UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 20950, how many other rail franchises his Department has commented on to the Office of Rail and Road in relation to track access when new additional paths are created.

    Claire Perry

    The Department does on occasion offer comments to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on track access applications that could affect the Department’s franchised train operations, in order to ensure that the ORR is aware of the potential implications of such applications for the Department’s financial and policy position. During the course of 2015 the Department offered comments in response to applications from Arriva Trains Wales, Crossrail (MTR), Hull Trains, Grand Central, Alliance Rail (GNWR) & (GNER) and Heathrow Express.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the value was to the UK economy of the game meat market in each of the last five years.

    Anna Soubry

    Official statistics are not broken down in sufficient detail in order to separate the value added and employment attached to the processing and sale of game-meat from that of other meat or poultry products.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

    Matthew Hancock

    The total expenditure of the Commission will be published in due course.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why school pupils self-harm, and what measures they propose to tackle that problem.

    Lord Nash

    Good mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for this Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing.

    Self-harm occurs in relation to a wide range of personal problems, emotional turmoil and psychiatric disorders. The Department of Health commissions the MultiCentre Study on self-harm. This provides essential information on self-harm in the population to inform clinical responses and preventative activity. New data coming on stream through the Public Health Outcomes Framework and the forthcoming prevalence survey for children and young people will help to further improve this assessment and treatment.

    To help schools to draw on specialist support where needed, we have contributed to a £3m joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to test single points of contact in schools and mental health services.

    While teachers are not mental health specialists, schools can play an important role in building good mental wellbeing and supporting pupils where they have issues. We have taken a range of actions to help them to build a whole-school approach to good mental wellbeing. We funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE – which covers teaching about self-harm; training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them.

    We have also recently revised and updated our blueprint for effective school-based counselling. This provides practical, evidence-based advice, informed by experts on how to ensure school based counselling services achieve the best outcomes for all students, including vulnerable children and young people.

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

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support he is providing for research into epilepsy medication for pregnant women.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research is funding a £1.5 million evaluation of the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and acceptability of dose adjustment strategies in antiepileptic drug management in pregnancy. The report of the evaluation is expected to be published in February 2017.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make laser treatment for chronic gum disease available on the NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    All clinically necessary dental treatment is available on the National Health Service and it is for a clinician to determine the best treatment option for a patient.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the waiting times for treatment in the accident and emergency department of the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    No such assessments have been made. The provision of accident and emergency (A&E) services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital is a matter for the local National Health Service. The NHS in East Lancashire has established an A&E delivery board to oversee system performance and the effective delivery of urgent and emergency care locally.

    Ministers consult weekly with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission about A&E performance.

  • Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that refugees can be settled in Europe without making dangerous journeys by boat.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK operates several national resettlement schemes which resettle refugees directly from the regions. The Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme has been expanded and will now resettle 20, 000 Syrians. These schemes provide refugees with a direct and safe route to the UK, rather than risking the hazardous journey to Europe. Resettlement is an important part of any well managed asylum system and we encourage other EU countries to resettle those most in need.

  • Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to maintain current spending levels on the core elements of the science budget in real terms over the course of the Parliament.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government made clear in the Spending Review its commitment to science and research. We will protect science resource funding in real terms from its current level of £4.7 billion per annum for the rest of the Parliament. Growth in the ring fence will be used to invest in a new £1.5 billion Global Challenges Research Fund for UK science to pioneer new ways of tackling global problems. As well as increasing resource spending for science, we are investing in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale, delivering on the £6.9 billion science capital commitment in our manifesto to provide the infrastructure and funding to keep the UK globally competitive.

    The allocation of budgets to individual funding bodies, programmes and facilities has yet to be determined. As per previous spending rounds this allocation process will take place over the coming months.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for which countries that the UK has reimbursement arrangements with under the European Health Insurance Card regulations his Department has identified as not having staff with relevant language skills.

    Justin Tomlinson

    There is no requirement for DWP staff to have foreign language skills when dealing with EEA Member States in relation to the reimbursement process under the EHIC regulations.