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Category: Speeches

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have conducted into the bacterial infection spread by the Agrilus biguttatus beetle.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Over the past five years Forest Research, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, has conducted a systematic survey to model the distribution of acute oak decline (AOD) in England and Wales. The results show that the condition currently affects several thousand oak trees, mostly across East Anglia, the Midlands and southern England.

    The complex nature of the condition means it is often associated with other pathogens, as well as insect defoliators and the research has not yet concluded whether AOD kills trees or not. A large proportion of the infected trees monitored have entered remission suggesting some level of host resistance. We do not have information at the landscape level on the number of oak with AOD symptoms that die every year.

    Since 2013, Defra has invested £1.1 million in research to understand the causes, distribution and scale of AOD in the UK. This includes work to investigate the bacterial species associated with the condition and to understand whether the Agrilus biguttatus beetle plays a role in the dispersal of these bacterial species. Early findings from this research are still inconclusive. There is currently no firm evidence of transmission by the beetle.

    Earlier this year, Defra in collaboration with the Research Councils, Scottish Government and the Forestry Commission launched a further £2 million call for research proposals on ‘oak health’ and Phytophthora. The successful bids from this call are due to be announced shortly.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what revenue is generated through civilian aviation usage at RAF Northolt.

    Mark Lancaster

    In the last financial year 2014-15, the revenue generated from civil aviation usage was £7.02 million.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed changes to the Landfill Communities Fund on the number of community projects supported by that Fund each year.

    Damian Hinds

    The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. The government does not generate estimates for the number of projects supported by the scheme each year. ENTRUST, the regulator of the LCF, publishes information about projects funded by the scheme. This information is available on their website at:

    http://www.entrust.org.uk/environmental-bodies/project-search/

    Further information on the impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-and-value-of-the-landfill-communities-fund/reform-and-value-of-the-landfill-communities-fund

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of the full impact assessment of the infected blood scheme reform consultation containing the assessment of the potential financial effects of proposed reforms on recipients; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The impact assessment we have prepared is an analysis of the proposals and not the final outcome. We will publish the final full impact assessment when we announce the outcomes of the consultation.

    On page 32 – 34 of the consultation document itself the Department gives some indication of the impact of the proposed changes on individuals.

    All respondents to the consultation have been encouraged to say how the proposals will affect them in order that full consideration can be given to this and other issues before any final decisions are made on the reformed scheme.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to provide information to pharmacies on proposed changes to the community pharmacy sector.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We have been in detailed discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, including the proposal for a Pharmacy Access Scheme. In parallel, we also want to hear views on our proposals from across the sector and from patient groups. We published our open letter to the PSNC on 17 December 2015 and on 27 January 2016 we published a set of slides setting out the proposals with a foreword by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.

    We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

    Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.

    The role of the general practice pharmacist is distinct from the role of the pharmacist in a community setting. However, they are synergistic. Pharmacists working in general practice will, in the main, work with patients who have long term conditions to support them with their medicines and self-management of their condition by helping with the development and review of individual care plans. These patients will not generally be those with minor illnesses which can be treated by seeing a pharmacist in a community setting and for whom community pharmacy will remain the first, and most appropriate, option.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against her Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here.

    http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016 on BIS consultation, HCWS30, whether his Department considered alternative solutions to closure of his Department’s Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place to address the strain on organisational effectiveness caused by split-site working.

    Joseph Johnson

    During the consultation period the Executive Board listened to views from staff, unions, as well as local stakeholders about the Combined Policy Headquarters model. It considered various alternatives, including options which maintained split site working in different ways, before coming to its final conclusion.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) GP representatives, (b) primary care providers and (c) mental health organisations on the quality of mental health support provided in primary care.

    David Mowat

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has prioritised improving mental health services in all care settings, and he and his ministerial team meet weekly with a wide range of mental health and primary care professionals to discuss improving the provision of care and support for people with mental health problems.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to safeguard the jobs of EU nationals living in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

    Damian Hinds

    Our country remains open for business. Employment is at a record high with a almost a million new businesses in our country since 2010 and we will always welcome those with the skills, the drive and the expertise to make our nation better still. The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that wouldn’t be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions patients were granted weekend leave in each mental health hospital in London in each month since 1 January 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    The information is not available in the format requested. The information in the attached table shows episodes of leave starting on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday for each London mental health trust, between 1 January 2015 to July 2015.

    The attached table is provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre.