Category: Speeches

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the annual cost to British businesses of the EU’s pollution directive.

    Rory Stewart

    There are a number of EU directives covering a wide range of pollution issues. This answer refers to the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU), which was transposed into law in England and Wales in February 2013. The Directive requires operators in a range of industrial sectors to comply with certain standards to ensure the reduction of emissions from their activities.

    Prior to transposition of the Directive, our impact assessment estimated that the annual regulatory and compliance costs for the main affected sectors would be £105m for operators of large combustion plants and £0 – £15m for a range of other installations in the waste treatment and wood treatment sectors.

    The impact assessment estimated that the annual human health benefits due to a reduction in emissions of nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter from large combustion plants alone would be £188m. Other benefits for human health and the environment were also expected to arise from other pollutants that could not be monetised.

  • Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Holly Lynch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Prime Minister’s comments on the PFI scheme at Calderdale Royal Hospital, reported in the Halifax Courier on 21 April 2015, what steps he is taking to restructure that PFI scheme.

    Alistair Burt

    This is a matter for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Calderdale Royal Hospital.

  • Sue Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sue Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether refugees offered a home in Britain will be vetted before entry.

    Richard Harrington

    The operation of the UK’s resettlement schemes, including the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme, involves the UNHCR submitting potential cases for our consideration. The cases are then screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reasons were for which each care order was granted to a local authority in England and Wales in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) January to March 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what monetary thresholds were applied to the cost-per-quality adjusted life year quoted in the evidence submitted as part of his Department’s work with the Inter-departmental Group for the Valuation of Life and Health review in 2008.

    Brandon Lewis

    The information requested is not held by my Department. I refer my rt. hon. Friend to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Care and Support (Norman Lamb) on 26 June, Official Report, Column 283W, which explains the historical context to this Review under the last Administration.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Weapon Handling and Launch support contract includes an obligation on the contractor to provide waterfront support in the loading and unloading of (a) conventional and (b) nuclear weapons in (i) the UK and (ii) abroad.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Weapon Handling and Launch System (WHLS) support contract provides technical and logistic support for all WHLS equipment on Royal Navy submarines and at Royal Navy training establishments, including Weapon Embarkation Equipment (WEE). The actual use of WEE to load and unload conventional weapons in the UK and abroad is covered by separate commercial arrangements. The WHLS support contract is not used for any aspect of nuclear weapons.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, columns 367-8W, on armed conflicts: minerals, which companies have joined or have applied to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights initiative.

    Mark Simmonds

    In the last two years, UK-headquartered companies Tullow Oil and Premier Oil have joined the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. An application from another company based in the UK is currently under consideration by the Steering Committee of the Voluntary Principles Initiative.

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost to the NHS was of providing free flu vaccinations in each of the last four years for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England spent a total of £251 million on immunisation programmes in 2013-14. Of this, £89 million is identifiable as relating to the purchase of flu vaccines for adults and the administration of flu vaccines for both adults and children.

    Vaccines for the national childhood immunisation programme, including for childhood flu immunisation from 2013-14, are purchased and managed by Public Health England on behalf of the Department and are not a cost for the National Health Service. The cost of the vaccine and its storage and distribution are commercially confidential.

    Data for NHS spend for the years prior to 2013-14 is not held centrally.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time employees were employed in (a) the Case Resolution Directorate and (b) the Case Assurance and Audit Unit in each year of those bodies’ existence.

    Karen Bradley

    The Case Resolution Directorate (CRD) employed a total of 1300 caseworkers in
    40 regional teams during its existence. It is not possible to provide a
    breakdown by each year that CRD was in existence.

    The Case Assurance and Audit Unit (CAAU) employed 98 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
    staff in 2011, 134 FTE staff in 2012 and 224 FTE staff in 2013. FTE means that
    part time employees are counted by the proportion of full time hours they work,
    so that staff working half the time of an equivalent full time colleague would
    count as 0.5 FTE.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications by overseas-based British citizens for the extension of an existing passport for one year have been received by the Passport Office since her recent announcement on changes in passport policy.

    James Brokenshire

    As of 13 July 2014, 1,721 applications by overseas-based British citizens for
    the extension of an existing passport for one year have been received by the
    Foreign and Commonwealth Office.