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Category: Speeches

  • Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have been age assessed while in detention in each of the last 12 months; and how such assessments were carried out by immigration officers.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of individuals who have been age assessed while in detention is not held centrally. Age assessments are carried out by the relevant local authority.

    Individuals whose age is disputed will only be considered for detention where:

    • there is credible and clear documentary evidence that they are 18 years of age or over

    • a full "Merton-compliant" age assessment by a local authority has been carried out and is available stating that they are 18 years of age or over

    • their physical appearance/demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age and no other credible evidence exists to the contrary.

    Otherwise individuals are treated as children until a full age assessment has been conducted by a local authority and all available evidence has been duly considered. This includes victims or potential victims of human trafficking and the Modern Slavery Act 2015 places a presumption about age on a statutory footing when arrangements to assist a potential victim are being carried out.

  • Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners have been tested for (1) hepatitis B, (2) hepatitis C, and (3) HIV, in each of the last three years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) collects data on people in prison tested for blood-borne viruses (BBVs) via the Sentinel Surveillance Study. This system does not currently receive reports from all prisons in England where testing occurs. Currently 28 prisons report data representing approximately 30% of the standing prison population in England so this data does not represent the total amount of testing currently happening in the prison estate.

    Table 1 shows data from this system on the total number of prisoners tested for BBVs in the calendar years 2012-2014. Similar information from this study for the year 2015 will not be available until mid-year 2016. NHS England also collects data on levels of testing for BBVs in prisons via the Health & Justice Indicators of Performance (HJIPs). The numbers of tests for BBVs in these data are presented in Table 2. The higher number is due to the greater coverage of prisons by this dataset. NHS England data is not used for 2012, 2013 and 2014 is not available because HJIPs were only introduced last year.


  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many charities in receipt of government grant funding were found to be in breach of provisions preventing use of taxpayers’ money for political activity in each of the past three years.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions have occurred or proceedings been commenced as the result of the seizure of illegally imported puppies taken into the Dogs Trust’s care via its pilot quarantine initiative since the start of that pilot.

    George Eustice

    Local Authorities are responsible for the prosecution of individuals illegally importing puppies into Great Britain. In addition Port of Dover Police can issue formal warnings for illegal landing of puppies including where animals have been concealed. It is for the local authority concerned to decide if it wishes to undertake a prosecution in any of the cases of illegal importation identified during the pilot.

    The Dogs Trust pilot quarantine initiative began on 2 December 2015 and is expected to continue until the end of May 2016. As explained in my reply to the honourable Member for North Durham, Kevan Jones, on 11 March 2016, PQ UIN 30363, the Animal and Plant Health Agency will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of the initiative following its conclusion. This assessment will be made publicly available and will be based on information provided by all parties involved in the pilot. This will include a summary of all enforcement action that has been taken. The report may not, however, be able to comment on investigations that may be underway.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse was of the promotional film for the Northern Powerhouse project, Gunning for growth.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Northern Powerhouse is GREAT investment film, paid for by GREAT, was created to promote investment into all parts of the Northern Powerhouse. It has already been shown in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Australasia. It was produced by Leeds agency Motiv Productions at a one off cost of just over £20,000.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons people in Plymouth who have epilepsy are waiting six months from having a seizure to see a consultant of specialist nurse.

    Jane Ellison

    There are no national measures or means by which the Department monitors frequency of patients reviews, either by consultants or nurses. Guidance is issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence however this does not replace the skills and knowledge of health professionals in managing patients. The arrangements for the management and follow up of people with epilepsy are a local matter and decisions on the frequency with which patients are seen should be made on a case by case basis, taking into account the individual circumstances of each patient.

    NHS England advises that the maximum wait for outpatients to receive a neurology appointment is 12 weeks currently. Additionally 92% of patients are being seen under the specified ‘Referral To Treatment’ waiting times of 18 weeks which is within the national target.

    The information on the number of people with epilepsy in Plymouth is not available in the format requested.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce his planning decision on the proposed expansion of London City Airport.

    Sajid Javid

    My Department has published a target date for issuing this decision of 28 September. My Department aims to reach all planning decisions ahead of target dates where possible.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that mental health services are not deprioritised in the commissioning process for budgetary reasons.

    Nicola Blackwood

    NHS England has a clear commitment that spending on mental health should increase year-on-year by an amount at least as great as the overall growth in clinical commissioning group (CCG) baseline allocations. From this year, NHS England’s budget and financial reporting will be aligned to specific mental health priorities, increasing transparency and allowing additional resources to be tracked at CCG level.

  • Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps (a) he and (b) his Department made to secure a buyer for Redcar coke ovens and blast furnace before the Official Receiver called for a hard closure.

    Anna Soubry

    Commercial decisions on the purchase of assets are the prerogative of the companies involved and government has no powers to oblige companies to purchase assets.

    On liquidation of a company, it is the responsibility of the liquidator to sell the free assets of the company. In the case of SSI UK, this was the Official Receiver.

    I am informed that the Official Receiver did maintain operations at SSI, including the coke ovens, for a period while he tried to find purchasers for the assets of SSI UK but as of the 12 October, no purchaser had been found and the Official Receiver ceased operations of the coke ovens and blast furnace.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of establishment of the Fundraising Preference Service on charitable donations.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The fundraising preference service is a recommendation of the 2015 review of fundraising regulation led by Sir Stuart Etherington. Its development has been charity sector-led and it will be implemented by the independent fundraising regulator.

    The government welcomes the proposals for a fundraising preference service. It will give greater control to the public about how and whether they are approached with targeted charity fundraising requests. It will be particularly useful for people who feel inundated with such requests. It will also help charities to ensure that they target their fundraising material only at those people who want to receive it. The fundraising preference service will be an important element in restoring public trust in charity fundraising, which will be of long term benefit to charities.