Category: Speeches

  • Paul Uppal – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Uppal – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Uppal on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of endometriosis.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information on endometriosis is readily available to healthcare professionals and the public. Both the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and NHS Choices have published information for the public on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis. Further information can be found on the RCOG website:

    www.rcog.org.uk/womens-health/clinical-guidance/endometriosis-what-you-need-know

    and NHS Choices website:

    www.nhs.uk/conditions/Endometriosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx

    To support women with endometriosis all obstetricians and gynaecologists have been trained in the diagnosis, investigation and management of the condition, which is specifically listed as a topic in the core curriculum for obstetrics and gynaecology. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology has published clinical guidelines on the management of women with endometriosis to assist clinicians.

    In addition, NHS England has developed a service specification for severe endometriosis under the specialised commissioning area of complex gynaecology. NHS England expects all units providing a service to women with severe endometriosis to provide care which meets the standards laid out in a specification which can be found on their website:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/e10-comp-gynae-endom-0414.pdf

  • The Countess of Mar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Countess of Mar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 26 March (WA 121), whether local education authorities are required to record details of children with disabilities as defined by the Equality Act 2010.

    Lord Nash

    Local authorities have a duty to open and maintain a register of disabled children and young people under section 17 (part 1 schedule 2) of the Children Act 1989. This duty uses the Children Act definition of disability which differs from the Equality Act definition.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Corbyn on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Romanian-born prisoners are being held in British prisons.

    Jeremy Wright

    On 31 March 2014 there were 588 prisoners in England and Wales who declared they were Romanian on reception to prison.

    All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.

    Romania has implemented the EU Prisoner Transfer Arrangement and relevant cases have been referred to the Home Office to obtain deportation orders.

    The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.

    Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

  • Lord Barnett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Barnett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Barnett on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that an agreement between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England overrides the reserve powers given to HM Treasury in section 19(2) of the Bank of England Act 1998.

    Lord Newby

    The powers set out in section 19 of the Bank of England Act 1998 cannot be removed or amended except by further legislation approved by Parliament which amends that section of the 1998 Act.

    The Treasury may only make an order giving directions under section 19 after consultation with the Governor of the Bank of England, if the directions are required in the public interest and by extreme economic circumstances.

    Since the Monetary Policy Committee was given operational independence in 1997, covering the worst financial crisis in generations leading to the deepest recession since the Second World War, these powers have never been used.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Bridget Phillipson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 318W, on conflict resolution: females, if he will publish in the Library the minutes of the meetings on this matter on (a) 24 February, (b) 5 March, (c) 20 March, (d) 18 March, (e) 19 March and (f) 13 March 2014.

    Anna Soubry

    None of the meetings mentioned were convened by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). They were convened by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as the lead Department, or by the Department for International Development on behalf of the FCO and thus it is they who may have a record of the meetings, the MOD has no record of any formal minutes. However the real output of these meetings was in the development of the UK’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security which was published by the Foreign Secretary on 12 June at the Global Summit on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. This document is available from the FCO.

  • Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on measures to allow town and parish councils to send agendas electronically.

    Brandon Lewis

    Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires local authorities (both principal and parish councils) to send summonses to attend meetings by post. Reflecting the take-up of digital communications, Ministers are minded to issue an Order under Section 8 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 to facilitate this being done electronically; although we do believe that councillors should continue to have a right to receive communications in hard copy by post should they wish, and that this should be reflected in any legislative change.

    We will be undertaking an informal sounding shortly on the wording of any draft Order with key partners, including the Local Government Association and the National Association of Local Councils.

  • Peter Aldous – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Aldous – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England takes to consider (a) all new specialised service applications and (b) new treatments for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency; and whether such steps are subject to review by his Department.

    Norman Lamb

    The Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) is a Department expert committee which was set up to provide regular advice to Ministers on which services are specialised and should be prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS England). The Group met most recently in May 2014 and may meet up to four times a year.

    Evidence, supporting information and activity on those services currently prescribed in legislation for direct commissioning by NHS England and any new services identified as potentially specialised, are made available to PSSAG from a range of sources, which may include Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs), patient groups, clinicians, commissioners and members of the public. The proposals the group considers are in large part generated by NHS England through its CRGs. The PSSAG makes recommendations to Ministers who, before deciding whether to make regulations, consult with NHS England, as required by section 3B of the National Health Service Act 2006.

    NHS England advises that where it becomes the responsible commissioner for a service, it considers the funding priority of the service through its clinical priorities advisory group and manages a process for selecting providers. Any highly specialised services that become the commissioning responsibility of NHS England will be discussed at its Rare Disease Advisory Group.

    The commissioning of services for people with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is a matter for individual clinical commissioning groups. We understand the Alpha 1 Alliance is working with NHS England and the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group to develop a proposal on alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency for a future PSSAG meeting.

  • 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 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2013, Official Report, column 443W, on electoral register, what progress he has made with private sector credit reference agencies on ensuring the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register.

    Greg Clark

    The Government is using public data to confirm the vast majority of electors on the register when the transition to individual electoral registration takes place this year.

    There are no plans to use private sector credit reference agency data.

  • William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    William Bain – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Bain on 2014-05-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff are employed in each Government department in each parliamentary constituency in Scotland.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who are home-schooled in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) Brigg and Goole constituency.

    Mr David Laws

    The information requested is not held by the Department.