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Category: Speeches

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the administrative costs was of implementing and enforcing the criminal courts charge; and what the projected cost of administering that charge is in each of the next three years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The costs of the criminal courts charge implementation project were £534,760.

    The cost of enforcing the criminal courts charge cannot be separated from the total cost of enforcing all types of court ordered financial impositions. No additional resources have been allocated to the National Compliance and Enforcement Service within HMCTS specifically as a result of the criminal courts charge.

  • 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 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the requirement laid down by the NHS Commissioning Board for Commissioning Support Units to become autonomous by the end of 2016 is to be removed.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No decision has been made. The proposed change was at the request of Clinical Support Units’ (CSU) Managing Directors – to give greaterflexibility to apply to become autonomous when they are ready, rather than having to work to a fixed timetable. A decision will be taken once NHS England’sCommissioning Committee has met.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24570, if she will make it her policy that creative subjects must be included in the new EBacc.

    Nick Gibb

    I refer the Honourable Member to my response to PQ 24570, submitted to Parliament on Thursday 4 February 2016, in which I explained that EBacc subjects are part of a broad and balanced curriculum and that there is space in the wider school curriculum to teach other subjects alongside the EBacc subjects.

    On 3 November 2015 the Secretary of State for Education launched a public consultation seeking views on the government’s proposals for the implementation of the English Baccalaureate. The consultation closed on 29 January 2016 and the government response will be published in the spring.

  • 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 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 January (HL4800), what evidence they have that suggests that the complexity of choice in wound dressings for nurses and clinicians makes their clinical decisions more difficult and can lead to over-specification and variation in standards of care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The NHS Catalogue contained over 600,000 products, many of which had been not used in excess of the last 12 months or were seemingly duplicate items. Given the sheer volume of products, this creates the complexity faced by clinicians and nurses when determining the appropriate products to use, which directly makes their decisions more difficult.

    By undertaking the planned clinical rationalisation of the products available via NHS Supply Chain, the Department aims to reduce this complexity, removing unnecessary products, ensuring that those available to the National Health Service are of an appropriate specification in order to maintain high standards of patient care.

    The clinical rationalisation work is being undertaken by practising clinicians taking into account feedback from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other relevant programmes, such as ‘ Getting it Right First Time’.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of parents who will not be eligible for tax-free childcare as a result of the decision to (a) lower the upper income limit per parent from £150,000 to £100,000 and (b) increase the minimum income level per parent from the equivalent of eight hours to 16 hours at the national living wage.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government will publicise the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme in good time ahead of its introduction through a range of digital and print channels. HMRC will also work with the childcare industry and representative groups who interact regularly with parents to raise awareness of the scheme.

    HM Revenue and Customs is developing an online childcare calculator to help parents understand their eligibility for government childcare support. From early 2017, parents of the youngest children will be able to enter the scheme first, with all eligible parents brought in by the end of 2017. Parents will not be able to open childcare accounts prior to the launch of the scheme.

    TFC will be straightforward and quick to apply online for the vast majority of parents. We estimate that up to 9% of the families eligible for the scheme of that population may have issues with either accessing or using the internet. HM Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided, usually by telephone, so these families do not miss out on the support available.

    Tax-Free Childcare is part of the wider government childcare offer which will be worth over £6Bn per annum and together provide generous support to families on all levels of income.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the Rt. Hon Matthew Hancock, on 11 May 2016, to PQ UIN 36288.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which cases of people detained in China were raised during the state visit of President Xi Jinping in October 2015; and what assurances and undertakings were given in respect of those cases.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    During the State Visit, we made clear the importance that the UK attaches to frank exchanges with China on human rights. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt. Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised our concerns at the ongoing detention of Chinese human rights lawyers with the Chinese Foreign Minister and the President of China’s Supreme People’s Court (in January and June 2016). We will continue to make representations on a wide range of cases during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the then Minister for Defence Procurement of 24 May 2016, column 403, on Yemen: cluster munitions, that his Department is investigating allegations that Saudi Arabia used UK-supplied cluster munitions, if he will (a) provide an update on the progress and conclusions of those investigations and (b) confirm whether those investigations also explored the possibility that UK-supplied aircraft were used to drop those munitions.

    Sir Michael Fallon

    The Government takes these allegations very seriously. We have analysed the case carefully and raised the issue with the Saudi-led Coalition.

    The key test for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that those weapons might be used in a serious violation of IHL. This is kept under careful and continual review.

  • Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 October (HL1831), how many arrests of illegal immigrants, and how many arrests for immigration offences, there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those arrested in each year (1) were deported from the UK, (2) remained in custody, and (3) were released within the UK.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    It is not possible to provide information specific to the number of arrests for illegal immigrants because immigration offences cover a wide range of activities and the data specific to arrests for illegal immigration cannot be separated from arrests for other immigration offences. Additionally, an individual may be arrested for committing more than one offence, but as only one offence per arrest is recorded in a format that can be reported on centrally it is not possible to provide complete figures on arrests by individual offences type.

    Information on arrests – either by an Immigration Enforcement or Police Officer – for committing an immigration offence is available. For the period 2011/12 to 2015/16, our records indicate that there were 119,730 arrests.

    Data on the custody or detention status of those arrested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost because checks of individual records would be required.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to improve the resilience of healthcare provision in West Africa.

    Grant Shapps

    In countries affected by the Ebola virus, DFID is committed to building resilient health systems and to ensuring we learn the lessons from the crisis.

    The World Health Organisation declared Sierra Leone ‘Ebola free’ on 7 November 2015. The UK’s objective is to maintain the vigilance necessary to prevent any future outbreaks from growing into epidemics. The UK has announced a two-year £240 million package of support to Sierra Leone’s long term recovery, which includes boosting capability to respond to future Ebola outbreaks, and improving basic services including, vitally, healthcare. DFID will also support Liberia’s Health Pooled fund with £6 million to help ensure that health system is resilient to future shocks.

    Beyond Sierra Leone and Liberia, DFID is providing £17 million through its Regional Preparedness Programme, which aims to prevent the transmission and spread of the Ebola in at-risk countries in West Africa; and to strengthen national capacities to accelerate preparedness measures and improve readiness to detect and act to contain disease outbreaks.

    In doing this, as well as through wider health programmes across West Africa, we are helping countries to have better health systems for normal times – as well as in case of emergency.