Category: Speeches

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what weighting was given to the (a) disciplinary records of and (b) number of signatures of ongoing complaints against bidders in the procurement process for legal aid duty solicitor contracts.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    13 temporary staff were employed through the Brook Street Agency and a Crown Commercial Services Recruitment framework and were selected by the Legal Aid Agency and interviewed by permanent members of staff to ensure their suitability. These individuals made up 19% of the overall assessment team. In addition contracts were entered into with legal practices to provide additional resource.

    The key criteria for employment were analytical skills and the ability to conduct a qualitative assessment. A legal or procurement background was considered an advantage but not essential, given that they would be supervised by permanent staff from the Legal Aid Agency.

    The procurement was undertaken in line with the Public Contract Regulations and applicant organisations were required to pass a number of stages of assessment in order to be considered suitable to hold a duty provider contract. The criteria against which organisations were assessed is set out in the Information For Applicants which govern this procurement process.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will amend the criteria by which some students without permanent residence may be entitled to a student loan to reflect the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of R v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (2015) UKSC 57.

    Joseph Johnson

    On 16 September 2015 the Department published details of an interim policy in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling of 29 July 2015 (on the application of Tigere) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (respondent) 2015 UKSC57.

    We intend to consult shortly on amending the relevant Regulations.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Business Growth Service.

    Anna Soubry

    An interim impact evaluation of the Growth Accelerator programme was published in November 2014. This was followed by a formative evaluation in January 2015, which looked at the delivery of the programme and informed the design of the Business Growth Service. A policy response to the formative evaluation was published in March 2015, in line with a commitment to the National Audit Office

    A review of the Manufacturing Advisory Service was completed in December 2010 and published the following year. An Impact Analysis Methodology study of the Manufacturing Advisory Service is being published in early 2016.

    A full economic evaluation of the Business Growth Service will continue beyond the closure of the service in March. All documents will continue to be available on www.gov.uk.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of new houses built in each of the years from 2010 to 2015 were built on floodplains, and whether they expect that proportion to change in the next five years.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The department’s latest land use change statistics provide estimates on the proportion of new residential addresses created in National Flood Zone 3 in England. The latest figures show that in 2013-14, 7 percent of new residential addresses were created in the National Flood Zone 3. This equates to an estimated 9,100 homes being built in National Flood Zone 3 in 2013-14.

    Prior to the publication of 2013-14 figures land use change statistics were calculated using a different methodology so they are not directly comparable to the 2013-14 figures. Figures produced using the previous methodology were last published for the calendar year 2011 and are provided in the attached table.

    Development can not be ruled out in high flood risk areas as around 10 percent of England, including large parts of major cities, such as Hull, Portsmouth and central London are located in these areas. All local planning authorities are expected to follow the strict tests set out in national planning policy and guidance, which includes steering development away from flood risk areas. Where development in flood risk areas is considered, national planning policy is clear that it should be safe, resilient and not increase flood risk elsewhere.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will meet Girlguiding to discuss the findings of its 2015 Girls’ Attitudes survey.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Girlguiding’s Attitude Surveys provide an invaluable picture of the concerns and priorities of young women and the Government Equalities Office maintains an excellent relationship with the organisation. The 2015 survey demonstrates that many girls perceive barriers to reaching their full potential. The Government is encouraging girls to broaden their aspirations, educating young people about respectful relationships through the teen relationship abuse campaign, and equipping parents to talk confidently with their children about important issues through the Parentinfo website.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that his proposals to limit 18 to 21 year olds’ access to the housing element of universal credit take into account all the reasons young people may need support with their housing costs.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department has committed to supporting young people so those who need support with housing costs continue to receive it. The Department is currently consulting with stakeholders to identify these groups and allow us to develop suitable protections. Once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment his Department has made of the time taken for patients outside London to receive stroke rehabilitation treatment.

    Jane Ellison

    Although the Government has made no assessment of the time taken for patients outside London to receive stroke rehabilitation treatment, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) has collected data over the last three years on the rehabilitation that stroke patients get in hospital and in the community in England. This data includes information on time to first assessment for rehabilitation and treatment. The SSNAP reports are available at:

    https://www.strokeaudit.org/results/PostAcute.aspx

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s proposal for collaboration between the NHS and Vertex to widen access to the treatment Orkambi on the treatment of the patients with that disease.

    George Freeman

    The Department has received the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s proposals for an arrangement that would potentially allow access to Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) as part of a Managed Access Scheme in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) appraisal of Orkambi.

    I have encouraged the Trust and the manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to engage with NICE to consider whether there remains scope for this, or any other, proposal to be taken into account in its appraisal and the Department is also engaging with the manufacturer directly on this matter.

  • 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 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the National Audit Office investigation into the collapse of the Uniting Care Partnership Contract in Cambridge and Peterborough, what further reviews are being undertaken into the circumstances of the failure, and whether the outcomes of those reviews will be published.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department welcomes the National Audit Office (NAO) report. Decisions about the Strategic Projects Team (SPT) are, however, for NHS England. Following an internal review and the NAO report, NHS England identified concerns about the work of the SPT. As a result, the SPT will close and all its ongoing commitments will be reviewed with a view to bringing them to a conclusion.

    NHS Improvement advises that it also welcomes the NAO report and is working closely with NHS England and the Department to consider assurance processes for such complex transactions. NHS Improvement further advises that its focus since May has been liaison with the NAO on its report and joint consideration with NHS England of the assurance issues raised.


    NHS England confirms that the NAO investigation supports the findings of its previously published independent review. Before the NAO investigation, NHS England had already commissioned a follow-up review focusing on the role of external advisors, the effectiveness of the Gateway review process, and the role of the clinical commissioning group leadership and governing body. This work continues and NHS England expects to publish findings later this summer.

    More widely, NHS England has been undertaking assessments of current and planned novel contracts and is developing an assurance framework for contracts of this sort. This is being informed by the findings of the Uniting Care reviews.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of relative levels of productivity in community pharmacy and secondary care in each year since 2005.

    David Mowat

    We have made no assessment of productivity in community pharmacies.