Category: Speeches

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Bahraini counterpart on Mr. Hassan Mushaima and the provision of medical assistance for his condition.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the case of Hassan Mushaima and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. We also encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

  • 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 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29559, what average number of patients were registered at each GP surgery in each of the last 15 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The publication General and Personal Medical Services contains the aggregated number of registered patients at 30 September each year, but the average over the course of the year is not held centrally. Tables for each of the last 15 years have been placed in the Library. They provide snap-shot data as at 30 September for that year.

  • Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in response to the recent news that one in eight cases at Crown Court are not proceeded with by the Crown Prosecution Service, even though the defendants have been formally charged.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    All cases are kept under constant review as they progress through the criminal justice system. If new evidence comes to light, a witness decides to no longer support a prosecution or a co-defendant pleads guilty to the offence, the CPS will then review the case. If there is no longer sufficient evidence or if it is no longer in the public interest, the CPS will stop a prosecution.

    The Transforming Summary Justice (TSJ) and Better Case Management (BCM) initiatives, introduced nationally, are recent programmes which will have a material and positive impact on both levels and timing of discontinuance. These include earlier, pre-first magistrates’ hearing case review by prosecutors; an emphasis on early defence engagement; listing periods that support the time required to prepare the case; and improved processes to gather and serve evidential material and disclosure prior to court hearings.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK nationals were employed by the European Parliament in each year since 2010; and how many such people were employed at administrator grade.

    Mr David Lidington

    The European Parliament does not publish statistics on numbers of permanent staff by nationality. According to our own records, the total the numbers of UK nationals employed by the European Parliament in each year since 2010 is:

    2010: 290
    2011: 306
    2012: 306
    2013: 291
    2014: 271
    2015: 251

    The latest figure available is for May 2016 and is 263.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department monitors the number of managed moves between schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not monitor the number of managed moves between schools.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons born in (1) Poland, and (2) the Republic of Ireland, now live in Northern Ireland.

    Baroness Mobarik

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average time taken is for customers to switch their domestic energy supplier.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Ofgem published data on average switching time for domestic customers in Great Britain. It is available online at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/chart/average-switching-time-domestic-customers-gb

    On 1 June 2015 (latest published data available) the average switching time for domestic electricity supplies was 15.7 days and 15.5 days for gas.

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s most recent estimate is of the number of illegal firearms in the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not maintain records of firearms seized by police forces in England and Wales.The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of illegal firearms in use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each (a) young offender institution and (b) secure training centre are (i) qualified social workers and (ii) registered with the Mental Health and Care Professions Council.

    Andrew Selous

    This information could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) pharmacy closures and (b) job losses caused by planned reductions to the community pharmacy budget.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services including public access to medicines. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim.

    We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close or the number of people who may lose their jobs, because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.