Category: Speeches

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what beneficial shifts in the human rights approach of the Chinese government there have been as a result of steps taken by his Department.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the Hon. Member to the 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report, published on 21 April, is available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-rights-and-democracy-report-2015

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote integrated care in the NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    In 2014, NHS England published the Five Year Forward View, which included an account of five new care models designed to promote integrated service provision. 50 Vanguard sites are currently implementing a new care model, with the support of NHS England and the Department, and with a view to spreading lessons and best practice throughout the health system.

    In order to deliver the best outcomes for service users, integration within the National Health Service must be accompanied by integration with social care. The Better Care Fund (BCF), first implemented in 2015/16, is continuing in 2016/17 and requires local government and the NHS to create pooled budgets in every area in England, bringing local leaders and clinical experts together to plan how to spend a portion of their shared resources to provide a more integrated health and care system for local people.

    The BCF has laid the foundation for integration across the country, but the Government wants to go further, faster. The Autumn 2016 Spending Review set out the ambition that every area in England should integrate health and social care by 2020, with a plan for this in place by 2017. Achieving better integration within the NHS will be a key element of the broader ambition to integrate across the health and care system as a whole.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to combat the supply of drugs into prisons.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Justice Secretary is clear that safety is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and a vital part of our reform plans. There are a number of factors, including the availability of drugs in prisons, which must be tackled in order to make our prisons safe and places of rehabilitation.

    We have introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they could face prosecution and extra time behind bars. We have a range of security measures and searching techniques in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.

    I am looking closely at this important issue, and will be setting our further plans in due course.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions the Government has held with the Pensions Regulator on section 75 employer debt in pension funds.

    Richard Harrington

    The regulation of work-based pension schemes, including the funding regime is a matter for the independent Pensions Regulator. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with the Regulator about a variety of matters, including section 75.

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assistance he proposes to provide to small businesses in Halton in relation to the completion of the Mersey Gateway Project.

    Greg Hands

    As announced at the Summer Budget, we have asked the Department for Transport to look at extending the Mersey Gateway local discount scheme to residents of Chester West & Chester and Warrington, as well as looking at help for small businesses. This work is ongoing.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons his Department no longer publishes information on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s rating of driving instructors; and if he will take steps to make such information routinely available.

    Andrew Jones

    Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) are required to successfully pass a three part qualification process to gain access to the Register of Approved Driving Instructors. They are also required to periodically undergo further reassessment, through a standards check, to demonstrate that they have maintained the minimum level of instructional ability to remain on the register. ADIs are graded following the standards check, based upon their level of performance. Whilst the overall number of ADIs at each grade is published on a quarterly basis, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has never routinely published the grading of individual instructors. DVSA is, however, taking steps to allow ADIs to voluntarily publish their grading through its on-line Find Your Nearest instructor facility on GOV.UK.

  • 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 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the use of longer-length or mega lorries in (a) the UK and (b) urban areas.

    Andrew Jones

    The longest length of lorry allowed on UK roads, including urban areas, is the road train at 18.75m. This is the maximum authorised length of lorry that the General Circulation Directive permits for national and international traffic. The Department is currently trialing longer semi-trailers (which are up to 2m longer than standard sized articulated lorries) although these are shorter than the road trains that are already in circulation across EU roads.

    Local authorities have powers under Sections 1 & 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to exclude heavy goods vehicles either generally or at specified times from roads for which they are considered to be unsuitable.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on income tax assignment to local government in England; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Clark

    The Government is committed to giving local areas more control over their own resources. By 2020, local government will retain 100 per cent of business rates revenue, up from 50 per cent now.

  • Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Golding – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Golding on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what independent reports, if any, they have commissioned from Ecofys in the past five years; when they received those reports; whether those reports were published; and if not, whether they will now publish those reports.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

    The roll-out is making good progress with more than 2 million meters now operating under the Programme which covers Great Britain. Northern Ireland is undertaking a separate roll-out programme.

    Currently, data is published only at Great Britain level. Data is not collected from energy suppliers in a way that allows constituency or regional-level data to be produced.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people in Clacton constituency have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    In the vast majority of cases, disclosure certificates are issued in a timely manner. Performance data relating to February 2016 indicates that average processing time for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) applications was 15 days. It is important that checks undertaken are thorough and a proportion of the applications received by the DBS need to be referred to one or more police forces as part of the enhanced disclosure process.

    The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner. A small number of forces have experienced difficulties in meeting the service level agreements in place between the DBS and each force. Whilst no assessment has been made of the impact of timeliness on unemployed customers, it is recognised that delays may create problems for some people. The DBS is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. We will not compromise when it comes to the safety of children and vulnerable adults.

    The number of applications to the DBS from people living in the Clacton constituency that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months is listed in the table below.

    Month

    Number of certificates issued by DBS to applicants in Clacton constituency

    Applications that took longer than 60 days

    March 2015– February 2016

    5,707

    322