Category: Speeches

  • Mike Weir – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mike Weir – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will extend the validity period of travel advice applying to Sharm el Sheikh to provide certainty on the right to penalty-free cancellation (a) six weeks and (b) four weeks prior to departure.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 4 November 2015, we amended our Travel Advice to advise against all but essential travel by air to Sharm el-Sheikh. We have not changed our Travel Advice for the resort itself.

    The FCO Travel Advice, available at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, provides objective information and advice to help individuals make better-informed decisions about their travel. The Egypt page has been regularly updated to reflect developing events since the crash of the Russian airliner on 31 October. We regularly review our Travel Advice and all changes are made after careful analysis. Our only consideration is the safety of British Nationals.

    The FCO is working with DfT and Egyptian counterparts to put in place permanent and sustainable measures to allow British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh to resume as soon as possible.

    Refunds and cancellation penalties are a matter for the airlines. We are liaising closely with airlines to share information about the progress of our discussions with Egypt.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on training prison officers to help prisoners with mental health issues in each of the last three years.

    Andrew Selous

    All prison officers receive training on mental health issues as part of their initial training course. The majority of mental health training is delivered locally and costs attributed to such training are not held centrally.

    The national NOMS Learning and Development department have spent the following in the last three years (staff and sundry costs only) training prison officers to help prisoners with mental health issues:

    2013 £k

    2014 £k

    2015 £k

    National Mental Health Training

    24

    77

    84
  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact they expect fixed-term tenancies to have on (1) local authorities’ ability to fulfil their housing obligations for homeless families, and (2) levels of homelessness.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Homeless households and those owed the main homelessness duty will continue to be prioritised for social housing by means of the statutory ‘reasonable preference’ categories.

    The requirement for local authorities to offer fixed-term tenancies in future is designed to ensure that landlords get the best use out of their social housing by focusing it on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. As it should increase the number of available social lettings over time, it should mean that more homeless households are able to access the social rented sector.

  • Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what involvement the Prime Minister has had in the formation of proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are developing the proposed new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Minister for Life Sciences and the Prime Minister have been kept informed as this work has been progressed.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what advice his Department has sought from the Swiss government on best practice in concluding a trade deal with (a) Japan, (b) China and (c) other non-EU states.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not sought advice from the Swiss government on these matters.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for (a) Highways England to make a decision on the location of the new Lower Thames Crossing and (b) construction to begin on the new Lower Thames Crossing; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The public consultation closed on 24 March 2016 and the responses are currently being analysed. It is expected that a decision on the location and route will be made later this year following Highways England’s recommendation to the Department for Transport.

    Subject to funding and planning approvals, we anticipate construction to start in 2020/2021.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the mechanisms in place to pursue complaints against private company owners providing dental services in the event that the dentist who carried out the procedure leaves the country.

    Alistair Burt

    A complaint about privately funded healthcare is a matter between the patient and the provider of the service or clinician. However, if the service was commissioned by the National Health Service for NHS patients the NHS complaints regulations will apply and the complaint can be made to either the provider or commissioner of the service but not to both. In the circumstances where a provider is not available the complaint should be made to the commissioner of the service.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme were granted in each year from 2008 to 2016; and how many apprentices are currently on the NHS Low Income Scheme.

    David Mowat

    The table below shows the number of applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme, and the certificates which were granted, in each year from 2008 to 2016:

    Year

    HC1s Received

    HC2s Issued

    HC3s Issued

    2007/08

    422,652

    240,288

    140,501

    2008/09

    445,608

    252,037

    148,018

    2009/10

    431,129

    243,350

    142,135

    2010/11

    433,075

    249,193

    139,375

    2011/12

    422,591

    246,808

    134,276

    2012/13

    399,375

    229,618

    122,580

    2013/14

    389,324

    225,275

    120,391

    2014/15

    385,131

    214,975

    113,964

    2015/16

    383,487

    225,239

    112,414

    A HC2 certificate entitles the person (and their family) to full remission of the charge, whereas a HC3 certificate provides partial remission and indicates how much of the charge the person must pay.

    Figures for apprentices who hold NHS Low Income Scheme certificates are not available, as information on who is an apprentice is not collected.

    The overall cost to administer the NHS Low Income Scheme in the last three financial years are set out below. These figures represent the direct costs of the NHS Low Income Scheme service in England, Scotland and Wales. The figures do not include overheads associated with the wider infrastructure of the NHS Business Services Authority:

    Year

    Cost (£)

    2015/16

    1,469,034

    2014/15

    1,566,587

    2013/14

    1,594,957

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding his Department allocates to supporting people with mental health issues who are employed in traditionally male-dominated industries.

    Nicola Blackwood

    We are committed to supporting people with mental health problems to stay in work and the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions established a joint Work and Health Unit to look at these matters.

    Improving access to mental health services for those who need them is important and we are increasing access to talking therapy services so that 1.5 million people per year will be able to access support by 2020.

    We will shortly be publishing a Green Paper on work and health, which will include a focus on mental health as we know that people with mental health conditions fare poorly in the labour market. Our aim is to help transform the lives and prospects of disabled people and those with a health condition.

    We know that the stigma surrounding mental health can create barriers to people seeking and receiving support. We have recently announced £20 million of additional funding to the national Time to Change anti-stigma programme, in conjunction with Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, which works with employers to support them in tackling the stigma in the workplace associated with poor mental health. This next phase of Time to Change places a particular focus on stigma experienced by men.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the number of people who have been affected by the under-occupancy penalty.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Current numbers of people affected by this measure can be found using the following link to Stat-Xpore:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

    Following on from the 2012 impact assessment an independent two year evaluation was commissioned that looked at the effects of this policy. The interim report was published last July and the final report is due to be published before the end of the year.

    A link to the interim evaluation can be found below:-

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/329948/rr882-evaluation-of-removal-of-the-spare-room-subsidy.pdf

    The full report will be published by the end of the year.

    “