UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the reasons why the EU Action Plan on VAT consultation document issued by the European Commission on 7 April 2016 omits any reference to the decision of EU Leads of Government that the UK can remove VAT from women’s sanitary products; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    The content of the EU VAT Action Plan is a matter for the European Commission.

    European Council Conclusions welcomed “the intention of the Commission to include proposals for increased flexibility for Member States with respect to reduced rates of VAT, which would provide the option to Member States of VAT zero rating‎ for sanitary products”.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding the Government provides to Rail North.

    Andrew Jones

    The Rail North Partnership brings together activities that were previously undertaken by DfT and Local Transport Authorities in the North. Accordingly the Government has agreed that £500,000 p.a. of existing annual grant funding provided by the Department to the North of England Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) and Combined Authorities can be used to fund Rail North. In addition, the Department funds staffing costs that it would have otherwise incurred itself.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of local sustainability and transformation plans on geographical variations in stroke care.

    George Freeman

    Health economies have come together to develop Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) for their footprints until 2020/21. As with the current arrangements for planning and delivery, there are layers of plans which can sit below STPs, with shared links and dependencies. STPs do not replace the existing system architecture or provide details on all individual clinical areas. Rather STPs act as an umbrella, holding underneath them a number of different specific plans to address key local issues. As such, for conditions such as Stroke, it is not expected that STPs will provide great levels of detail regarding all the Stroke related activity occurring across the Footprint.

    Visibility will be provided through other mechanisms such as audits. Stroke data is collected by the national audit from all trusts and reported at both trust and clinical commissioning group (CCG) level. The Royal College of Physicians which runs the audit has not done an analysis to compare services between rural and urban CCGs. However the data is available in the public domain for researchers should they wish to do so.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to amending the Annual Data Requirement to replace the 16+1 ethnicity code based on the 2001 census with the 2011 census ethnicity category 18+1, to include Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The ethnicity categories used for data collections are assessed as part of the Home Office’s process of agreeing the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). This is the list of mandatory data collections required from the police.

    This process includes consultation with a range of stakeholders on the requirements for each data collection, together with consideration of the burdens involved in the collection (e.g. IT costs of implementation for police forces), and the likely quality of the data.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage the teaching of emergency first aid skills in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    There is nothing more important than keeping children and staff safe. Schools can teach emergency first aid and life-saving skills through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, and the best ones already do. The non-statutory PSHE Programme of Study produced by the PSHE Association, teaches young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid. We have put in place a new duty requiring schools to support all children’s medical needs and have set-up a scheme so they can buy defibrillators at a reduced price.

    The Department for Education also works closely with expert organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance who provide learning materials to schools, including life-saving training kits produced by the British Heart Foundation. These kits provide young people with first-hand experience of life-saving skills and we have promoted the use of these via the termly school email and social media channels. The Department is also providing £254,911 in funding for St John Ambulance via the Character Grant, which will select 31,500 pupils for first aid training.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, section 10.5, when he plans to launch the consultation on the future status of the Land Registry; and whether the status quo will be one of the options put forward in that consultation.

    Anna Soubry

    In the Spending Review Autumn Statement 2015 the Chancellor announced the Government’s intent to consult on options to move operations of the Land Registry into the private sector from 2017.

    We intend to launch the consultation in the New Year setting out Government’s proposals. Final decisions on the options to be included in the consultation have not yet been made.

    No decisions on the options will be taken until after the consultation, but, if Government chose to proceed we would look to then introduce any legislation required.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the context of parity of esteem as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland regarding its policy of only recruiting Irish speakers for official posts.

    Lord Dunlop

    As has been explained previously to the Noble Lord, the UK and Irish Governments meet regularly at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. These include matters relating to the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.

  • Lord Rooker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Rooker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rooker on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which department is leading on preparations for the Anti-Corruption Summit planned in London following the Prime Minister’s Speech in Singapore on 28 July 2015.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Preparations for the Anti-Corruption Summit are being taken forward by the Joint Anti-Corruption Unit in the Cabinet Office, in close cooperation with a range of other government departments.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 3 March (HL6554), whether they have assessed the impact of having red routes managed by Transport for London, rather than London boroughs; whether they are satisfied that the London Permit Scheme is not increasing delays and disruption; and whether current work on cycleways will be completed before the main tourist season starts.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has not carried out an assessment of the impact of having Transport for London (TfL), rather than the London Boroughs, managing the Transport for London Road Network (“red routes”), and has no intention of doing so.

    The London Permit Scheme and cycle superhighways are both matters for TfL. TfL has published a report evaluating the first year of the London Permit Scheme which suggests that it is having a positive impact. This report is titled ‘The London Permit Scheme, First Year Evaluation Report’ and is available on the TfL website.

    The construction timetable for the cycle superhighways is available via TfL’s website and summarised below:

    Cycle superhighway 1

    • A10 Tottenham High Road: 6 July 2015 to spring 2016
    • Pitfield Street (Boot Street to New North Road roundabout): 6 July 2015 to early 2016
    • Apex Junction to Old Street/Great Eastern Street: 3 August 2015 to spring 2016

    Cycle Superhighway 2 upgrade

    • Mile End Road and Bow Road between Harford Street and Harley Grove: February 2015 – November 2015
    • Whitechapel Road between Osborn Street and Cambridge Heath Road: February 2015 – November 2015
    • Mile End Road between Cambridge Heath Road and Harford Street: June 2015 – March 2016
    • Bow Road between Harley Grove and Bow roundabout: July 2015 – March 2016
    • Whitechapel High Street by Aldgate East station: September 2015 – April 2016

    Cycle Superhighway East to West

    • Lancaster Gate: April 2016 – October 2016
    • Hyde Park: November 2015 – October 2016
    • Hyde Park Corner: April 2015 – March 2016
    • St James’s Park and Green Park: June 2016 – October 2016
    • Parliament Square/Westminster Bridge: October 2015 – May 2016
    • Victoria Embankment: April 2015 – April 2016
    • Blackfriars Underpass/Puddle Dock: September 2015 – April 2016
    • Castle Baynard Street: November 2015 – May 2016
    • Upper and Lower Thames Street: April 2015 – April 2016
    • Tower Hill: October 2015 – April 2016

    Cycle Superhighway East to West

    • Blackfriars Road: North of The Cut to Stamford Street: August 2015 – January 2016
    • Blackfriars Road: South of The Cut: April 2015 – December 2015
    • Blackfriars Bridge: January 2016 – February 2016
    • Blackfriars Junction/Victoria Embankment: August 2015 – April 2016
    • Farringdon Street: January 2016 – March 2016
    • New Bridge Street/Ludgate Circus: November 2015 – April 2016
  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the process is for approval of additions or removals of mandatory days for flying the national flag from the list published by his Department on the gov.uk website; which official of his Department has responsibility for that list; and how often that list is revised.

    David Evennett

    My officials discuss any additions or changes with the Lord Chamberlain’s Office. The Designated Days for the flying of the Union Flag are agreed each year and published on the DCMS presence on GOV.UK. There are currently no plans to change the list.

    “