Category: Speeches

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish and place in the Library all correspondence sent in the last five years between the Welsh and UK Governments on electrification of the mainline between Swansea and London.

    Stephen Hammond

    My officials will collate the key correspondence sent in the last five years between Ministers in Welsh and UK Government on electrification of the mainline between Swansea and London and deposit this in the Libraries of the House.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2014, Official Report, column 515W, on Western Sahara, if the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa will also meet representatives of POLISARIO, the UN-recognised body, to discuss issues relating to Western Sahara.

    Hugh Robertson

    British Ministers do not have direct contact with the POLISARIO Front. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Officials in London regularly meet POLISARIO representatives to discuss Western Sahara. FCO Officials also undertake visits to the region, and to the refugee camps at Tindouf.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons his Department paid the majority of the support package for former Remploy workers to Job Centre Plus for a rapid response team; what that rapid response did to assist former Remploy employees; and what the outcome of that assistance was.

    Mike Penning

    The Rapid Response Service (RRS) was made available to all former affected Remploy employees and was funded separately to the £8 million People Help and Support Package (PHSP), which provides help all disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures.

    RRS support was made available to all affected Remploy employees at the earliest opportunity following the announcement of a Remploy factory closure. Working with Remploy a range of support was agreed taking into account local circumstances and involved partner organisations where appropriate, for example the National Careers Service.

    Typically, RRS included on-site support and advice that helped with; providing information about being made redundant, identifying transferable skills, job options and training needs, learning new skills appropriate to the local labour market, job search skills and finding a new job, overcoming barriers to work and settling into a new job.

    Together, with the PHSP, as at 21 March this support has helped 716 former Remploy workers who are now in work.

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

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress he has made on ensuring that mental health has equal standing with physical health.

    Norman Lamb

    Mental health has been a priority for this Government for several years now. We made this commitment explicit in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which, for the first time, creates equal status for mental and physical health across Government and for the NHS and social care.

    The Ministerial Advisory Group brings together individuals and organisations with a specific interest in the cross government mental health strategy No Health Without Mental Health and how it is delivered.

    The Mandate to NHS England 2014-15 makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence-based services’, this will involve extending and ensuring more open access to programmes, in particular for children and young people, and for those out of work.

    Closing the Gap, our new mental health action plan, which has attracted widespread, cross-sector support, sets out our priorities for essential change in mental health, 25 areas where people can expect to see and experience the fastest changes. The document challenges the health and social care community to move further and faster to transform care and support; the public health community, alongside local government, to give health and wellbeing promotion and prevention the long-overdue attention it needs and deserves; and individuals and communities to shift attitudes in mental health.

    The Department of Health is leading an information revolution around mental health. The new national Mental Health Intelligence Network will draw together comprehensive information about mental health and wellbeing.

    The new Crisis Care Concordat, signed by more than 20 national organisations, is a commitment for all agencies involved in supporting someone in a crisis to work together to improve the system of care and support so people in crisis are kept safe and helped to find the support they need. All the signatories have pledged to work together and our expectation is that, in every locality in England, local partnerships of health, criminal justice and local authority agencies will agree and commit to local Mental Health Crisis Declarations.

    System partners are also taking responsibility for the drive for parity. Public Health England (PHE) has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through prioritising mental health and working to embed it throughout all PHE programmes. Greater attention is needed to mental health throughout the public health system and PHE seeks to enable and support this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing and Mental Health programme. It is supporting local authorities and other partners to give greater attention to mental health within the public health system.

    PHE was established on 1 April 2013 with the mission to protect and improve the nation’s health and to address inequalities through working with national and local government, the NHS, industry and the voluntary and community sector. PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health.

    PHE has made a commitment to addressing parity of esteem through prioritising mental health and working to embed it throughout all its programmes. Greater attention is needed to mental health throughout the public health system and PHE seeks to enable and support this through its leadership and delivery of a Wellbeing and Mental Health programme. It is supporting local authorities and other partners to give greater attention to mental health within the public health system.

    Their approach centres on the following five main objectives:

    1. Promoting good mental health and improving population wellbeing;

    2. Preventing mental health problems and preventing suicide and self-harm;

    3. Supporting people living with and recovering from mental illness;

    4. Tackling inequalities and improving the wider determinants of wellbeing and mental health; and

    5. Enabling and embedding wellbeing and mental health across the public health system.

    PHE has embraced the principles of Parity of Esteem and from the outset and all through transition, there has been a commitment by PHE to ensure mental health is a core part of the new public health system and PHE’s work. Even though there was no central national resource attached to mental health to be transferred into PHE, they have invested in establishing a presence for mental health across their work and they continue to embed population mental health and wellbeing across public health.

    Health Education England is developing training programmes that will enable all healthcare employers to ensure that their staff have a greater awareness of mental health problems and how they may affect their patients. This will include understanding the links between patient’s physical and mental health, so that staff know what actions they can take to ensure that patients receive appropriate support for both their mental and physical health care needs.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Teresa Pearce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 515W, on Remploy: Edinburgh, how many former Remploy employees from the Edinburgh site are working (a) less than 16 hours per week in paid employment, (b) less than 30 hours per week in paid employment and (c) in voluntary and unpaid positions.

    Mike Penning

    Of the 28 workers made redundant as a result of the closure of Remploy in South Gyle, Edinburgh we are able to provide information on the 24 disabled former employees who have engaged with a Personal Case Worker.

    As at 21 March 2014 Jobcentre Plus records show that 7 people are in paid employment over 16 hours and 17 have accessed Work Choice support. We have no records of people working a) less than 16 hours, b) less than 30 hours per week paid employment or c) in voluntary and unpaid work

  • 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 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Revised Standard Operating Procedures for the Approval of Independent Places for the Termination of Pregnancy, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients seeking abortion counselling are not subject to pressure to agree to the procedure as a result of his Department’s requirement that abortion treatment must be delivered within 10 days of the first appointment; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Required Standard Operating Procedures make clear that women can choose to delay appointments/booked procedures and this should always override issues of timeliness.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

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

    Dan Rogerson

    Defra is currently reviewing the provision of check-off for trade union subscriptions.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that funds devolved to the budgets of police and crime commissioners for victims’ services are allocated according to crime rates.

    Damian Green

    Funding for the commissioning of victims’ services has been allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners using a transparent formula based solely on population data. One of the reasons we are moving to a local commissioning model is to allow Police and Crime Commissioners to provide services tailored to meet local needs. The population based formula ensures that funding is allocated according to where the victim lives, and therefore where they will likely seek the support of victims’ services. Additionally the relatively low variation in distribution of population between areas year on year means these proportions should remain relatively stable over time.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

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

    Mike Penning

    DWP is undertaking a review of check-off, along with other Departments. We have not reached a conclusion on this matter, but it is under active consideration.

  • 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 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) formal and (b) informal discussions officials had with (i) pro-life organisations, (ii) the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, (iii) Marie Stopes International and (iv) pro-choice organisations before the publication of guidance on the provision of non-judgemental counselling; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Departmental officials have made a number of visits and have had informal discussions with a number of counselling providers which included pro-life and pro-choice organisations; these are listed below.

    Organisations visited or with which contact was made:

    – Brook Advisory Centre, Brixton

    – British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Richmond

    – Care Confidential, Alternatives Trust, Newham

    – City Pregnancy Counselling and Psychotherapy Service, Islington

    – Homerton NHS Trust, Hackney

    – Hull Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Partnership

    – Life Care Centre, Walsall

    – Marie Stopes International, Brixton and Bristol

    – Norwich Contraception and Sexual Health Clinic

    – Plymouth Community Healthcare

    The Government produced guidance on the provision of non-judgemental abortion counselling in A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England (March 2013). The Framework was produced by the sexual health policy team in the Public Health Directorate.

    The Sexual Health Policy team is made up of the following staff at each grade:

    1 Senior Civil Servant (who also manages policy areas other than sexual health)

    1 Grade 6

    2 Grade 7

    1 Senior Executive Officer

    1 Higher Executive Officer (.7 whole time equivalent)

    1 Executive Officer