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Category: Speeches

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce obesity in (a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

    Nicola Blackwood

    We launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. Our plan focuses on actions that are likely to have the biggest impact on childhood obesity. We will continue to work with the National Health Service, local authorities and other partners to deliver the proposals in our plan.

    Public Health England helps local authorities to identify excess weight through various programmes such as the National Child Measurement Programme and NHS Health Checks, and supports local authorities to provide evidence based and effective interventions to help those individuals manage their weight.

    A copy of Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action is attached and is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf

    “

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in her Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to her Department.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education does not hold records on how many civil servants are members of a trade union.

    The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to civil service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 and is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time

    “

  • Lord Dobbs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Dobbs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dobbs on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 24 November (HL3466), whether the total of £195,000 for the estimated annual running costs of the House of Lords Press and Media Team includes the cost of office space and similar overheads, and if not, what are the estimated total running costs of that team including those overheads.

    Lord Laming

    No. The House of Lords has made no specific estimate of the cost of office space and similar overheads in respect of the House of Lords Press and Media Team; similar overheads apply to various Lords Departments and are part of the total running cost of Parliament.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is providing to young people who are classified as long-term unemployed in Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency.

    Priti Patel

    Since March 2012 and throughout the recession DWP has provided additional support, over and above the standard Jobcentre Plus offer, to young people that has included:

    • Extra advisor time to improve job search skills;
    • A referral to the careers service within 3 months;
    • Work experience placements;
    • Referral to a sector based work academy place (training, work experience and a guaranteed interview).

    Each young person on benefit receives support tailored to their needs, for example referrals to Apprenticeships, to other jobs, traineeships, skills training and work experience.

    We are committed to providing every opportunity to encourage young people to either earn or learn. For example, on 27 January 2016, Poole Jobcentre have organised a sector based work academy Jobs Fair event for 18-24 year olds with employers.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential link between social media and self-harm among young people.

    Alistair Burt

    We recognise the potential influence of online platforms, including social media, on both promoting self-harm and supporting people who have or may be at risk of self-harm.

    There is a link between bullying including cyberbullying and self-harm and the Department for Education produced guidance in October 2014, advising schools about preventing bullying. This guidance refers to new powers under the Education Act 2011 for teachers to search pupils, to confiscate IT equipment including mobile phones and to destroy offensive or inappropriate images.

    The Government continues to provide financial support for the Multi-Centre Study of Self-Harm in England, which monitors trends in self-harm and recognises the potential influence of online platforms on self-harming in young people.

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport expects social media companies to have robust processes in place to address inappropriate and abusive content on their sites. This includes having clear reporting channels, acting promptly to assess reports, and removing content which does not comply with their acceptable use policies or terms and conditions. Social media can also help signpost vulnerable users to helpful sources of information and support.

    Recently, Ofcom led a social media working group on behalf of UK Council for Child Internet Safety to develop best practice guidance to encourage responsible practice from industry, and ensure children using their services are able to do so in a safe and protected way. This guidance was delivered on 22 December 2015 and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-council-for-child-internet-safety-ukccis

    The Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research has also funded ongoing research by the Samaritans and Bristol University into the influence on online platforms on suicidal behaviour.

    “

  • Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an EEA national residing in the UK who wished to bring in a non-EU spouse into the country would, under the draft Decision by the European Council published on 2 February, have to meet the requirements for salary and the spouse the conditions for language as are required of a British citizen and are set out under part 8 of the UK Immigration Rules..

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government considers that it is important that the interests of energy consumers are represented on the SEC Panel. The current arrangements were consulted on in the Government’s Smart Energy Code Consultation in April 2012, and were concluded in the Government Responses in November 2012 and April 2013. The Government concluded that Consumer Futures, as the exclusive statutory consumer body in the energy sector, was best placed to nominate consumer representatives for the Panel. These statutory responsibilities were transferred to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland when Consumer Futures was abolished in 2014.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of HMRC’s pilot of the Codentify system, why no other companies or systems have been asked to participate in such a pilot.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes the restrictions in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously. These require that the development, implementation and enforcement of tobacco policies as part of public health policies should be protected from the influence of the tobacco industry.

    Codentify is a system, developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. The trial HMRC is undertaking is to see whether these existing codes could help officers in the field to authenticate products and help tackle illicit tobacco. No other companies currently provide such codes.

    The use of Codentify by HMRC is not part of an exercise to evaluate the wider use of potential tools available on the market. Any such exercise would be undertaken in the context of the implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive track and trace security feature requirements, which will be implemented by May 2019 for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.

    The European Commission is still considering, with Member States, proposals for new pan European security features and track and trace systems, and has yet to determine any technical specifications. HMRC are not evaluating Codentify as a track and trace tool or potential security feature; the aspects of the system being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.

    The use of Codentify is not a formal pilot and there will not be reports or results to publish. Instead the trial will identify the strengths, weaknesses and usefulness of using Codentify to HMRC as an authentication tool in the field. HMRC will review this later in 2016. Some resource has been spent providing access to the system and training officers in the use of the tool. However, this has been minimal and has not been separately identified. The Department of Health leads on public health policy and has been consulted on this initiative. HMRC sees no conflict between its current use of the Codentify system and FCTC requirements.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many investigations have been undertaken by the Financial Investigation Unit of the Child Maintenance Group in each of the financial years since April 2012 to March 2013.

    Priti Patel

    Child Maintenance Group’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) was established on 1 April 2014.

    For the financial year 2014 – 2015 the FIU conducted 3,749 investigations resulting in both civil and criminal investigations.

    For the financial year 2015 – 2016 the FIU conducted 3,186 investigations resulting in both civil and criminal investigations.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the human rights of Christian pastors in Sudan are protected, in the light of the arrests and continuing detention of Telahoon Nogosi Kassa Rata and Hassan Abduraheem Kodi Taour.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Freedom of religion or belief in Sudan continues to be an area of deep concern. We have consistently called on the Government of Sudan to ensure all legislation is consistent with the Interim Constitution of 2005; within which religious freedom is enshrined. We regularly attend court cases in Sudan on freedom of religion or belief and through our project work we also seek to support lawyers who take on cases addressing important human rights issues.

    Our Ambassador in Khartoum raised the specific cases of Mr Talahon and Reverend Hassan with the Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments and the Sudanese Director of Church Affairs in February. We also raised this issue with the Sudanese Director of Human Rights during the UK-Sudan bilateral talks in March, and again with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April. Furthermore, we continue to raise concerns about the scope of the National Security Act (2010) and the powers it gives the National Intelligence and Security Service. Most recently, we highlighted this issue in our statement at Sudan’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 4 May. We will remain active on these issues.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the cardiac nursing workforce is comprised of heart failure specialist nurses.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre provides information on the number of nursing staff employed in the National Health Service in England, but it does not separately identify the cardiac nursing workforce or heart failure specialist nurses.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses.