Category: Speeches

Stephen Pound – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Pound on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many claims for asbestos-related illnesses were made against his Department in each year since 2003.

Jenny Willott

The asbestos-related personal injury claims for which the Department is responsible are mainly historical liabilities that were assumed by the Department from various bodies, including former nationalised industries, whose liabilities transferred to the Department (as previously constituted) when those bodies ceased to exist.

Based on available data, the number of claims for the years in question are listed by category, and are as follows:

Year	National Dock Labour Board	British Shipbuilders[1]	British Shipbuilers Chester Street[2]	British Coal[3]	Others[4]
2003		645	31	11
2004		854	37	103
2005		771	15	47
2006		214	4	42
2007		119	8	42	1
2008	115[5]	126	4	36	2
2009	44	168	2		2
2010	45	133	7		3
2011	47	124	4		1
2012	45	232	3		1
2013	37	160	4		2
2014	6	33	1		2

The footnotes below provide further information on these numbers.

[1]British Shipbuilders was a separate legal entity, with BIS, as formerly constituted, as its sponsor department. British Shipbuilders was wound up in March 2013. Since then responsibility for these claims has passed to BIS.

[2]BIS is responsible for compensation claims made against former British Shipbuilders’ companies that were sold with their liabilities during privatisation, and which subsequently became insolvent, as did their insurer, Chester Street Insurance Holdings Ltd. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not compensate former employees in respect of periods of employment with nationalised industries (such as British Shipbuilders) and the Department (the then DTI) assumed liability for this compensation by way of a Minute to Parliament in 2003.

[3] BIS does not hold complete figures for asbestos claims for British Coal for calendar years 2003, 2005 and 2006. British Coal liabilities transferred to the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) on its creation in October 2008, so no figures have been included after that date.

[4]The claims listed in the column headed “Others” are claims for which the Department is responsible as the successor to partner organisations and executive agencies which no longer exist.

[5]The figure of 115 NDLB claims for 2008 is the complete number for the years 2006 – 2008 as the figures for these years have been aggregated.

01/11/2022

Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the cost of abating all global warming projected to occur over the lifetime of Navitus Bay in sterling and in US dollars; and what intertemporal discount rate has been used in such calculations.

Gregory Barker

The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments.

01/11/2022
Michael Thornton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Thornton on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make cancer awareness education a statutory requirement in schools.

Elizabeth Truss

Cancer awareness is important for all young people. However, I do not believe that there should be a statutory requirement for it to be taught in schools. The Government aims to reduce prescription throughout the education system, and trusts schools to provide what is best for their students. The Department for Education does not collect data on this topic.

Schools are free to teach cancer awareness when it is relevant to the national curriculum. For example, the science curriculum requires pupils to learn about the effects of drugs on their bodies, and the importance of physical activity and a healthy lifestyle is included in the requirements for physical education. In design and technology, schools may highlight the importance of nutrition and a healthy diet. Schools may include cancer awareness as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, using suitable resources from relevant organisations. The PSHE Association has produced a suggested programme of study as guidance for teachers, and continues to highlight other sources of expertise.

01/11/2022
Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Dan Rogerson

To identify every visit made by all of our Ministers over the period would incur a disproportionate cost as the information is not collated centrally.

However, information on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and their overseas travel is published quarterly on the Gov.uk site. This reflects the Civil Service’s commitment to transparency.

Please find links to the relevant reports from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2013:

1 January to 31 March 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212312/defra-min-transparency-1213-q4.pdf

1 April to 30 June 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246396/Ministerial_expenses_-_1_April_to_30_June_2013.pdf

1 July to 30 September 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265462/Ministers_Quarterly_return_July_to_September_2013.pdf

1 October to 31 December 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/320333/Ministerial_Quarterly_Transparency_information_-_October_to_December_2013.pdf

Transparency data for 1 January to 31 March 2014 is expected to be available on the webpage later this month. The data for 1 April to 30 June 2014 is due to be published in September.

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01/11/2022
John McDonnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-03-31.

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many police officer managers have been deployed at SO17 Palace of Westminster in each of the last 10 years.

John Thurso

The average number of police officer managers, defined as Chief Superintendent, Superintendent, Chief Inspector, Inspector and Sergeant, deployed at SO17 Palace of Westminster since the start of the current contract in April 2010 is as follows:

April 2010 to March 2011: 20
April 2011 to March 2012: 21
April 2012 to March 2013: 19
April 2013 to March 2014: 21

The numbers vary from month to month so the figures above are rounded averages for the 12 month periods shown. At the start of 2013/14 there were 164 police officers and 356 security officers in SO17.

These figures are provided by SO17. Data for previous years could only be derived from manual records and are not readily available.

01/11/2022
Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether precursors of genocide exist in Burma for the Rohingya; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

It is the policy of the British Government that any judgement on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes. We consistently lobby the Burmese government for further action to address the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, to improve security, to deliver accountability and to find a sustainable solution on citizenship. I raised our concerns with the Burmese government during my visit in January, summoned the Burmese Ambassador to press for humanitarian access in April, and discussed the situation with Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw again on 13 June.

01/11/2022
Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of a magistrates’ court proceeding was in (a) all cases and (b) cases relating to the non-payment of the television licence fee.

Damian Green

The majority of criminal cases in the magistrates court are dealt with in a single day. Around two thirds of all cases are dealt with in a single hearing with 90% of television licence evasion cases requiring only one hearing, The Government has said that it will examine whether television licence evasion should be decriminalised.

01/11/2022
Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the review by the NHS on intellectual property, Innovation, Health and Wealth.

Dr Daniel Poulter

NHS England has advised that work to develop proposals following the review is still continuing, and proposals will be shared in due course.

01/11/2022
Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-03-31.

To ask the Prime Minister, what recent discussions he has had with his Commonwealth counterparts on the resolution passed by the 25th Human Rights Council session on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka.

Mr David Cameron

Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution vote on Sri Lanka on 27 March, I personally engaged with a wide range of UNHRC member states including those from the Commonwealth, as did the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and other Ministers.

We will work closely with our international partners to support the implementation of the resolution establishing an international investigation. We believe that progress on accountability, human rights and reconciliation is important in establishing an enduring peace in Sri Lanka. Such progress will ensure Sri Lanka can reach its full potential as a strong and prosperous nation.

01/11/2022
Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training is provided to staff working within alcohol and drugs treatment in identifying and treating the problem of gambling addiction.

Norman Lamb

The Department does not hold information on what specific training is provided to alcohol and drug treatment staff. Ensuring competent staff is the responsibility of local commissioners and providers.

Public Health England (PHE) is working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the national gambling treatment service to identify how it can strengthen training, and are promoting the work of the Royal College of General Practitioners who have developed an online gambling diagnosis and treatment training resource that is available free to all health professionals.

PHE promotes the Royal College of General Practitioners’ online training resource among all health professionals. PHE has developed guidance for local authorities on gambling and is exploring what the local needs are and where evidence allows it to intervene. However, PHE does not wish to undermine the treatment available through the national provider GamCare until evidence emerges that this is not meeting current need.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with PHE and NHS England on a range of health issues. PHE is also working with NHS England and the Local Government Association to explore what the current need is locally so it can get a better picture; and decide whether PHE needs to act through prevention and restrictions on gambling shops; or through changes to the current GamCare treatment network.

01/11/2022