Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the Postgraduate Loans Scheme in 2016–17 and 2017–18.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Student Loans Company has produced a suite of information and guidance materials for institutions and prospective students and this is available from SLC’s website, The Student Room and Gov.UK. Additionally, BIS and the SLC are working together with a number of organisations, including Universities UK, to ensure that information and guidance is also disseminated through their own channels. Plans for 2017-18 will be drawn up later this year once the loan has been launched

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it the Government’s policy to invite a delegation of parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as official observers of the forthcoming EU referendum.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government welcomes observers – either from within the UK or from overseas – who wish to observe our electoral process. The Electoral Commission accredits observers who may, once accredited, observe proceedings at the poll, proceedings at the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers, and proceedings at the count. It is therefore open to parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to apply for accreditation as observers.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is allocated to motorcycling safety in his Department’s budget for the current year.

    Andrew Jones

    Motorcycling safety is embedded within different areas including wider road safety policy, international vehicle standards and the THINK! road safety campaigns. As such there is not a separate budget allocation.

    A significant role is also played by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which oversees the training and testing of motorcyclists.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to complete the training review, publication and roll-out of training programmes on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, for training delivered (1) in the UK to military officers from overseas, and (2) to foreign military forces.

    Earl Howe

    Our Armed Forces already undertake high quality training on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) but a training needs analysis (TNA), which will report shortly, is assessing the level of future WPS/PSVI training required for UK and overseas militaries. Every year around 150 military officers from more than 50 countries attend UK Defence Academy courses that include lectures on WPS; and students on the Advanced Command and Staff Course are offered an additional two week ‘elective’ on "Gender, War, and Armed Forces", which some of the overseas officers choose to attend.

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is also delivering WPS and PSVI in-country training to foreign militaries through the deployment of short term training teams and deployable experts, and via our overseas training establishments. The MOD is developing a standardised core syllabus for the training on WPS and PSVI delivered to foreign forces, which is expected to be finalised in January 2017. Building on the core syllabus, the training is then theatre-specific and tailored to the needs of troops being deployed, based on the level of training they have already received.

    The MOD does not routinely publish its training materials but, as part of an accreditation process, it will share course materials with allies in NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the UK leaving the EU on the audio-visual industry.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    The Government is determined to ensure the UK audio-visual industry thrives outside of the EU. The Secretary of State held a roundtable with key stakeholders to discuss implications for the industry, and over the coming weeks and months government will be engaging in further discussions with the businesses and key stakeholders.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to (a) reduce waiting times for children to receive an assessment for a mental health condition and (b) address the disparity between those waiting times across different NHS mental health trusts.

    Alistair Burt

    Waiting times are not currently collected centrally, however the Government accepts there is variation in waiting times and is committed to improving access and is introducing the first ever waiting time standards for mental health services.

    These include an access and waiting time standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder. This states that National Institute of Health and Care Excellence concordant treatment should commence within a maximum of four weeks from first contact with a designated healthcare professional for routine cases and within one week for urgent cases. Data collected in 2016 will help inform incremental percentage increases in compliance with the standard, with the aim of 95% of patients being treated within the standard’s timescale by 2020.

    We have also introduced an access and waiting times standard on Early Intervention in Psychosis announced in Mental health services: achieving better access by 2020 which came into force in April 2015. Whilst focused on all ages, most individuals experiencing a first episode of psychosis are in the 16-25 age group.

    The setting of a blanket access and waiting time standard for children and young people’s mental health services is not feasible due to the wide range of conditions, services and care pathways this covers. However, NHS England will be working with partner organisations to lead work on the development of further access and waiting time standards for children’s mental health as part of the transformation programme on children and young people’s mental health.

    At a local level, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have worked with local partners to produce Local Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing that will set out how they will improve support for children and young people in line with the vision in Future in mind. In addition, CCGs have legal duty to consider the need to reduce inequalities in access to, and outcomes from healthcare services, and we would expect commissioners to have due regard to waiting times as part of this.

    The new Mental Health Services Dataset will begin from January 2016, to provide data for both adults and children on outcomes, length of treatment, the source of referral, location of appointment and demographic information.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14345, if her Department will publish a position proper on the criteria it uses to ensure aid graduation is sustainable.

    Justine Greening

    The Department is currently undertaking a Bilateral Aid Review which will determine the countries that we will provide direct bilateral assistance to over the next five years.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value of imports from the EU in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what percentage of that amount is represented by imports from the Republic of Ireland.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The value of UK imports of goods and services from the EU28 was £290.6 billion in 2014. Imports from the Republic of Ireland amounted to £17.1 billion, or 5.9% of total UK imports from the EU28 (Source: ONS Pink Book 2015).

  • 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 whether UK political parties will be invited to attend and participate in the Anti-Corruption Summit planned in London following the Prime Minister’s speech in Singapore on 28 July 2015.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Invitations will be sent out in due course.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why NATO land forces have so far not been used in aid of the civil powers in both Italy and Greece; and whether there are plans to do so.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK and its European partners are trying to find a collective solution for what has been described as ‘the worst refugee crisis facing Europe since the Second World War’.

    To that end the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has agreed to support international efforts in the Aegean. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced that the UK has deployed Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay to the Aegean.

    It is right that our immediate priority is to ensure this new NATO activity is up and running effectively. Whilst there are no requests from Italy or Greece for the sort of assistance described, the UK would be open to considering how NATO could make an effective further contribution to this crisis.