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Category: Speeches

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance cap on the level of supply of supported housing.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable, including through protecting and further boosting the supported housing supply we have already.

    We are continuing to work with the supported housing sector and other partners to develop a sustainable and workable future for supported housing and will announce next steps in due course.

    In the meantime we have put in place a one year exemption for supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when RFA Tidespring will reach the UK and become fully operational; and what are the planned operational dates for the delivery of her three sister ships.

    Earl Howe

    The first of the Tide Class of Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Tankers, RFA TIDESPRING, is due to arrive in the UK for Customisation and Capability Assessment Trials in 2017 before entering service.

    On current plans, we expect all four MARS Tankers to have entered service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by the end of 2018.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2016 to Question 46209, when NHS England plans to publish the service guidance documents produced by the clinical reference groups.

    David Mowat

    The service guidance documents will be disseminated through the newly formed Cancer Alliances.

    One of the key objectives of the Alliances for 2016/17 is to create and agree a delivery plan for the Cancer Strategy locally, based on outcomes and evidence based best practice care pathways.

  • Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ian Lavery – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the National Flood Resilience Review will assess the (a) maintenance requirements of flood assets and (b) capacity of the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences.

    Rory Stewart

    The National Flood Resilience Review is not assessing the maintenance requirements of flood assets or the capacity of the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences. The terms of reference for the Review were published on 26 January 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-flood-resilience-review-government-action-to-tackle-floods.

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  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what information her Department holds on the date when EDF ordered the pressure vessel heads for Hinkley Point C; and how many pressure vessel heads for Hinkley Point C have already been manufactured.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Supply of components for Hinkley Point C are a matter for EDF. The construction of Hinkley Point C, including the safety of pressure vessel heads, will be subject to regulation by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether support for energy-intensive industries is part of the Northern Powerhouse agenda; and what assessment the Government has made of the importance of carbon capture and storage for the future of those industries.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The provision of ring-fenced capital support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) was judged against other Government funding priorities as part of the Spending Review. Government has not taken the Spending Review decision lightly. The Government continues to view CCS as having a potential role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK’s power and industrial sectors. Neither CCS Competition project proposed to capture CO2 from energy intensive industries.

    The detailed design and implementation of CCS policy changes have yet to be determined. The Industrial 2050 Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps reports published in March 2015 identified a potential role for industrial CCS technologies in decarbonising the steel, oil refining, chemicals and cement sectors. DECC and BIS continue to engage with the energy intensive industries and academics to develop decarbonisation Action Plans by the end of 2016 as the second phase of this process.

    The Government remains committed to working with energy intensive industries including those in the Northern Powerhouse area. DECC provided £1million funding to Tees Valley Unlimited as part of the 2013 City Deal agreement to undertake an Industrial CCS feasibility study based on the chemicals and steel industry in the Teesside cluster and we continue to support that work. The devolution deal for Tees Valley, published in October this year, also included a commitment to explore how it can continue to develop its industrial CCS proposals.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the thresholds for council homes to be taken into account when calculating the levy on councils contained in part 4 of the Housing and Planning Bill.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Housing and Planning Bill requires the Secretary of State to define ‘high value’ in regulations.

    We are currently in the process of updating data that will be used to help inform the high value threshold. Further details will be available shortly.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel have received region-specific culture training at the Defence Centre for Languages and Culture in each year since 2013; and to which regions such training related.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Defence Centre for Languages and Culture (DCLC) has delivered specific cultural training to over 621 military students since 2013. This information is not available by year.

    The DCLC has provided cultural training for the Middle East, North Africa and specific courses on Afghan, Kurdish, Gulf States and Moroccan culture; cultural training is also incoporated into all of the DCLC language courses.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of money laundering services abroad by UK citizens.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government believes that money laundering is a critical enabler of both terrorism and serious and organised crime. This is why the UK’s own anti-money laundering regime contains controls and supervisory mechanisms which aim to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.

    The Government expects UK citizens to comply with anti-money laundering regulations both at home and abroad and works hard, particularly through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to improve global standards and combat money laundering.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support the Government provides to research into the causes and treatment of brain tumours.

    George Freeman

    The Department funds the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to increase the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, drive faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and develop and support the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. NIHR cancer research expenditure has risen from £101 million in 2010/11 to £135 million in 2014/15 (the latest available figure). Most of this investment (£111 million in 2014/15) is in cancer research infrastructure where spend on specific disease areas such as brain tumours cannot be separated from total infrastructure expenditure. This infrastructure including NIHR biomedical research centres and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.

    The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. It is an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The MRC supports research through a range of grants and personal awards to scientists in universities, medical schools and other research institutes and welcomes investigator-initiated research proposals in all areas of research relevant to human health. Between 2010/11 to 2014/15 the MRC spent £10.9 million supporting research into brain and pituitary tumours, spanning basic discovery science, translational projects to progress treatments to clinics and early clinical trials.

    More brain tumour research is needed and, as announced on 18 April, Official Report, columns 258-59WH, I will be convening a working group of clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how working together with our research funding partners, we can address this.