffield or in England, although my officials are undertaking a review of the implementation of the policy in relation to all assets across the country. They are engaging a broad range of stakeholders – local authorities, community groups, property owners – to listen to their reflections and experiences concerning the policy and any evidence on how the Community Right to Bid is working in practice. The Community Right to Bid is seen by many stakeholders as a powerful way for local people to send a clear signal to their local authorities and to owners of assets that they are keen to have say on the future of buildings which are central to their lives.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the expected take-up of postgraduate loans by (a) UK and (b) EU students in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department’s current central estimate is that around 60,000 students will take out the new postgraduate master’s loan in Academic Year 2016/17. We estimate that a similar number of students will take out the loan in each of the Academic Years 2017/18 and 2018/19. These estimates will be reviewed in light of the student applications received in the first year of the loan’s operation. The new master’s loan will be available to eligible students including those UK students ordinarily resident in England or EU nationals resident elsewhere in the EU who meet the loan’s eligibility criteria. As this is a new loan product this year, it is too early to give an accurate estimate of the domicile of borrowers in 2017/18 or 2018/19.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps her Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.

    Matt Hancock

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including DCMS, and a wide range of other interested parties.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of disabled people participating in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government is committed to increasing opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sport and physical activity. Our sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, places a much greater emphasis than before on encouraging under-represented groups, including disabled people, to take part in sport and physical activity.

    Sport England’s new strategy,Towards an Active Nation, which was published in May, sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. It will continue to support people who already play sport but it also has a specific focus on those groups who are less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, including disabled people.

    Between 2011 and 2017, Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will (a) discuss with the Moroccan ambassador to the UK and (b) instruct the British Ambassador in Rabat to investigate reports of intimidation, harassment and kidnapping of human rights defenders in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara coinciding with the visit of King Mohamed VI.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I discussed Western Sahara on my recent visit to Morocco on 11 November.

    We continue to monitor the human rights situation in Western Sahara and raise any concerns with the Moroccan Government.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 14607 and with reference to the consultation document entitled, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, published in October 2015, what research (a) has been commissioned and (b) will be commissioned better to understand the nature of labour market non-compliance.

    Karen Bradley

    Labour market enforcement bodies routinely collect operational intelligence on the nature of labour market non-compliance. The Government is consulting on the merits of establishing a Director of Labour Market Enforcement, whose proposed role would include making better use of such intelligence and commissioning further research, if needed, to better understand the nature of non-compliance.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will publish an accountability structure of the responsibilities regarding sexual and reproductive health for each government department and arm’s length body.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department is responsible for overall policy on sexual health in England. We work collaboratively with all relevant arm’s length bodies on issues linked to sexual health and we also maintain good working relationships with other government departments on issues relating to sexual health. Accountability structures for each organisation are already in the public domain.

  • Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will rank secondary schools in each London borough by the proportion of pupils with non-statutory special needs; and what type each such school is.

    Edward Timpson

    The proportion and number of children with non-statutory special needs, identified as ‘SEN support’ in each primary and secondary school, including type of school in London can be calculated from the underlying data of the publication Special educational needs in England: January 2015. This publication can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2015

    We have no plans to rank this data.

    “