Category: Speeches

Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

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

To ask the Leader of the House, further to her Written Statement on 21 July (HLWS128), what discussion she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the light of that Department’s position as the Department having the worst record in answering Questions for Written Answer within 10 working days, and whether the Secretary of State intends to make a Written Statement to explain what steps have been taken within that Department to match the overall record of government departments in answering 93 per cent of Written Question within 10 working days.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

I take very seriously my responsibility as Leader of the House to encourage Ministers to be punctual in answering written questions. I recently published data on departmental performance in answering Questions for Written Answer for the 2015/16 session, where I was pleased to see that 93% of questions were answered within 10 working days. Nevertheless, we must always strive to do better. I have written to the three departments with the greatest proportion of late responses in the last session to make clear the House’s expectations and to stress the importance of timely responses.

Though the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) received 475 Questions for Written Answer in 2015/16 – more than double the number received in the previous session – Ministers were nevertheless disappointed by the department’s performance. In response the department has put in place a range of actions to improve performance, including strengthening internal deadlines and procedures. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, as the Lords Minister, has stressed to me how seriously the department takes its responsibilities to Parliament and is confident that performance will improve in this session.

My office continues to work with all departments to ensure prompt and comprehensive responses to all Questions for Written Answer. I will continue to publish data on an annual basis to allow analysis of performance over time. This practice is important in highlighting where improvements in timeliness could and should be made.

01/01/2023
Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with BAE Systems on its decision to use French steel in the construction of the Successor submarines.

Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence engaged with BAE Systems throughout the procurement process for the specialised steel, including being notified of their decision to award the contract.

Other stages of construction will include grades of steel manufactured by British suppliers and we encourage them to take the opportunity to bid.

85% of BAE Systems supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Public Health England advice entitled Take-home naloxone for opioid overdose in people who use drugs, what steps he is taking to encourage local commissioners to adopt a programme of issuing MHRA-licenced take home Naloxone (a) in general and (b) to opioid-dependent prisoners upon their release; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need and commissioning substance misuse services, using the public health grant, to meet that need. Public Health England (PHE) supports local authorities in this work and as part of that function has provided advice on naloxone provision to commissioners for their local joint strategic needs assessments.

The commissioning of substance misuse treatment for prisoners is the responsibility of health and justice commissioning teams in ten of NHS England’s area teams, supported by a central health and justice team. The Government expects commissioners and providers of substance misuse services in prisons and in the community to work together closely in respect of prisoners being released from custody to ensure seamless transfers of care.

In addition to the advice disseminated by PHE in “Take-home naloxone for opioid overdose in people who use drugs”, the chair of the working group updating “Drug misuse and dependence: UK guidelines on clinical management”, published an open letter in July with advice for commissioners and clinicians on naloxone.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is satisfied by the proportion of Connaught Fund investors who received the full level of compensation awarded to them.

Harriett Baldwin

This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

01/01/2023
Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the new migrant camp being built in Dunkirk does not have a negative effect on UK-bound lorries.

James Brokenshire

Any proposals for accommodation for migrants in Dunkirk, or elsewhere in Northern France, are a matter for the French authorities.

The haulage industry is hugely important to UK trade and prosperity and the Government takes the security of UK-bound traffic, as well as the safety of hauliers and tourists using the ports in Northern France, very seriously.

The Government has listened to industry concerns and continues to work closely with the French authorities at both political and operational levels on a package of measures to bolster the security of the ports. Action has been taken to improve the flow of traffic at the Juxtaposed Controls; and a new secure waiting area at Calais for UK-bound lorries with capacity for 230 vehicles will be completed by spring 2016. In the interim, Border Force has worked with the Calais port operator and introduced a secure freight circulation and waiting area for around 200 vehicles.

Border Force advice for drivers – published on gov.uk – is to alert the authorities of the country they are in as soon as they suspect persons may be seeking to enter their vehicle. The website also provides hauliers and drivers with emergency contact details for the relevant French authorities and is applicable at all the ports in Northern France.

01/01/2023
Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24107 on tribunals: Scotland, how many of those people whose data was breached were not made aware that that breach had occurred.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service takes its responsibility for data incidents very seriously and treats each case on its individual merits. Notifying individuals of data breaches or incidents is considered, but is not a mandatory action in every instance.

Informing people and organisations about a breach is not an end in itself. Notification should have a clear purpose, whether this is to enable individuals who may have been affected to take steps to protect themselves or to allow the appropriate regulatory bodies to perform their functions, provide advice and deal with complaints.

The above criteria is considered when deciding whether or not to inform individuals or organisations of a data breach. In relation to the incidents referred to in this PQ it is unclear, as no statistical information has been retained, as to whether or not individuals were notified.

Guidance on data breach notification is set out by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the link below:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-7-security/

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01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the total number of active Daesh fighters in (a) Iraq, (b) Libya and (c) Syria in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The latest available US figures suggest that there are approximately 19,000 – 25,000 Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria, compared to estimates of 20,000 – 31,000 fighters in 2014. Estimates for the number of Daesh fighters in Libya are between 3,000 – 6,000.

01/01/2023
Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on British service personnel being served food which contains mould and maggots; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to ensure that all food served to such service personnel is of a satisfactory standard.

Mark Lancaster

The Department is aware of concerns that have been expressed in the media about the standard of food.

The Department has in place a number of safeguards to ensure a good quality of food. These include; contract monitoring, site visits, reviews, customer engagement and assurance by Single Service catering subject matter experts to improve on the service provided.

Any complaint over food can be raised through the chain of command or directly with the contractor by way of a complaints book.

01/01/2023
Margaret Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Greenwood on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of NHS trusts were in deficit at the end of 2015-16; and what the total size of that deficit was.

Alistair Burt

Final figures for 2015-16 are not yet available, but we know that the deficit will be bigger this year, and that there is significant pressure. This is why we are investing the additional £10 billion the National Health Service has said it needs to implement its own plan for the future, with £6 billion frontloaded by the end of next year.

01/01/2023

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 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have (1) been made redundant, and (2) taken voluntary redundancy, in each of the last five years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The number of employees of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills HQ who have (1) exited via a Compulsory Redundancy scheme, and (2) exited via a voluntary redundancy scheme, in each of the last five financial years (April to March) are shown in the table below.

Year (Apr – Mar)	Exited via a Compulsory Redundancy scheme	Exited via a Voluntary Redundancy Scheme
2011-12	4	93
2012-13		3
2013-14	2	7
2014-15		7
2015-16		1
Grand Total	6	111

01/01/2023