Category: Speeches

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes on the implementation plans for Action for Diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Jonathan Valabhji, the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, has had no discussions with my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health specifically about Action for Diabetes.

    There have been no recent discussions about diabetes between the Secretary of State for Health and NHS Improving Quality.

  • Fiona O’Donnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Fiona O’Donnell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona O’Donnell on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding for the independent living fund his Department has withdrawn from local authorities in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

    Mike Penning

    Responsibility for supporting former ILF users will transfer to local authorities and the devolved administrations from 1 July 2015.

    In line with the commitment made in last year’s Spending Review, local authorities and devolved administrations will be fully funded to enable them to meet those responsibilities in 2015/16

    Budgets for 2016/17 and later years will be determined in future Spending Reviews.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of take-home naloxone in reducing the number of opiate-related deaths across the UK in conjunction with the training and educational programmes within the prison services.

    Jane Ellison

    From July 2009 to February 2010, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (now part of Public Health England (PHE)) ran a trial at 16 pilot sites around England in which carers and relations of opiate misusers were trained to respond to overdoses and use the antidote naloxone and basic life support techniques.

    A report[1] on the trial was published in 2011, and it was clear that naloxone appeared to help save lives. The report said that there were 18 overdoses where carers used naloxone and two where they applied basic life support. All the drug users survived the overdose. The trial included people who were about to leave prisons, and the report covers some of the issues around this.

    There is currently a trial running on the effectiveness of giving prisoners naloxone when they leave prison, which has yet to report.

    Some prisons currently supply prisons with take-home naloxone as part of their post-release support. PHE does not hold the data centrally.

    The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has recommended that naloxone be made more widely available, and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has undertaken a consultation with the field on implementing this recommendation. There will be no further policy announcements on naloxone until the report on this consultation is published.

    [1] Full report available at http://www.nta.nhs.uk/uploads/naloxonereport2011.pdf

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will introduce a seven day deadline for the processing of personal independence payments for the terminally ill.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.

    Although Personal Independence Payment is a new benefit, and the Department does not have a target for completion of claims while processess are bedding in, we do deal urgently with special rules claims for terminally ill claimants. We are implementing a range of improvements to improve clearance times for people with a terminal illness, including a dedicated phone service which we introduced in February 2014.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of passports that were issued for residents of (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Lanarkshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK in each year since 2009.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not store information at constituency level
    and the cost of extracting the information requested would be disproportionate.
    Information on passport processing performance can be found in HMPO’s annual
    report and accounts, which can be accessed via the links below.

    2009-2010:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118758
    /annual-report-accounts-200910.pdf

    2010-2011:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identity-and-passport-service-annual-
    report-and-accounts-2010-to-2011

    2011-2012:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118751
    /ips-annual-report-2012.pdf

    2012-2013:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210619
    /IPS_annual_report_and_accounts_2012-13.pdf

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department for Transport to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

    Baroness Kramer

    The department’s financial position is reviewed on a regular basis by the Department for Transport’s Board and Executive Committee.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether staff working for community rehabilitation companies will be able to (a) recall offenders and (b) write parole reports without consulting National Probation Service staff.

    Jeremy Wright

    The decision whether to recall an offender to custody continues to rest with the Secretary of State. Where a warning does not appear sufficient or appropriate, CRCs will be required to refer potential breaches to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) with a breach report and a recommendation on the action to be taken. NOMS will take the final decision on behalf of the Secretary of State. The enforcement process for CRCs and the National Probation Service was described in detail in our published Target Operating Model.

    Offenders serving indeterminate sentences for public protection will be managed by the National Probation Service: the arrangements for Parole Board hearings during their recall period will remain unchanged. If recalled to custody, offenders allocated to the CRCs who are serving determinate sentences will continue to be managed by the CRC, unless their risk of serious harm increases to “high”. CRCs will need to provide information, as appropriate, to support the recall process and consideration of re-release.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims for hearing loss they have received from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence are not recorded in a manner that enables the specific regiment or unit of a claimant to be identified without incurring disproportionate cost. 10,148 such claims have been received in the last six years from current and former Service personnel serving in Northern Ireland. Around 7,500 such claims have been successful to date, and the total value of compensation paid as a result has been around £62.3 million.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 her Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department operates one telephone line with the prefix 0844 for the purpose of updating staff in the event of an emergency situation. Details of the number of calls to this line are not recorded and no alternative number is available at the BT local rate. My Department does not operate or sponsor any telephone lines with the prefix 0845 or 0843.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect they expect that the recently announced Elephant Protection Initiative will have on the illegal wildlife trade; and what support they are giving to the Initiative.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Government warmly welcomes the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), launched at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 by the Presidents of Botswana, Chad, Gabon and Tanzania, and the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.

    Through the EPI, these Governments are committing to:

    · observing an extended moratorium on consideration of future international ivory trade

    · closing domestic ivory markets

    · putting all ivory stockpiles (both seized ‘illegal’ and ‘legal’ ivory accrued from elephant mortality) beyond economic use.

    In response to these bold commitments, the EPI is intended to provide participating Governments with access to a fund to support the implementation of the measures contained in the Africa Elephant Action Plan. The UK Government has committed to supporting this fund, in the first instance by matching the first tranche of private sector funding amounting to around £1m.

    The text of the Elephant Protection Initiative can be accessed through the following link: www.gov.uk/government/news/decisive-action-agreed-on-illegal-wildlife-trade.

    “