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Category: Speeches

  • Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the review of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, charities not in receipt of grants from public funds will be subject to freedom of information requests.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government will announce its intentions about the development of the Freedom of Information Act once it has received and considered the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information’s recommendations.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned increase in stamp duty on the ability of people to purchase a retirement property in advance of selling their primary home.

    Mr David Gauke

    From 1 April 2016 higher rates of SDLT will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties. The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. This is part of the Government’s commitment to supporting home ownership and first-time buyers.

    The Government has carefully considered the case where a purchaser buys a new main home in advance of selling an old one. Where there is a temporary overlap between replacing and selling a main residence, the Government intends that higher rates will apply but the purchaser will be entitled to a refund of the higher amounts when they dispose of their previous main residence within 18 months.

    The Government has consulted on the changes to ensure they are introduced in a fair way. The final policy design will be confirmed at Budget on 16 March 2016.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the formal internal scrutiny process for the current calculations for optimism bias for the Successor submarine programme to be completed.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Optimism Bias work will be completed as part of the evidence required to inform the next investment decision.

  • Lord St John of Bletso – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord St John of Bletso – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord St John of Bletso on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have, in conjunction with the UN, to assist in rebuilding infrastructure in South Sudan.

    Baroness Verma

    South Sudan is in the midst of a protracted humanitarian crisis affecting millions, and the UK is prioritising support which saves lives and protects the most vulnerable. The UK works with the UN and others on small infrastructure projects that support humanitarian efforts, such as the building/maintenance of roads, airstrips and camps; and projects that are driven by local communities, such as building of water points, dykes, bridges and schools. Peace and security, including the overdue formation of the transitional government of national unity, are essential for progress on the development of South Sudan. The UK is playing an active role in encouraging the full implementation of the peace agreement, and continues to call for the immediate return of Opposition leader Riek Machar to Juba in order to facilitate this.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has commissioned on the effect of immigration on the demand for (a) housing and (b) social housing.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department published statistics on average household growth in December 2015, including the proportion attributable to net migration. The department has not commissioned research on how immigration affects the demand for social housing.

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

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what success Genomic England has had in engaging the NHS with (1) the number of informed consents captured by each of the 13 Genomic Medical Centres (GMCs), (2) the number of samples supplied by each of the 13 GMCs to Genomic England, (3) the number of usable samples received from each of the 13 GMCs by Genomic England, (4) the number of Binary Alignment Map files generated to date for each of the 13 GMCs, (5) the number of variant files (VCF) generated to date for each of the 13 GMCs, and (6) the number of clinical reports returned to patients for each of the 13 GMCs, in (a) the rare disease and (b) the cancer programme.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Genomics England (GeL) and NHS England have confirmed that:

    The total number of informed consents as reported by NHS Genomic Medicine Centres (GMCs) is 9,939. The breakdown by NHS GMC can be found in the table below.

    The total number of samples sent to the United Kingdom biobank from NHS GMCs is 6,777. The breakdown by GMC can be found in the table below.

    Over 99% of samples have passed quality control first time in the biorepository, and the others are being followed up with NHS GMCs directly to obtain replacement samples.

    In terms of the number of Binary Alignment Map files generated to date, GeL does not break its figures down in this way. It has confirmed that the number of completed Whole Genome Sequences (WGS) is 10,079 consisting of 8,408 rare disease and 1,671 cancer.

    In terms of the number of variant files generated to date, GeL does not break its figures down in this way. It has confirmed that the number of completed WGS is 10,079 consisting of 8,408 rare disease and 1,671 cancer. GeL is in the process of developing rare disease and cancer reports and is discussing these with clinical sites. GeL has returned 39 reports to pilot sites and expects the number of reports to increase steadily over the coming year.

    NHS GMC

    GMC self- reported recruitment

    Samples received at UK Biobank

    North East and North Cumbria

    426

    357

    West London

    307

    262

    Greater Manchester

    666

    232

    South London

    1,436

    1,316

    East of England

    923

    795

    Oxford

    927

    678

    South West

    337

    221

    North Thames

    2,483

    1,290

    Wessex

    638

    510

    West Mids

    1,327

    786

    North West Coast

    434

    321

    Yorks and Humber

    35

    0

    Total

    9,939

    6,777

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made by the Financial Conduct Authority in its review of nuisance calls relating to consumer credit.

    Simon Kirby

    The FCA has committed to review its rules on unsolicited marketing calls, emails and text messages from consumer credit firms, including payday lenders. The review includes specifically looking at whether these unsolicited communications should be banned.

    The FCA will publish the results of this review before the end of this year.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of online and mobile applications which require automated access to a user’s banking details for (a) accessibility of banking, (b) digital inclusion, (c) users’ banking security and (d) consumer rights.

    Simon Kirby

    The government is committed to increasing competition in banking to improve outcomes for consumers. This includes establishing a competitive and innovative environment where banks deliver greater choice and value to their customers. A key element of this vision is ensuring the UK remains the world-leader for financial technology (FinTech).

    The Competition and Markets Authority recognised the potential of FinTech and open banking in its retail banking market investigation by requiring the nine largest UK banks to develop and adopt an open banking standard for application programming interfaces (APIs) to allow access to customer account information as set out in the revised Payment Services Directive (PSDII) which comes into force in January 2018.

    This will deliver a common standard for technology that allows the sharing of bank data, allowing authorised third parties to access information such as customer banking details and usage, prices and service quality.

    Harnessing the potential of open banking means that customers will be able to more easily access high quality, low cost banking services, and improve digital engagement with financial services by helping customers better understand where they could get a better deal. PSDII will set out requirements for enhanced security and consumer protections for online and mobile applications accessing users’ banking details from January 2018. The government will be consulting on the transposition of this directive shortly.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which regulations his Department introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015 to date; which regulations his Department expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2016 and (ii) 2017; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my my right hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise (Anna Soubry) on11 November 2015 to Question 15037.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that funding is made available to treat prostate cancer with olaparib.

    George Freeman

    Olaparib (Lynparza) is not licensed for use in the treatment of prostate cancer. It is currently undergoing Phase II clinical trials for this condition.