Category: Speeches

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to encourage the use of smart meters; and if he will make a statement.

    Gregory Barker

    The Government’s vision is for every home and smaller businesses in Great Britain to have smart electricity and gas meters by the end of 2020. In December 2012, the Department published the smart meter Consumer Engagement Strategy which sets out the approach to how domestic and non-domestic consumers will be encouraged to use smart meters to take control of their energy – helping them to save energy and money.

    Energy suppliers will have the primary consumer engagement role as they are the main interface with consumers before, during and after installation. Supplier engagement will be supported by a programme of centralised engagement undertaken by a Central Delivery Body (CDB), which the larger energy suppliers were required to set up in June 2013.

    The Department also has a continuing role in consumer engagement. For example, we are working with stakeholders, such as third-sector organisations, in engaging consumers, and ensuring that accurate information on smart meters is available online.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 139W, on Burma, what commitments the Burmese immigration minister made on conduct of the census.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    On 26 March, I spoke to Immigration Minister U Khin Yi, reminding him of the Burmese government’s assurance that all individuals would have the right to self-identify their ethnicity and that international observers would be allowed to monitor the census across the country. I also made clear that the census must have adequate security. The Immigration Minister acknowledged our concerns.

    We are pleased that international observers were invited to monitor the enumeration process across the country. However we were deeply disappointed that the Burmese government went against its long-standing assurances on census conduct, in particular the right to self-identify ethnicity. The Burmese Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 7 April, where I made clear that this decision was in contravention of international norms and standards on census conduct.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the overseas aid budget is being used to help combat the spread and treatment of HIV and Aids; and in which countries.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The UK government’s expenditure on HIV is provided through: UK government contributions to multilateral and global initiatives that work on HIV prevention and treatment; HIV-specific bilateral projects and programmes; bilateral support to health systems and service delivery; and by supporting HIV related research.

    The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is the principal mechanism the UK uses to finance our contribution to combat HIV. The UK has pledged up to £1 billion to the Global Fund over the next three years, of which around 50 per cent will be spent on HIV. In 2012/13 the UK provided £90.4 million to HIV-specific bilateral projects and programmes, supporting HIV prevention and treatment in 17 countries and across a number of regional programmes. Further details of these projects and programmes are available in the 2013 review of the HIV Position Paper “Towards Zero Infections" https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261341/Towards_Zero_Infections_-_Two_Years_On_22_November_FINAL_word_version.pdf.

    Details of the total expenditure on health are published in Statistics on International Development (SID) which is available in the House Library or online at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development.

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  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate staffing in magistrates’ courts to ensure the efficient and speedy provision of information to the bench.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are adequate legal advisers in the magistrates’ courts who provide speedy advice to magistrates in order to ensure the efficient administration of Justice.

    We have resourcing models in place which help determine the aggregate staffing numbers required to manage anticipated workloads. Further, Delivery Directors ensure that resources are deployed effectively at individual courts.

  • 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 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have benefited from Youth Contract wage incentives, by region, in each year since the Youth Contract was introduced.

    Esther McVey

    The latest information that we hold on Youth Contract Wage Incentives was published in February 2014 and can be found at the link below. We do not collect payment data in a form that allows it to be reported at regional level.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283873/youth-contract-feb14.pdf

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  • Mike Hancock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Hancock – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Hancock on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Hampshire and (c) the South East attributed to air pollution in each of the last 10 years.

    Jane Ellison

    Estimates of the fraction of mortality in English local authority areas and regions in 2010 and 2011 attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities are published by Public Health England (PHE) as one of the indicators in the Department of Health’s Public Health Outcomes Framework. For Portsmouth Unitary Authority this figure was 5.9% in both 2010 and 2011; for Hampshire County Council this figure was 5.3% in 2010 and 5.4% in 2011; and for the South East this figure was 5.5% in both 2010 and 2011.

    PHE has also published mortality estimates for 2010 as attributable deaths[1] and associated years of life lost. The estimated mortality burdens attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities were: 95 attributable deaths and 1059 associated years of life lost in Portsmouth Unitary Authority; 601 attributable deaths and 6211 associated years of life lost in Hampshire County Council; and 4,034 attributable deaths and 41,729 associated years of life lost in the South East.

    [1] The ‘number of deaths’ attributable to a risk factor is a metric which is widely used in communicating about public health risks. Nonetheless, a calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’ does not represent the number of individuals whose length of life has been shortened by air pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution is understood to be a contributory factor to deaths from respiratory and, particularly, cardiovascular disease, ie unlikely to be the sole cause of deaths of individuals. This means that it is likely that air pollution contributes a smaller amount to the deaths of a larger number of exposed individuals rather than being solely responsible for a number of deaths equivalent to the calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’. The distribution of the mortality effect within the population is unknown.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department issues on what criteria schools should use when deciding whether to employ an individual who does not possess a formal teaching qualification as a teacher.

    Mr David Laws

    The Department for Education does not issue guidance prescribing the criteria that schools should use when employing teaching staff.

    The latest school workforce statistics (November 2013) show that the overwhelming majority (96%) of teachers in state-funded schools hold qualified teacher status.

    Headteachers are best-placed to make decisions about the qualifications, skills and experience they need in their teaching staff. They are held to account for those decisions through inspection and the publication of school performance data.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on In vitro fertilisation, (a) what the evidential basis is for his statement that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus, (b) what account he took of the data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases in preparing that statement and (c) what genetic modifications applied to the eggs or embryos would prevent any nuclear DNA from the eggs or embryo donor being inherited by the resulting child.

    Jane Ellison

    We have been advised by the Wellcome Trust that whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria.

    Inheritance of nuclear DNA from the donor egg is prevented in the Maternal Spindle Transfer technique through the removal of the spindle from the donor egg. Given that the nuclear DNA in the form of condensed chromosomes is attached to the spindle, nuclear genomic DNA from the donor will be removed and not inherited by the resulting child. Techniques that allow the visualisation of condensed chromosomes in eggs are used to ensure that all the chromosomes are removed.

    For embryos used in the Pronuclear Transfer technique, the nuclear genomic DNA is enclosed within the nuclear membrane of the maternal (egg-derived) and paternal (sperm-derived) pronuclei. The donor nuclear genomic DNA will be removed when the pronuclei are removed.

    There is no universally agreed definition of genetic modification in humans. The Government has adopted a working definition for the purpose of taking forward the draft mitochondrial donation regulations, that genetic modification involves the germ-line modification of nuclear DNA that can be passed on to future generations. Therefore, the Government does not accept that mitochondrial donation amounts to genetic modification.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide an estimate of the costs of redoubling the section of the North Cotswold line between (a) Charlbury to Wolvercote Junction and (b) Evesham and Norton Junction.

    Stephen Hammond

    The provision of a cost estimate for further redoubling of the North Cotswold line would normally be sought from Network Rail only when a business case is identified for the extra benefits this enhancement would provide. No business case has yet been identified and so a cost estimate is not being sought. Network Rail is investigating the opportunities for line speed improvements on the route to reduce journey times.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what amount was generated by levies under the Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 Levy in each of the last four years.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Prisoners’ Earnings Act (PEA) commenced on 26 September 2011. Information for October 2011 to March 2012 was published in the NOMS Annual Report 2011-12: Management Information Addendum in July 2012, which can be accessed via the following link to the Gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/218333/noms-annual-report-2011-12-addendum.pdf

    Figures for the full financial year 2012-13 were published in the 2012-13 edition of the Addendum at the following location: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf

    Figures for 2013-14 will be published on 31 July.

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