Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with devolved regional assemblies to agree a strategy to prevent bacillus cereus infections.

    Jane Ellison

    Bacillus cereus is a spore forming bacterium found widely in the environment in dust, soil and vegetation. There is limited prevention as it is a naturally occurring bacterium. However, the Food Standards Agency has published advice on their website which details information on potential food poisoning caused by Bacillus cereus.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) undertake inspections of manufacturing facilities with reference to the standards of Good Manufacturing Practice to verify that companies are producing medicines that are of the correct quality and safety. The manufacture of sterile products, such as Total Parental Nutrition, is subject to special requirements in order to minimise risks of bacterial contamination.

    In the case of medicines, the MHRA and Public Health England (PHE) are currently investigating what has caused the recent incident where Total Parenteral Nutrition became contaminated with Bacillus cereus . Based on the information we currently have, we believe this is an isolated incident and the appropriate immediate action has been taken to avoid a recurrence.

    The devolved administrations have been informed of the current incident involving Bacillus cereus. The investigations into the cause of this incident are still ongoing. The Department will continue to discuss matters with the devolved administrations for minimising Bacillus cereus infection.

    The investigations being undertaken by MHRA and PHE are in their advanced stages and preliminary findings will be published as soon as possible. While the MHRA and PHE are undertaking their own investigations, it would be normal practice for the Coroner to report on the individual case he is currently considering.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

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

    To ask the Attorney General, what levels of stock the Law Officers’ Departments hold of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Oliver Heald

    The Crown Prosecution Service has reduced its expenditure on stationery substantially since 2010, however inventories of stationery items and office consumables are not maintained and to calculate the stock levels held would incur a disproportionate cost.

    The remaining Law Officers’ Departments operate "Just in Time" purchasing for most stationery items and do not therefore keep details on the exact levels of stock of stationery, printer cartridges, treasury tags and other fasteners, or other office consumables. Providing such information would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on its proposals to increase professional fees for nurses by £20 per annum later in 2014.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent body and it is therefore for the NMC Council to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration. On 26 March 2014, the NMC Council reviewed the level of this fee and agreed a proposal to increase it from £100 per annum to £120 in March 2015. The NMC is running a public consultation between 8 May and 31 July 2014, where its proposal is open to scrutiny. No decision on the proposed fee increase has been made at present.

    Ministers keep the issue of professional regulation under regular review and the Department has frequent contact with professional regulators, including the NMC. On 12 March 2014, I met with representatives of the NMC for a regular update meeting. This meeting was not specifically set up to discuss the NMC registration fee, but during this meeting the NMC provided information about its fee review process.

  • 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 negotiations took place with trade unions prior to the decision to close the Hull Official Receiver’s office; and on what dates those negotiations took place.

    Jenny Willott

    Extensive discussions have taken place between the Insolvency Service and trade union officials in connection with the estates review of our 36 offices throughout the last 2 years, in the context of continued falling case numbers. As a result of this on-going consultation, changes have been made to our excess fares, home moves and flexible working policies, to support those affected by office closures. The trade unions were made aware on 25 February 2014 that the future of the Hull office was being considered, and were invited to provide any views they wished. Following the announcement of the office closure on 27 March 2014 a 90 day formal consultation period with employees and their trade unions representatives commenced. The purpose of the consultation is to ensure that the Insolvency Service explores what the decision means for each of its employees, as well as discussing and agreeing the support that it can provide.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she authorised the UK’s classification of (a) Google, (b) Facebook, (c) webmail services and (d) other companies that operate in the UK as external communications.

    James Brokenshire

    External Communication is defined within the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 and the statutory Interception of Communications Code of Practice which was approved by Parliament and came into force on 1 July 2002. The Government has no present plans to amend the definition of external communication.

    Under RIPA, interception warrants are issued by the Secretary of State.

  • Ian Lavery – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Lavery – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the staffing levels at HM Revenue and Customs debt management collectors were in (a) debt management telephony centres, (b) field force, (c) debt collection intervention teams, (d) debt technical offices and (e) late stage intervention in each of the last three years.

    Mr David Gauke

    Staff numbers fluctuate throughout the year but the following numbers of staff were in post at 31 March for each of the last three years:

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    DMTC/DCIT

    1,276

    1,194

    1,336

    Field Force

    631

    601

    531

    DTO

    1,012

    1,223

    1,113

    LAST

    242

    277

    Total

    2,919

    3,260

    3,257

    · HMRC uses an appropriate mix of interventions to recover outstanding debt based on assessments of previous behaviour, [credit] risk and likely ability to pay. The allocation of various activities to specific debts is not mutually exclusive – some debtors may experience multiple contacts if they do not respond to initial attempts at recovery.

    · The table below shows the overall annual amounts of debts which HMRC has pursued and cleared in recent years.

    £billion

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    Total Debt processed

    51

    53

    47

    59

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to support the adoption of a target to integrate climate adaptation and emissions reductions into development plans and poverty reduction strategies in Open Working Group negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Justine Greening

    The UK supports integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into development plans and poverty reduction strategies. This language is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.

    The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

  • Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Peter Bottomley on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will direct the Leasehold Advisory Service to co-operate with the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership and the Campaign Against Retirement Leasehold Exploitation on providing advice to leaseholders.

    Kris Hopkins

    My hon. Friend raises a serious matter. In July 2013, Mr Benjamin Mire resigned from his (part-time) judicial post on the Southern Residential Property Tribunal following a conduct investigation by the Ministry of Justice, but prior to the conclusion of the formal disciplinary process.

    Mr Mire is Chief Executive of Trust Property Management, a firm of chartered surveyors and managing agents. The issue raised is whether this company should continue to be advertised on LEASE’s (the Leasehold Advisory Service) practitioners’ list.

    The practitioner list is not meant to be a fully comprehensive list, nor does inclusion constitute a recommendation by LEASE. Firms pay a fee to be entered on the list and sign a contract accordingly.

    In considering a recent complaint on this issue, LEASE undertook a careful review of their terms and conditions in relation to inclusion in their professional directory. This has resulted in amendments being made, and revised terms and conditions have been published on their website.

    The revised terms and conditions give LEASE the right to temporarily remove an organisation’s directory information from the directory if a complaint is received from a third party relating to the organisation or its listing. They also give LEASE the right to terminate the contract with immediate effect by giving written notice if a number of conditions are not met, these include:-

    “The inclusion of the organisation’s directory information on the directory conflicts with LEASE Conferences Ltd or the Leasehold Advisory Service’s purposes, objectives or obligations or brings LEASE into disrepute or there is a risk (in our reasonable opinion) of any such conflict or bringing into disrepute.”

    If Trust Property Management does not meet the new terms and conditions when their contract for inclusion in the directory is due for renewal in July, then they will be removed, as will any other organisation which similarly does not meet the revised terms and conditions.

    Whilst I appreciate that this may not be as quick a step as my hon. Friend would wish, moving forward, I hope these actions taken will in due course ensure the continued integrity of the practitioners’ list. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend if he wishes to discuss this further.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on professional interpretation services by each prison in England and Wales in 2013; and on how many occasions such interpretation services were used in each prison in 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Ministry of Justice Language Services Contract commenced on the 31st October 2011 and went live operationally in January 2012. The new interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system and saved taxpayers £15m in its first year. We have seen dramatic improvements over the life of the contract so far, with performance currently at 94% success rate, record numbers of bookings are now being made and fulfilled, and we continue to drive further improvement in performance.

    The number of occasions on which interpretation services were used, and the total cost of these for each prison in 2013, can be found in the table below:

    Prison

    Number of Jobs

    Total Cost

    HMP Shepton Mallet NOMS – Prisons

    1

    £37.30

    HMP Sudbury NOMS – Prisons

    1

    £165.75

    HMP Bedford

    151

    £2,307.40

    HMP Belmarsh

    274

    £88,467.31

    HMP Blundeston

    10

    £254.86

    HMP Brixton

    27

    £2,488.47

    HMP Bure

    4

    £646.30

    HMP Cardiff

    34

    £211.13

    HMP Dartmoor

    4

    £402.55

    HMP Elmley

    23

    £796.05

    HMP Erlestoke

    3

    £1,611.97

    HMP Frankland

    136

    £25,122.43

    HMP Guys Marsh

    13

    £802.64

    HMP Haverigg

    10

    £454.78

    HMP Hewell

    61

    £858.92

    HMP Highpoint

    48

    £2,220.03

    HMP Holme House

    34

    £1,220.84

    HMP Leeds

    108

    £1,449.70

    HMP Leyhill

    3

    £314.74

    HMP Lindholme

    18

    £2,356.99

    HMP Lindholme Learning Centre

    2

    £1,110.90

    HMP Littlehey

    13

    £340.70

    HMP Liverpool

    99

    £2,919.94

    HMP Long Lartin

    148

    £182,180.50

    HMP Manchester

    635

    £50,444.73

    HMP Manchester – Public Protection

    1

    £101.76

    HMP Manchester – Security

    2

    £223.74

    HMP Norwich

    403

    £3,956.21

    HMP Pentonville

    355

    £13,976.57

    HMP Ranby

    56

    £1,232.89

    HMP Send

    22

    £6,838.05

    HMP Stocken

    6

    £165.27

    HMP Sudbury

    5

    £1,835.27

    HMP Swaleside

    13

    £2,015.00

    HMP Swansea

    70

    £1,004.74

    HMP Usk and Prescoed

    51

    £10,967.74

    HMP Wandsworth

    848

    £114,603.82

    HMP Wellingborough

    1

    £58.00

    HMP Whatton

    215

    £53,315.58

    HMP Woodhill

    270

    £4,613.79

    HMP Wormwood Scrubs

    133

    £1,913.12

    HMPOI Aylesbury

    2

    £94.65

    HMPYOI Foston Hall

    17

    £413.64

    HMPYOI Hindley

    76

    £1,164.26

    HMPYOI Holloway

    622

    £6,280.04

    HMPYOI Lewes

    33

    £412.99

    HMPYOI Low Newton

    112

    £1,573.07

    HMPYOI Moorland

    120

    £9,226.49

    HMPYOI New Hall

    189

    £5,480.24

    HMPYOI Reading

    85

    £5,259.40

    HMYOI Portland

    34

    £1,803.30

    Prison Service College

    82

    £27,913.31

    HMP Acklington/Castington

    20

    £221.37

    IRC Dover

    1149

    £9,902.50

    HMP Durham

    73

    £471.58

    HMP Hull

    23

    £743.00

    HMP Huntercombe

    123

    £5,065.04

    IRC Morton Hall

    2762

    £44,677.50

    HMP Nottingham

    169

    £1,867.61

    HMP Wakefield

    163

    £107,301.70

    HMPYOI Warren Hill

    16

    £431.49

    HMP Whitemoor

    92

    £30,026.31

    HMP Wymott

    25

    £1,157.87

    HMP Isle of Wight

    10

    £1,228.67

    HMP YOI Isis

    14

    £1,101.08

    Offender Safety, Rights & Responsibilities Group

    282

    £92,537.70

    HMPYOI Brinsford

    148

    £1,462.78

    HMP Bristol

    49

    £428.42

    HMP Bullwood Hall

    28

    £7,846.42

    HMP Canterbury

    14

    £152.28

    HMYOI Chelmsford

    163

    £2,672.87

    HMYOI Deerbolt

    90

    £1,013.15

    HMP Dorchester

    21

    £183.41

    HMPYOI Downview

    17

    £341.50

    HMPYOI Drake Hall

    136

    £1,150.58

    HMP Eastwood Park

    422

    £3,591.42

    HMP Featherstone

    37

    £554.06

    HMYOI Feltham

    284

    £2,910.20

    HMP Gartree

    12

    £210.45

    HMYOI/RC Glen Parva

    132

    £1,381.49

    HMP Gloucester

    15

    £134.67

    IRC Haslar

    1121

    £11,545.50

    HMYOI Lancaster Farms

    42

    £420.75

    HMP Leicester

    75

    £1,064.05

    HMP Lincoln

    103

    £1,241.73

    HMP Maidstone

    8

    £193.36

    HMP Preston

    52

    £650.34

    HMP Risley

    73

    £2,030.13

    HMP Shrewsbury

    3

    £15.06

    HMYOI Styal

    113

    £1,243.83

    HMP The Verne

    20

    £322.28

    HMP Wayland

    6

    £64.52

    HMYOI Wetherby

    42

    £798.14

    HMP Winchester

    66

    £1,891.31

    HMP Exeter

    43

    £384.50

    HMP High Down

    35

    £244.37

    Hounslow Junior Attendance Centre

    4

    £34.22

    HMP Buckley Hall

    1

    £36.00

    HMP Bullingdon

    16

    £467.50

    HMP Onley

    11

    £67.04

    HMPYOI Swinfen Hall

    4

    £33.94

    Equalities Group

    1

    £1.29

    London (Romford) Junior Attendance Centre

    23

    £263.44

    Bournemouth Junior Attendance Centre

    1

    £10.20

    HMYOI Werrington

    20

    £246.41

    HMP KENNET

    4

    £13.34

    HMPYOI Northallerton

    8

    £71.75

    HMYOI Rochester

    12

    £140.22

    Cricklewood Junior Attendance Centre

    1

    £5.26

    HMP Full Sutton

    28

    £2,540.22

    HMP Stafford

    2

    £28.20

    HMP Wealstun

    3

    £19.14

    HMP Ford

    1

    £62.82

    HMYOI Stoke Heath

    9

    £104.18

    South London Greenwich Senior Attendance Centre

    1

    £28.60

    HMP Everthorpe

    3

    £28.40

    Essex Junior Attendance Centre (Wickford)

    1

    £0.77

    Fulham Junior Attendance Centre

    1

    £11.75

    Hertford Junior Attendance Centre

    1

    £232.80

    HMPYOI Askham Grange

    1

    £1.74

    HMP The Mount

    5

    £137.68

    Assisted Prison Visits Unit

    1

    £940.63

    HMP Garth

    1

    £6.88

    Total

    14138

    £994,041.28

    The costs for the provision of language services detailed in the table provided vary dependent upon the nature of the service used, and the length of the assignment. These services may include, Face to Face interpreters including provision for the deaf and deafblind, Telephone Interpreters and Written Translations.

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

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

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

    Mr Nick Clegg

    The information requested is not held centrally.