Category: Speeches

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2014, Official Report, column 387W, on the electoral register, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of holding information on the proportion of attainers who are registered to vote; and what assessment he has made of the usefulness of this information in improving the introduction of individual electoral registration.

    Greg Clark

    It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Nuttall on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the target time is for a decision on an application for compensation.

    Damian Green

    The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not have a target. The average (mean) time between application receipt and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) initially deciding the case was 8.8 months in 2012-13.

    This time taken varies depending on the individual’s circumstances and the complexity of the case: for some serious injuries claims can only be finalised when the extent of the impact on their health or ability to earn becomes clear. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) seeks to decide cases as quickly as possible.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-05-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many estates were liable for inheritance tax in 2012; and if he will estimate the number of estates likely to be so affected in 2017 should current regulations remain in place.

    Mr David Gauke

    HMRC has published statistics on this here:

    https:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/304354/20140402_Number_taxpayers_traders_v0.2.pdf

    The Office for Budget Responsibility is responsible for forecasts. Estimates on this and other issues can be found in their latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 622-3W, on the Electoral Register: fraud, if the Electoral Commission will make an assessment of (a) the effect of the views of politicians and (b) statements by the Electoral Commission on public perception of electoral registration.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not have any current plans to carry out research to make such an assessment.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many houses built in each of the last five years are (a) wheelchair accessible and (b) built to lifetime homes standards.

    Stephen Williams

    DCLG does not collect information on the number of wheelchair-accessible or lifetime homes standard properties built each year.

  • Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the planned changes to pensions on the investment strategy of the National Employment Savings Trust.

    Steve Webb

    The investment strategy for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is the responsibility of the NEST Trustees who will consider, if in the best interests of their members, there needs to be any change in NEST’s investment approach.

  • Bill Esterson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bill Esterson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence his Department holds or has assessed on the effects of conversion to academy status on the test results of children in primary schools.

    Michael Gove

    In 2013, the percentage of pupils in converter academies that achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing (teacher assessment) and mathematics was 81%.[1] This was an improvement of one percentage point from 2012, and compares with 76% of pupils that achieved the same threshold in local authority maintained mainstream schools. Furthermore, the percentage of pupils in converter academies that exceeded this threshold was 25%, compared with 21% in local authority maintained mainstream schools.

    [1] Table 5, National Tables, SFR51/2013: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2012-to-2013

    “

  • Mr Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mr Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for a work capability assessment is for claimants in (a) Torbay local authority area, (b) the South West region and (c) England.

    Mike Penning

    The average waiting time for a Work Capability Assessment in the period from March 2013 to February 2014 is as follows:

    Torbay local authority area – the information is not available in respect of Local Authority areas

    The South West – 110 working days

    England – 71 working days

    We announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 27 March our plans to achieve a reduction in waiting times and next steps, including Atos Healthcare’s withdrawal from delivery of Work Capability Assessments in Great Britain before the end of the current contract .

    Atos Healthcare will continue to deliver Work Capability Assessments until contract exit and will still be subject to a quality and service credit regime. We will continue to work with Atos to ensure they can deliver the best service possible to claimants until they leave the contract.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to record and identify instances where non-pharmacological treatments have caused adverse reactions in patients.

    Norman Lamb

    Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines through the spontaneous reporting scheme; the Yellow Card Scheme. The scheme has been in place since 1964 and collects ADR reports from across the whole United Kingdom and includes all medicines, including non-pharmacological treatments such as herbal and homeopathic medicines.

    Reports are received from healthcare professionals and members of the public on a voluntary basis. However there is a legal requirement for pharmaceutical companies to report suspected ADRs to their products. The MHRA receives approximately 30,000 ADR reports per year. All reports received are rapidly entered onto the MHRA’s ADR database for assessment by a team of medical, pharmaceutical and scientific assessors. The purpose of the scheme is to provide an early warning that the safety of a product may require further investigation and the scheme has a proven track record of identifying safety issues.

    National Health Service organisations will also record details of adverse incidents in local risk management systems and other datasets such as the Hospital Episodes Statistics datasets. Many of these systems rely on accurate coding to enable data extract and analysis, and codes specific to non pharmacological treatments may not always be available.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Brandon Lewis

    As I indicated in my answer of 13 September 2013, Official Report, Column 884W, Ministers in this Department do not believe it is appropriate for public resources to be used to support the collection and administration of membership subscriptions and believe is an outdated and unnecessary 20th century practice.

    It is also unsatisfactory that some trade unions collect the political levy via check-off, but make no attempt to inform would-be members that the political levy is optional, or even mention the right to opt out on their membership forms. It is the view of Ministers that this is a misleading and dubious marketing practice through omission.

    I can confirm that we are taking further steps to review such practices.