Category: Speeches

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to enforce the waste hierarchy in managing food waste and to prioritise prevention and redistribution for human consumption ahead of anaerobic digestion and composting

    Dan Rogerson

    In accordance with the waste hierarchy, voluntary agreements with business and the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP’s) Love Food Hate Waste Campaign encourage action by households, food manufacturers, retailers and the hospitality and food service sectors to prevent food waste.

    If surplus food cannot be prevented, the next best option is to ensure it is redistributed for human consumption, and I have met with a number of companies and organisations which are looking at innovative ways to redistribute food.

    The Courtauld Commitment 3 supply chain target includes action on both prevention and redistribution. This dual target approach encourages redistribution as the most desirable route for any surplus food suitable for human consumption. Defra convened a Ministerial round table in July 2012 and requested WRAP to lead an industry working group to follow up on recommendations. As a key output of the group, WRAP has recently published research, guiding principles and good practice case studies to help industry take action. Further information is available at http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/foodredistribution.

    There will always be some unavoidable food waste. The Government’s Anaerobic Digestion Strategy is in place to reduce the amount of organic material going to landfill and drive the waste that is produced into energy recovery or recycling.

    “

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. As the Ministry of Justice is the main employer of staff at the Wales Office, I refer the hon Member to the answer given by my hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice on 8 April 2014, Official Report, Column 172W.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much in real-terms was spent on cancer services in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is shown in the following table:

    Estimated expenditure on cancer services and radiotherapy, 2008-09 to 2012-13, £ millions in 2012-13 prices

    Year

    Cancers and tumours

    Radiotherapy

    2008-09

    5,281

    401

    2009-10

    5,908

    435

    2010-11

    5,685

    467

    2011-12

    5,565

    473

    2012-13

    5,681

    485

    Sources:

    Programme budgeting data, NHS England

    Reference costs, Department of Health

    It is not appropriate for a given service to present reference costs as a proportion of programme budgeting expenditure. This is because radiotherapy data are calculated from reference costs, which are the unit costs to National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Reference costs do not represent all expenditure in the NHS, and are costs to NHS providers whereas programme budgeting data are expenditure by NHS commissioners.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department uses a working assumption for the timescale for a work capability assessment report to be processed by Atos.

    Mike Penning

    Atos Healthcare is expected to clear Work Capability Assessments within an Actual Average Clearance Target (AACT) of 35 working days. This is to handle the referral from the date it is received from the Department and includes the time for processing and completing paperwork relating to Work Capability Assessments.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of Public Health England’s total budget has been allocated to (i) tobacco, (ii) obesity, (iii) alcohol, (iv) TB, (v) dementia and (vi) the Best Start in Life strategy for 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s (PHE) financial reporting is currently based upon the Directorates and teams around which their work is focused. The six areas of focus identified in the Parliamentary Questions are currently supported by individuals and teams across PHE’s various directorates (Operations, Health Protection, Health and Wellbeing, Knowledge etc.), so the total cost of each of the above areas cannot currently be accurately provided.

    During the course of 2014-15, one of the priorities identified by PHE’s Finance team is to enhance and tailor their inherited financial reporting arrangements so that it can report on their activities and priorities as well as its Directorates and teams. PHE will be able to provide this information in the future, but it is unfortunately not available now. Once PHE has developed new financial reporting arrangements they will ensure that this is published transparently.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the monetary value to the wider economy of a bankruptcy restriction order or undertaking.

    Jenny Willott

    No monetary value assessment to the wider economy of a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking has been undertaken.

  • 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 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the volume of overseas applications for passports has been in each month since her Department assumed responsibility for such applications.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below shows the number of overseas passport applications received by Her Majesty’s Passport Office each month since it assumed responsibility for such applications.

    Month

    Number of overseas applications received*

    December 2012

    145

    January 2013

    1014

    February 2013

    2401

    March 2013

    2767

    April 2013

    3543

    May 2013

    4662

    June 2013

    5862

    July 2013

    7053

    August 2013

    7216

    September 2013

    11035

    October 2013

    13832

    November 2013

    10881

    December 2013

    12324

    January 2014

    26897

    February 2014

    43327

    March 2014

    40935

    *Note: HMPO took responsibility for overseas passports applications in April 2011, commenced the repatriation of the printing of overseas passports in summer 2011, but only commenced repatriating application processing in December 2012 with that repatriation completed in February 2014.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether police and crime commissioners will be able to decide on the applicability of the adoption of her Department’s new guidelines on the use of stop and search by police to the area they represent.

    Damian Green

    It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to make decisions about whether and when to adopt the scheme.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the planning system gives priority to creating additional school places.

    Nick Boles

    The Government recognises the importance of building new schools. The National Planning Policy Framework therefore makes clear the importance of planning for new school development in order to ensure that a sufficient choice of school places is available. The Government has also introduced additional permitted development rights to allow the change of use from some existing buildings to a state funded school.