Category: Speeches

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 1.273 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how much funding he plans to provide to the (a) Science Museum, (b) Victoria and Albert Museum and (c) British Museum.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Chancellor announced in the Spending Review 2015 that government will invest £150 million to support the British Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum to replace out of date museum storage at Blythe House with new world-class storage facilities with public access. The allocations to each museum are yet to be determined.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to improve accessibility and reduce costs of visas for British citizens wishing to visit Iran.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Decisions over the cost and accessibility of Iranian visas are a decision for the Iranian Government. We continue to engage directly with the Iranians at all levels to move towards normalising and improving our respective visa services.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many HIV support services are planned to be affected by changes in funding from April 2016; and how many people used each of those services in the last 12 months.

    Jane Ellison

    Decisions on funding and access to social care support services for people with HIV are made by local authorities. The Care Act 2014 sets out the legal framework for social care in England, and this applies to all adults with support needs including those living with HIV.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reasons were for his decision to allocate Skelmersdale criminal cases to Wigan Magistrates’ Court after the decision to close Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court; and if he will make a statement.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The consultation proposed that work from Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court transfer to Preston.

    Responses received to the consultation highlighted that it would be easier to travel from Skelmersdale to Wigan Magistrates’ Court. Since there is capacity to hear this work at Wigan, when Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court closes, the majority of criminal workload originating from Skelmersdale will be heard at Wigan.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on farmers in receipt of payments from the Common Agricultural Policy.

    Rory Stewart

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support widows of genocide and conflict in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Supporting women and girls, including widows, is a top priority for DFID. In Rwanda, DFID supports the Government’s flagship social protection programme, which provides cash transfers to the poorest households with no labour capacity, including widows and those with disabilities.

    DFID DRC has committed up to £80 million over five years to promote peace, stability and recovery in eastern DRC. DFID addresses sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) across the DRC, both within and outside conflict zones, through its programmes and by addressing gender inequality. DFID DRC’s Humanitarian Programme is worth £168 million, of which £3.8 million provides direct support to survivors and those at risk of sexual violence.

    In Burundi, DFID is greatly concerned about the status of women and children in provinces affected by the political unrest. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported rape and abuses against women. HMG continues to raise the issue with the Government of Burundi, the UN and international partners.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what processes are in place for strengthening partnerships between law enforcement agencies in the UK and elsewhere in order to tackle international corruption.

    Matthew Hancock

    UK law enforcement agencies​ already have strong collaborative partnerships with many overseas authorities which are valuable in supporting and developing their investigations into international corruption. The London Anti-Corruption Summit in May galvanised further efforts to improve international cooperation.

    At the Summit, the PM announced that the UK will host a new International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC) to help law enforcement investigators work together effectively across multiple jurisdictions, ending the impunity often associated with grand corruption. We are working with international partners towards making the IACCC operational by April 2017.

    The UK also committed to supporting the creation of a Centre of Excellence for Financial Intelligence Units to support the sharing of information with other countries. This will help to improve the effectiveness of the international response to international money-laundering. We are also working with other countries to establish a Global Forum for Asset Recovery.

    Initiatives to enhance transparency over beneficial ownership information will also support international law enforcement cooperation in tackling international corruption. This includes the initiative on the automatic exchange of beneficial ownership information between jurisdictions, as well as the UK’s new public register of persons of significant control, (which goes live this month) and the agreements reached with relevant Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to grant UK law enforcement access to beneficial ownership information there.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has had discussions with representatives from Japan on arrangements for Japanese pharmaceutical companies in the UK.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade (DIT) works with new investors from Japan as well as Japanese companies across many sectors that have a UK presence. The Life Sciences Organisation (LSO) in this Department as well as the overseas market team in Japan have been engaging directly with Japanese pharmaceutical companies in Japan and those with a UK footprint. We welcome engagement from Japan and senior officials will continue to engage in a structured way on all levels.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to require clinical commission groups to start collecting data on the number of children who have been abused and need therapeutic support.

    Nicola Blackwood

    We are investing in new data sources on both mental health prevalence and service use. From January 2016, the new Mental Health Services Dataset began to collect data for both adults and children, including data on outcomes, length of treatment, the source of referral, location of appointment and demographic information. This includes seeking to improve available data on the prevalence of child abuse and related mental health issues, using the national children and adolescent mental health survey, as well as data collection specifically on the prevalence of child sexual abuse. This collection will start in targeted settings where people who are sexually abused are more likely to be seen: for example in children and adolescent mental health service, adult mental health, maternity and public health services (contraceptive and sexual health clinics, substance misuse, school nurses, and health visiting).

    NHS Digital is working with Departmental officials and with clinicians to develop the technical capability and data collection will start to be rolled out from the beginning of the next financial year. The data collection will help clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to better plan services for people who have been abused.

    All CCGs have already produced Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to transform their local offer to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. These Plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues; from prevention and improving access to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problem to ensuring that inpatient services are available for those who need them, including therapeutic support for children who have been abused. From 2016-17 children and young people’s mental health is being mainstreamed as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle so that LTPs are integrated into the wider Sustainability and Transformation Planning process.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds with lower 11-plus test scores are more or less likely to be offered grammar school places than children from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds; and what steps they are taking to achieve equality of opportunity in education.

    Lord Nash

    The Department does not collect data on the selection test scores of prospective applicants to grammar schools.

    We are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The recent report by the Public Accounts Committee on ‘Funding for disadvantaged pupils’ stated that, since the introduction of the pupil premium, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has closed by 4.7 percentage points in primary schools and by 1.6 percentage points in secondary schools.

    We continue to invest in our academies and free schools programme, which is already raising standards in areas serving some of our most disadvantaged young people.

    We are also putting high expectations at the heart of our school system, with a rigorous new curriculum, world-class exams, and a new accountability system that rewards schools that encourage every child to achieve their best.