Category: Speeches

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has received representations from Virgin Trains or Stagecoach since 1 April 2015 on potential variations to the current Intercity East Coast franchise agreement.

    Claire Perry

    As with all Franchise Agreements, negotiations take place between the Franchise Operator and the Department, and since 1 April 2015 we regularly meet with Virgin Trains East Coast to discuss progress and potential changes to the Franchise Agreement.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people she expects to attend each of the National Schools Commissioner Roadshow events during June and July 2016.

    Nick Gibb

    The cost of the nine National Schools Commissioner Roadshows during June and July 2016 will be met from within Schools Commissioner’s Group (SCG) allocated programme budget. The programme budget is to cover the costs related to events and other communications activities. For the 2016/17 financial year, this budget is £425k.

    It is expected that approximately 1,500 system leaders will attend the nine National Schools Commissioner Roadshows taking place in June and July 2016.

    There was no specific allocation made for travel and subsistence costs for officials related to the National Schools Commissioner Roadshows during June and July 2016. These costs will be met from within SCG allocated administrative budget.

    An official in each of the RSC offices has been involved in organising the nine National Schools Commissioners roadshows, supported by a lead in SCG. We expect approximately five officials to attend each roadshow, plus the National Schools Commissioner and the relevant Regional School Commissioner (RSC).

    There has been no budget allocated to advertising the National Schools Commissioner Roadshows.

  • Alan Meale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Alan Meale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Meale on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which signatories to the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme 1974 were consulted by his Department prior to the inclusion in the tender document to administer that scheme a requirement that all claims to that scheme be accompanied by a grant of probate.

    Jesse Norman

    There was no separate tender document for the administration of the Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme (CWPS), hence there was no such consultation.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) educate bus passengers about over-staging and (b) help them to report cases of over-staging.

    Andrew Jones

    The destination printed on a bus ticket should not have any effect on the amount of reimbursement that the bus operator receives for carrying concessionary passengers.

    This is because reimbursement paid to operators is not based on the full commercial adult fare for a typical journey, but on the average equivalent full fare – taken from a “basket of fares” – that each concessionary traveller would have paid in the absence of the scheme.

    Reimbursement payments are also subject to audits of ticket sales data and, if required, ‘on-bus’ surveys of patronage.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to set targets for measuring progress towards the goal of halving the disability employment gap.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Progress against the disability employment gap commitment is a key factor in progress towards full employment. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’. The annual report on progress towards full employment will include an update on the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.

    Disability is defined in the Equality Act 2010: “A person has a disability if (a) [they] have a physical or mental impairment, and (b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

    Employment in the UK is measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Statistics on disabled employment are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics, based on internationally agreed definitions.

  • Baroness Brinton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Brinton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Brinton on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisation has responsibility for ensuring implementation and compliance with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency guidance, which states that biologic medicines should be prescribed by brand name and tracked by batch number.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In 2008, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued best practice guidance on the prescribing of biological products. This advised:

    “All biosimilar products are prescription only medicines (POM). When prescribing biological products, it is good practice to use the brand name. This will ensure that automatic substitution of a biosimilar product does not occur when the medicine is dispensed by the pharmacist. Products (biosimilar and reference) that have the same international non-proprietary name (INN) are not to be presumed identical for the reasons given above.”

    The MHRA does not have responsibility for monitoring the compliance of healthcare professionals with its prescribing guidance. The responsibility for prescribing rests with the practitioner who has clinical responsibility for their patient’s care and we would expect practitioners to take any relevant guidance into account when making their prescribing decisions. Practitioner professional bodies also have a role in setting out best practice to their members.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2015 to Question 17647, how many of the 650,000 women who will receive an average of £8 per week more for the first 10 years of the new state pension were born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department published analysis on the impact of the new State Pension (nSP) in January 2016 showing that 650,000 women stand to gain on average £8 per week over the next ten years as a result of the nSP valuation. This is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-state-pension-impact-on-an-individuals-pension-entitlement-longer-term-effects

    The specific information requested is not available.


    “

  • 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 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS 111 staff are clinically trained.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not held centrally.

    NHS 111 staff comprise clinical and non-clinical staff. Clinical staff includes registered nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, dental nurses and mental health practitioners.

    The Licensing Requirements of NHS Pathways (the algorithm used by 111 services) stipulate that there must be sufficient clinician resource per shift to provide supervision to the number of call handlers on a shift. As an absolute minimum, there must be at least one accredited clinician physically present in the room on each shift.

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced that it will inspect all NHS 111 providers by September 2016. This will provide assurance that minimum levels of quality are met. The CQC will look at staffing levels and skill mix and assess whether staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28059, whether representatives of ex-intraveneous drug users and former sex-workers will be invited to sit on the working group being formed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs as part of its review of blood donor selection criteria.

    Jane Ellison

    Stakeholder representation on the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissue and Organs’ Donor Selection Criteria Working Group consists of the Terence Higgins Trust, National Aids Trust, Patients Association, Sickle Cell Society, Thalassemia Society and the LGBT Consortium. A Stakeholder meeting is planned alongside the first meeting of the Working Group and a wider range of stakeholders is to be invited. Relevant stakeholder representatives such as former sex workers and ex-intravenous drug users will be invited to attend the Working Group when it is considering particular aspects of donor selection criteria.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the operation of the National Planning Policy Framework before the end of the current Parliament.

    Brandon Lewis

    The National Planning Policy Framework, written clearly and simply, has made the planning system more accessible and replaced over a thousand pages of national policy. We keep policy in the Framework under constant review. A consultation on specific changes to the Framework, aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations, closed on 22 February. We are analysing the responses.