Category: Speeches

Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-04-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to criminalise patterns of coercive control in domestic violence cases.

Norman Baker

Domestic abuse is already a crime. There are a number of offences that make domestic abuse illegal, including actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and assault. The cross-Government definition is clear that domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

Assault can extend to non-physical harm, and this can include psychological, financial, and emotional abuse. Stalking and harassment legislation, which criminalises a course of conduct, can apply to intimate partner relationships.

Last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a review of the response to domestic abuse across all police forces. HMIC published its findings in March 2014, emphasising that the key priority is a culture change in the police so that domestic violence and abuse is treated as the crime that it is, and pointing out that the police use the full range of tools already available to them.

The Home Secretary will chair a national oversight group to oversee delivery against each of HMIC’s recommendations on which I will also sit.

01/11/2022
Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated value of the land is for which academy trusts have a freehold interest.

Mr Edward Timpson

When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may allow publicly-funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

“

01/11/2022
Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Prime Minister, what meetings he has had with (a) the First Minister of Northern Ireland, (b) the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and (c) both the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Mr David Cameron

I regularly meet the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to discuss a range of issues and will continue to do so.

I visit all parts of the United Kingdom regularly, including Northern Ireland. I last visited Northern Ireland on Thursday 10 – Friday 11 October 2013.

01/11/2022
Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what environmental impact assessment the Forestry Commission has carried out in respect of the proposed corridor up to 65 metres wide through Hurn Forest for cables connecting Navitus Bay Offshore windfarm with the national grid.

Dan Rogerson

The Forestry Commission is fully committed to protecting and improving the nation’s public forests for the benefit of people, nature and the economy. It is not required to carry out a formal Environmental Impact Assessment in this case but it has considered the potential impact of the cable route and is working with the developer to ensure that the impact is minimised. Any woodland that is lost will be restored to heathland to improve the diversity of habitat, as well as opening the views and improving public access.

01/11/2022
Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the Streets Ahead campaign by the charity Guide Dogs; what steps he is taking to reduce parking on pavements; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In London, there is in general a ban on parking on the footway. Outside London, local authorities have wide-ranging powers to make Traffic Regulation Orders to prohibit pavement parking on designated lengths of highway or over a wide area. The former Transport Minister, the Hon Member for Lewes, Norman Baker, wrote to local authorities in February 2011 urging them to take up these powers. Local authorities with Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) powers are responsible for parking enforcement, including that relating to the footway.

In addition, the Department has developed and authorised new traffic signs for local authorities to use where pavement parking is prohibited.

With regard to the number of parking tickets issued, individual local authorities are required to keep records of all penalty charge notices issued. The Department for Transport does not record this information centrally.

01/11/2022
Kelvin Hopkins – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in the 70 to 79 age group have received a shingles vaccination since the vaccination programme began in September 2013; how many people he expects to take up the offer in the current cohort; when he expects that figure to be met; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Provisional vaccine uptake data for England show that about 360,000 70 to 79 year olds received the shingles vaccine between 1 September 2013 and 30 April 2014. The actual number will be higher as about 20% of general practitioner (GP) practices are not able to automatically submit uptake information. If it is assumed that the non-reporting practices have similar uptake rates to those that have reported, then the estimated total number of people aged 70 to 79 years receiving the vaccine in the first eight months of the programme, would be around 450,000.

This is the first year of this immunisation programme and there is no formal target for the number to be vaccinated. Eligible patients aged 70 and 79 who have not yet received shingles vaccine during the 2013-14 programme will continue to be offered vaccination under the national programme until 31 August 2014. It is not possible to predict how many will take up the offer of vaccination in this period, but Public Health England expects vaccine uptake to continue to rise, and we would encourage those eligible individuals to contact their GP to arrange their vaccination if they have not already done so.

Further provisional cumulative coverage data will be published on a quarterly basis, with the final annual coverage data for the 2013-14 programme due to be published in autumn 2014.

01/11/2022
Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to measure the performance of each Jobcentre Plus office.

Esther McVey

Jobcentre Plus offices’ performance are measured in a variety of ways including in respect of how quickly they help get people off benefits and into work.

01/11/2022
Alan Beith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Beith on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) arrangements and (b) contracts NHS England has for non-emergency specialist care and treatment of English residents in Scottish hospitals.

Jane Ellison

NHS England has a block contract (value £250,000 a year) for vein of Galen malformation services with the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.

01/11/2022
Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff in the Hull Official Receiver’s office have been offered voluntary redundancy terms.

Jenny Willott

All 43 employees in Hull have been offered work in the Insolvency Service’s Leeds office as well as assistance with travel. Voluntary redundancy terms have also been offered to all 43 employees in case they do not wish to or are unable to make the move. Employees who choose not to relocate will be eligible for assistance from the Insolvency Service’s outplacement support programme, and will be given priority access to vacancies across the wider Civil Service.

01/11/2022

Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on hearing aids in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb

Information on National Health Service expenditure on hearing aids is not collected centrally. However, reference costs, which are the unit costs to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients, provide some information which is shown in the following table.

Estimated cost to NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts of hearing aid provision, 2008-09 to 2012-13, £ million

Year	Hearing aid costs	Associated hearing aid costs	Cochlear implants and bone anchored hearing aids
2008-09	60.7	89.0	18.7
2009-10	57.7	96.0	17.7
2010-11	55.8	103.2	19.2
2011-12	62.1	118.5	26.6
2012-13	62.7	127.6	25.8

Source: Reference Costs, Department of Health

Notes:

1. Hearing aid costs are the actual costs of the hearing aids excluding other associated costs.

2. Associated hearing aid costs include assessment, fitting, follow-up and aftercare.

3. Reference costs are submitted on a fully absorbed basis, which means that all the costs of running the organisation are included in the return except where their exclusion is permitted.

4. Some relevant costs may be excluded. For example, maintenance and reprogramming costs for cochlear implants and bone anchored hearing aid costs were excluded from reference costs for these years.

5. The supply and fitting of hearing aids is also commissioned from the independent sector, and this expenditure is not reflected in the table.

6. 2012-13 is the latest year for which reference costs data are available.

01/11/2022