Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Phillips – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Stephen Phillips – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to work with counterparts in other EU Member States to encourage tourism to the UK from Europe.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    VisitEngland works closely with a network of National Tourism Organisations through the National Tourism Board Forum. Members include Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Malta, Denmark, Austria, Montenegro and Belgium. Activities of the forum include: regular meetings, sharing insights and best practice and marketing development.

  • Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lucy Powell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of employees in his Department of each (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.

    Brandon Lewis

    The proportion of Department staff currently working reduced hours by Civil Service pay grade is as follows:

    Administrative

    Officer

    Executive Officer

    Higher Executive Officer

    Fast Stream

    % Part-Time

    8.7%

    11.4%

    10.3%

    2.1%

    Senior Executive Officer

    Grade 7

    Grade 6

    All Senior Civil Servants

    Total

    % Part-Time

    12.5%

    14.8%

    10.0%

    12.5%

    11.7%

    The proportion of Department staff currently working reduced hours by gender is as follows:

    Male

    Female

    Total

    % Part-Time

    2.7%

    20.3%

    11.7%

    With regards to flexi-time, the Department operates a Flexible Working Hours system of attendance under which managers may agree that staff work flexibly within certain set hours. This policy applies to all non-Senior Civil Service staff at all office locations and is subject to operational need.

    The Department does not hold a central record of staff working from home, a compressed working week, job share, and term-time only. These arrangements are agreed between managers and staff and may reflect very short term arrangements as well as those of a more enduring nature. As home working and compressed hours arrangements do not impact on pay or employment terms these arrangements are not recorded on the Department’s central HR system. Where job share and term-time arrangements have an impact on pay or employment terms and conditions these staff are recorded as part-time on the Department’s central HR system.

    The Department’s definition of part-time working is the same as reduced hours and so the above proportions still apply.

  • Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Hinds on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made in improving maternity and early years care.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    We have made improving maternity services a key objective in our Mandate to NHS England. Over the past two years we have also invested 35 million pounds of capital funding to improve the physical environment of over 140 maternity units.

    We have increased the numbers of midwives and health visitors. There are 1,700 more midwives and over 2,000 more health visitors than in 2010. In addition, there are more than 6,000 midwifery students in training. And we are committed to having an extra 4,200 health visitors by 2015.

    We are expanding the Family Nurse Partnership programme – which provides dedicated one to one support to young, at risk first time mothers – to 16,000 places by 2015.

    We launched the NHS Start4life Information Service for Parents, a digital service for parent-to-be and new parents in May 2012. Take up has already exceeded the sign-up target of 300,000 parents by 2015 – as of 1 June over 339,000 parents had signed up to the service.

  • Stella Creasy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stella Creasy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings officials in his Department have had with officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the implications of the Consumer Rights Bill for (a) childcare voucher users and (b) providers of childcare services; and what the Civil Service grades of officials present were.

    Elizabeth Truss

    We are not aware of any meetings between officials from the Department for Education and those from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) specifically on the implications of the Consumer Rights Bill for providers of childcare services.

    BIS consulted widely on consumer law reform in 2008 and 2012, and published a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in 2013. BIS has also completed full impact assessments for the provisions in the Bill.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-05-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure industry and academia in Northern Ireland are able to benefit from opportunities in support of national space security interests.

    Mr David Willetts

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

  • Mike Freer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mike Freer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Freer on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will commission a study on measures to accurately record incidences of mis-stunning in abattoirs.

    George Eustice

    The Food Standards Agency already records instances of mis-stunning in slaughterhouses, so a study in this area is unnecessary. Details were given by the Minister for Public Health on 24 March 2014 : Column 132W – 134W.

    http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm140324/text/140324w0005.htm#14032581000879

    “

  • 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, what lessons he has learned from the Northern Irish experience of introducing individual electoral registration.

    Greg Clark

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

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to section 42 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 which corresponds to an offence contrary to any provision specified in the table in paragraph 3 of the Schedule of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Prescribed Criteria and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009 in each of the last four years.

    Anna Soubry

    The information will take time to collate, I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many secure places there are in the South West region for children with mental health conditions involving violent behaviour.

    Norman Lamb

    We are advised that there are no secure services for children commissioned by NHS England in the South West. There are services commissioned in other areas used by children from the South West area.

    We understand that NHS England has identified a number of actions needed to reduce the number of long distance transfers within the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and is currently considering how to take this forward including any necessary tendering for services in due course.

  • 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 November 2013, Official Report, columns 455-6W, on the Electoral Register, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Electoral Commission’s review of public engagement strategies.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that its Report, titled ‘Readiness for the transition to Individual Electoral Registration’ was published on 31 March with a copy placed in the House Library. The Commission’s report includes the conclusions of its assessment of all Electoral Registration Officers’ (EROs’) public engagement strategies, which found that all EROs have the right plans in place to identify the challenges for their particular local area and what mechanisms they will use to engage with residents to maximise registration. The Commission has also written to the honourable member with a copy of its report.