Category: Speeches

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what role the Information Commissioner’s Office has in (a) the trial of the Aeroyn Skyranger drone around Gatwick Airport and (b) any other use of other surveillance aircraft operated by Government departments, agents or public bodies in the UK.

    Simon Hughes

    The Information Commissioner’s Office has no specific role in the trial of the Aeryon Skyranger drone around Gatwick Airport. Members of the Information Commissioner’s staff sit on the Cross-Government Working Group on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. They advise on any data protection compliance issues that arise.

    In addition the ICO is currently consulting on its revised CCTV code of practice which includes a section on remotely operated vehicles, or drones:

    http://ico.org.uk/about_us/consultations/our_consultations

    “

  • Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what (a) direct and (b) indirect bilateral funding arrangements his Department has with governmental or non-governmental projects and bodies in Argentina.

    Gregory Barker

    The Department does not at present provide bilateral funding to Argentina.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Colvile – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the changes in the level of access to prostate cancer treatments since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS England Specialised Commissioning team introduced nationally developed service specifications for a range of areas, including prostate cancer, during 2013-14. Prior to 2013, prostate cancer was routinely commissioned by primary care trusts, and as such an assessment of the changes in the level of access to prostate cancer treatments since 2010 is not technically feasible.

    Routinely commissioned treatments for prostate cancer are: (i) radical prostatectomy; (ii) radical external beam radiotherapy; and (iii) radical brachytherapy. In addition, NHS England routinely commissions systemic treatments for prostate cancer, including hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published technology appraisal guidance which recommends docetaxel (Taxotere) for hormone-refractory prostate cancer and abiraterone (Zytiga), in combination with prednisolone or prednisone, for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with one docetaxel-containing regimen. NICE is also currently developing technology appraisal guidance on a number of other drugs for prostate cancer.

    National Health Service commissioners are legally required by regulations to fund those treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal guidance.

    Five-year survival rates improved from around 42% in the late 1980s to 79.7% in 2007 (currently 80.2% according to data for 2006-2010 published in October 2012) due in part to the effects of increased Prostate Specific Antigen testing and earlier detection. However, survival rates in England are still lagging behind comparable countries in Europe.

    Cancer Research UK has estimated that men with advanced, incurable prostate cancer treated in trials or under drug access schemes at the Royal Marsden Hospital survived on average 41 months, compared to between 13 and 16 months 10 years ago.

    The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets out an ambition to make England one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths from all cancers, including prostate cancer. Cancer indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the Public Health Outcomes Framework will help NHS England to assess progress in improving cancer survival and mortality for men with prostate cancer.

  • Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Julian Huppert on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on how many injuries have been associated with the use of water cannon in Northern Ireland.

    Damian Green

    The Home Secretary has now received the request to authorise water cannon for
    use by the police in England and Wales. She is considering this request and
    will announce her decision in due course and lay the relevant information in
    the House Library.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help Malpas to develop a dementia friendly community.

    Norman Lamb

    The dementia friendly communities recognition process was launched by Alzheimer’s Society in September 2013 and 55 communities have already signed up. We have therefore increased our original ambition of 20 communities committed to work to become dementia friendly, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, to reach 75 communities by March 2015. In addition, 59 local authorities are members of local Dementia Action Alliances.

    The Department has worked with Alzheimer’s Society to develop the recognition process for dementia friendly communities. Malpas has signed up to the recognition process and is receiving support in its work to become dementia friendly. The Department is also working with Alzheimer’s Society and the British Standards Institute to develop a code of practice for dementia friendly communities, which will help communities to continue in their work to become dementia friendly.

  • Mr David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mr David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Blunkett on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what restrictions, by category of prisoner, are placed on access to (a) a prisoner’s own books and (b) books from the prison library in the first four weeks of a prison sentence.

    Jeremy Wright

    Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time. Prisoners may have additional books stored locally at the prison. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access.

    Access to books is not determined by category of prisoner and nor does it differ for those in the first four weeks of their sentence.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in relation to suppression of the marking of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations by the government of China.

    Baroness Warsi

    We are concerned at reports of detentions in relation to the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square and raised our concerns about this with the Chinese authorities during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 20 May. The Minister of State, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised this issue with the Chinese authorities on 19 May and made a statement on this issue on 21 May. We also fully support the EU statement of 28 May calling for the release of all those imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their views. We were pleased to see that on 5 June, the Chinese authorities released a number of those arrested after attending an event to commemorate the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 547W, on the Work Programme, if he will place in the Library the draft findings of the Work Programme evaluation received by his Department in August 2013.

    Esther McVey

    The evaluation of the Work Programme is still on-going, and the Department will publish findings once it is completed.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the first Contracts for Difference auction to take place; when they expect the Offtaker of Last Resort to be operational; whether those dates have changed from the dates given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013; and if so, why.

    Baroness Verma

    The policy design of the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) is at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD) expected in October 2014, with regulations on schedule to be in place when the first CfDs are signed towards the end of 2014 or in early 2015. Consequently, CfD applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, in advance of the first auctions. This is consistent with the commitments about the timing of the OLR given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013.

  • Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Mary Glindon on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have received the personal independence payment since April 2013.

    Mike Penning

    PIP is a brand new benefit that is replacing the broken DLA system, we published early management information on Tuesday 11 February 2014. Between April and December 2013, around 22,000 new claimants had been given an award of PIP.