Category: Speeches

Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is investigating complaints made about the conduct and performance of the West London Coroner.

Caroline Dinenage

Operational responsibility for coroner services lies with the relevant local authority – in this case the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham – and complaints about a coroner’s conduct are investigated by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO). The JCIO has recently confirmed that it is investigating a complaint about the West London Senior Coroner.

01/01/2023
Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to modernise the courts and tribunals system.

Mr Shailesh Vara

We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan to reform our courts system so it delivers swifter, fairer justice for everyone in England and Wales at a lower cost. This is a once in a generation opportunity to create a modern, user focused and efficient courts and tribunals service.

01/01/2023
Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she plans to commence talks on the remaining legacy issues in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

I recently met the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors and the Victims and Survivors Forum and I have commenced a round of engagement with the political parties. I will continue to meet with victims and others as we seek to achieve the consensus needed to bring forward legislation to address the outstanding legacy issues.

01/01/2023
John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve access to specialist psychology support for people with muscle-wasting conditions.

Jane Ellison

With regards to the National Health Service in Scotland, as healthcare is a devolved issue, the Department cannot comment.

NHS England commissions specialised neurological services at a national level, including those with muscle-wasting conditions. The neurosciences service specification sets out what designated specialised providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective care. Patients should have access to a multidisciplinary team (MDT) to assess, diagnose and provide support. The MDT will include neuromuscular consultants, neuromuscular physiotherapists, psychologists, specialist nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other health professionals.

The specification further sets out that neuromuscular clinics need to identify those at risk of respiratory problems and refer for specialist respiratory assessment and monitoring.

The specification can be found at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

A separate specification covers services for children.

www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/e09-paedi-neurology.pdf

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01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Questions 24490 and 24491, when her Department expects to have made a decision on whether to grant the right of abode to former British-Hong Kong servicemen.

James Brokenshire

The assessment of the request by former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps that they be granted right of abode in the UK is on-going, including discussions at official level with other government departments and a review of archived material on the schemes established between 1990 and 1997. A decision will be made as soon as practicable

01/01/2023
Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many partnerships are in operation between UK and non-UK EU-based companies in the area of defence; and what the total value of those partnerships is.

Mr Julian Brazier

This information is not held in the format requested.

01/01/2023

Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33501, on equal pay tribunals, how many individual equal pay claims have been brought against employers by (a) men and (b) women in each year between 2010 and 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The two large multiple cases consisted of 11,585 men and 3,475 women, plus one claimant who did not state their gender. We are not able to provide further information about these cases as they have not yet been listed for hearing.

The table below shows the number of equal pay claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal for each calendar year since 2010:

Calendar Year	Gender
	Female	Male
2010	29,754	4,083
2011	24,049	3,647
2012	15,697	4,340
2013	18,398	5,039
2014	6,052	1,509
2015	6,423	13,312

01/01/2023

Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in improving construction sector productivity since publication of the Government’s Productivity Plan in July 2015.

Nick Boles

Working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Government has identified skills, business models and innovation as the major sources of improved productivity in the sector.

To promote increased investment in skills, an Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in April 2017 on all companies with a pay bill above £3 million per annum. The CLC Review of the Construction Labour Model launched in January 2016, is examining the labour model in construction and will recommend measures which will help lead house-building and other construction firms to ensure they have the skills, and the skills pipelines, that they need.

The Government Construction Strategy 2016-2020 published in March this year has a focus on smarter procurement, using Government’s position in the market to help drive improved productivity in construction and better value for the tax payer.

Businesses need money to invest in productivity improvement, and a review of the practice of cash retention and of the effectiveness of the legislation covering construction contracts (Part 2 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996), is currently underway.

Digital technology has great potential to drive productivity improvement through innovation in construction, and the UK is among the world leaders thanks to the Government’s support for the use and development of Building Information Modelling. In the Budget the Government announced support for the development of the next digital standard for the construction sector, Building Information Modelling 3.

01/01/2023
Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps to provide additional support for people who need to dispose of a property after the death of a relative by reviewing existing council tax liabilities.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government provides an exemption from council tax for up to 6 months to people who have inherited properties which are left empty due to the death of the occupier. This applies after the granting of probate, or after letters of administration have been signed. Local authorities additionally have discretion to offer discounts of between 0% and 100% for empty homes. Authorities can also defer payment of council tax until the proceeds of a sale are made available.

The Government has no plans to change this support.

01/01/2023
Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the costs and benefits of the NHS internal market; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

As with many healthcare systems worldwide, the National Health Service has employed a purchaser-provider split for a number of years, and under successive governments in order to ensure that resources are used to the maximum benefit of patients.

A number of evaluations of aspects of this approach have been conducted, including work undertaken by organisations such as the Nuffield Trust and the King’s Fund. The Government remains committed to supporting both commissioners and providers to secure value by controlling costs and improving quality of care.

01/01/2023