Category: Speeches

Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) funding of horseracing and (b) effect of Race Fields legislation in Australia.

Tracey Crouch

To inform work to replace the current levy system, we have commissioned an independent economic analysis of the costs and funding of horseracing. This economic analysis work will also examine relevant comparable models, including the Australian system, however any reform of the Levy will need to comply with EU law.

January 1, 2023
Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the online sale of puppies; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Defra is currently consulting on proposals to modernise the licensing of animal related activities including the regulation of pet shops. The consultation includes a proposal to clarify that those trading pets commercially on-line should be licensed.

January 1, 2023
John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the rollout of universal credit on the level of rent arrears to registered social landlords.

Priti Patel

This information is not collected centrally.

Statistics are published annually on the total value of local authority social housing rent arrears, broken down by Local Authority area. They were most recently published on the Government’s website for 2014-15:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-housing-data#2014-to-2015

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January 1, 2023
Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to inform families with young children who were born before the cut-off for the new meningitis B vaccination programme about the symptoms of meningitis.

Jane Ellison

The introduction of meningitis B (MenB) immunisation in September 2015 was supported by a comprehensive media and communications campaign led by Public Health England (PHE) in association with health partners and meningitis charities. Key objectives of this campaign were two-fold: to promote vaccination to parents of eligible children and raise awareness of the disease among parents, and to emphasise that not all strains can be prevented by immunisation. This led to significant coverage of the disease and its symptoms across social media, national, local and parenting media. The coverage included practical advice on recognising the symptoms, and the need to act quickly, supported by interviews with families affected by the disease on major news channels. The introduction of the adolescent MenACWY campaign in August 2015 was supported by a similar campaign that provided further opportunities to raise awareness of meningococcal disease.

PHE also produces a range of leaflets for the public providing detailed information to help parents with young children identify the early signs of meningitis. The leaflets include links to the web sites of meningitis charities and NHS Choices for those parents wishing to access more extensive information about meningococcal disease. PHE also supports influential meningitis charities in the implementation of awareness campaigns. In addition, PHE undertakes detailed surveillance of the disease, publishing routine reports and taking appropriate action to alert the public to any increase in incidence or change in the pattern of the disease. Appropriate media and communications activities are implemented to coincide with these publications, often ahead of the winter, when cases of the disease peak.

January 1, 2023
Lord Moynihan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moynihan on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 9 July 2015 (HL Deb, col 243), what action the City of London Police and Action Fraud have taken to enforce the ticket touting controls set out in the Consumer Rights Act 2015; and what action is being taken in cases where the law is being broken.

Lord Keen of Elie

The City of London Police is working closely with the Society of Ticketing Agents and Retailers and is actively part of a number of initiatives they are taking to raise standards within the ticketing industry. They are also engaging directly with organisers of major ticketing events in an attempt to stop ticketing touts obtaining tickets on a large scale and proactively search for new websites set up to sell tickets which are in high demand. The City of London Police is also actively engaged with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in their review of secondary ticketing platforms.

All ticketing fraud reports received through Action Fraud, where viable lines of enquiry can be identified and links between cases can be seen, are disseminated by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau to the local police force for investigation.

January 1, 2023
Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to endorse the (a) commitment on explosive weapons at the World Humanitarian Summit and (b) other core commitments on protecting civilians in armed conflict.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is working through the 32 Core Commitments proposed by the World Humanitarian Summit and will make a decision shortly on which we can align with.

January 1, 2023
Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in England have long-term medical conditions.

Jane Ellison

It is estimated that over 15 million people in England live with at least one long term medical condition.

No estimate has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of people with long term conditions not taking their prescribed medication.

January 1, 2023

Lord Colwyn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Colwyn on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average cost to the public purse of providing a foundation training place for a dental graduate.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Information on the average cost to Health Education England (HEE) of providing Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) education and Dental Foundation Training (DFT) can be found in the tables A, B and C below.

Table A

Cost to HEE of BDS education

BDS	Average tariff	Fee Contribution	Maintenance	Total
Year 1	£32,600	–	–	£32,600
Year 2	£32,600	–	–	£32,600
Year 3	£32,600	–	–	£32,600
Year 4	£32,600	–	–	£32,600
Year 5	£32,600	£9,000	£3,000	£44,600
Total	£163,000	£9,000	£3,000	£175,000

Notes:

Average Tariff is the placement fee to cover the placement.
Fee contribution is the tuition fee payable in year 5.
Maintenance is the Bursary cost.
These figures represent the best estimate of average cost to HEE, there may be other costs to the public purse, for example to provide student loans that are not included in these estimates.

Table B

Cost to HEE of providing dental foundation training in secondary care

Placement support	£50,900
Salary/Maintenance	£34,100
Total	£85,000

Notes:

1. Training Placement Support cost is the cost of the dental practice providing training & facilities.

2. Trainee Salary/Maintenance cost is the contribution to the trainee salary and associated costs.

Table C

Cost to HEE of providing dental foundation training in primary care

Dental foundation training salary	£31,044
Dental foundation trainer grant	£9,324
Service costs	£64,164
Total	£104,532

Notes:

1. Training salary is the reimbursement of the salary paid to the dental trainee.

2. Trainer grant is the sum that represents the time spent in supervising a trainee.

3. Service costs is a sum that represents the service costs of employing a trainee.

January 1, 2023

Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reported concerns about (1) the use of ordinary pencils for ballot papers as opposed to pens or pencils with indelible ink, and (2) ballot papers being changed, during the EU referendum ballot; and whether they are planning to ensure that polling stations are provided with special ballot pens or pencils using indelible ink.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The Government has noted the Electoral Commission’s comments on this issue in its report on the EU Referendum. The rules governing the conduct of the referendum, which were based on the legislation in place for UK Parliamentary elections, did not specify the type of writing implement that electors must use to complete their ballot paper and voters were able to use the pencil provided or mark their ballot paper with a pen if they preferred. There were also specific safeguards in place to protect the integrity of the ballot.

We are not aware of any cases of ballot papers being changed at the referendum.

January 1, 2023
Peter Dowd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s publication, Reviewing post-16 education and training institutions, of 20 July 2015, how much her Department expects to save as a result of implementing the proposals set out therin.

Nick Boles

Area reviews of post-16 education and training institutions are predominantly focused on general further education and sixth form colleges in order to ensure that there are high quality, financially resilient colleges across the country. Schools with sixth forms can opt in to a review, if they wish to do so, and if they have the agreement of the review’s local steering group.

Each review will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current post-16 provision in the area which will include the offer made by schools with sixth forms. Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities will sit on local area review steering groups. These groups will identify issues with school sixth form provision, including provision by academy sixth forms, free school sixth forms, and University Technical Colleges, and feed these issues into the reviews. We expect Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities to take account of the analysis from area reviews in any decisions they make about future provision.

The reviews are aimed at delivering a skills system that meets the economic and educational needs of areas whilst also ensuring the long term sustainability of colleges to support productivity. Early evidence from the pilot reviews indicates that there is also potential for the reviews to secure efficiency savings.

January 1, 2023