Category: Speeches

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    Mr David Jones

    Consistent with Managing Public Money principles, the Department for Exiting the European Union will ensure its purchasing policies represent value for money, are compliant with legal and international obligations, and follow Government policies and standards on public procurement.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support people in Pakistan who are creating safe spaces for the discussion of liberal Islam

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID supports the rights of all groups to follow their religious faith and to live safe lives. Wherever possible, our programmes in Pakistan promote diversity and tolerance. For example, our work with civil society groups focus on strengthening the political voice of excluded groups and providing them with better access to justice. Our education programmes in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces support the implementation of Pakistan’s 2006 reformed curriculum which teaches religious tolerance and respect for diversity.

    The Government of Pakistan has publicly recognised the problems facing minorities and the need to bring an end to religious persecution. We remain fully committed to working in partnership with them to achieve this and raise these issues regularly with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently the Head of DFID Pakistan raised this issue in October as part of the bilateral assistance talks.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to raise awareness of financial scams targeting older people.

    Mike Penning

    The Government takes all types of fraud and financial scams extremely seriously. The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, published in 2013, places a strong focus on protecting those most at risk. The Home Office has recently completed a research project in order to better understand who in the UK is at risk from fraud and cyber threats, what makes them vulnerable and how to most effectively reach them. This will enable the Home Office and partners to develop ways to better protect the public, for example providing targeted fraud prevention advice.

    The Home Office also works with the City of London Police, which is the national lead force for fraud, to help all police forces to understand better who is vulnerable to fraud in their areas, and to work with local partners including the voluntary sector to help protect those vulnerable people from the threat from fraud.

    Action Fraud is the central reporting point for fraud and is operated by the City of London Police. It assesses the vulnerability of victims based on the financial and health impact of the reported fraud, and provides this information to forces. This enables police forces to make targeted interventions with those most at risk. When a serious threat or a new type of fraud is identified, Action Fraud places an alert on its website with advice for individuals to protect themselves from becoming victims. Members of the public can sign up to receive these alerts by email.

    The Home Office is also working closely with Financial Fraud Action UK and the British Bankers Association who have issued specific advice to consumers on telephone scams. This includes helping consumers know when they may be a target to these fraudsters, and advice on what information should never be shared, e.g. PIN number. In December last year Financial Fraud Action UK and the police announced a joint declaration to help consumers avoid becoming victims of financial fraud.

  • Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to achieve seven-day services in hospitals by 2020.

    Ben Gummer

    By 2020, all hospital patients who need urgent or emergency care will have access to the same levels of consultant assessment and review, diagnostic tests and consultant-led interventions, whatever day of the week it is.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure people affected by historical hepatitis C and HIV-infected NHS blood treatments have their views adequately heard in its consultation entitled Infected blood: reform of financial and other support, published in January 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    All those registered with the existing support schemes have been sent letters to make them aware of the consultation. The letter provides details of how to access the consultation both online and in hard copy. Letters were also sent to almost 180 hon. Members who have raised the issue on behalf of their constituents over the past year, to ask them to encourage their constituents to respond.

    The consultation contains a number of questions to allow people to share their views on the proposals and invites other suggestions.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group on the mental health of those affected.

    Priti Patel

    We have fully assessed the impacts on equality of the welfare measures in the Bill and the wider budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty. An impact assessment was published on 20 July last year.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children up to the age of four received the meningitis B vaccination in (a) Lancashire and (b) the UK in 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The Meningitis B (MenB) immunisation for infants was introduced on 1 September 2015.

    The vaccine is offered alongside other routine immunisations at two and four months of age, with a booster dose at 12-13 months. A limited one-off catch-up programme was also offered, targeting infants born in May and June 2015. Information on the number of children who received the meningitis B vaccination as part of National Health Service programme in 2015 is not yet available.

    Coverage of vaccines offered in the routine childhood immunisation programme is usually evaluated at 12 months of age, however, in order to provide more timely information about the newly introduced MenB vaccine, a temporary sentinel surveillance programme was set up to extract monthly coverage data direct from general practice systems for children who had just reached six months of age in England. Preliminary vaccine coverage at six months of age for children born in May, June and July 2015 is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake.

    It is anticipated that coverage for both doses of vaccine will increase when evaluated again when they are 12 months of age.

    “

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to ensure that people in receipt of Government administered free cavity wall insulation schemes do not suffer damp in their houses after insulation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Under the Energy Company Obligation, which is the primary government support for measures of this type, the insulation of a cavity wall must be accompanied by an appropriate guarantee, approved by Ofgem. Amongst other criteria, the guarantee must include an assurance framework for the quality of the installation and the product used in the installation. As the administrator of ECO, Ofgem assess the suitability of this framework.

    Alongside this, the Department for Communities and Local Government has begun research into dampness in buildings caused by both internal moisture and wind-driven rain and related to insulation. This project is due for completion later this year. We are also aware of the recent publication of BBA Technical report No. 3, Full fill cavity wall insulation in areas of very severe exposure to wind driven rain.

    The results of both projects, together with any other relevant information, will be considered as part of any review of the regulations and associated statutory guidance. DECC and DCLG have also commissioned Dr Peter Bonfield to conduct a wider independent review of consumer advice, quality and standards and consumer protection for energy efficiency and renewable installations. The findings of this review will cover installations of Cavity Wall insulations. This report will be published in due course.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his latest assessment is of the effectiveness of the foreign lorry user charge; whether he has been in discussion with any representatives of the EU concerning the compliance of that charge with EU law; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Since the levy started in April 2014, 4 million levies had been purchased for foreign-registered vehicles, raising £96.22 million in receipts, by the end of March 2016. Compliance rates continue to run at about 95 per cent in Great Britain. My Department has been engaged in discussions with the European Commission since the early stages of development of the levy. British drivers regularly pay when they use the roads in other countries, and the Government policy is that it is fair that foreign HGV drivers should do the same here.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to monitor the application of Section 60 of the Immigration Act 2016, on limitation on detention of pregnant women.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office has issued guidance to Immigration Enforcement caseworkers, enforcement officers and Border Force officers on the application of section 60 of the Immigration Act 2016. This was published on GOV.UK on 12 July, and includes monitoring tools to track the detention of pregnant women.