Category: Speeches

Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an operation in (a) Pennine Acute NHS Trust and (b) Bolton NHS Trust was in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

Patients have a legal right, set out in the NHS Constitution, to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. The following table shows the average median waiting time in weeks for patients whose wait ended during the month with an inpatient or day case admission to Pennine Acute NHS Trust or Bolton NHS Trust. Only a proportion of inpatient or day case admissions would have resulted in an operation.

Table: average median waiting times^{1, 2} in weeks for patients whose wait ended during the month with an inpatient or day case admission³, 2015

Month	Bolton NHS Trust	Pennine Acute NHS Trust
January 2015	8.2	10.8
February 2015	8.7	11.1
March 2015	7.6	9.8
April 2015	7.6	10.6
May 2015	7.9	10.6
June 2015	7.0	11.4
July 2015	6.6	11.1
August 2015	6.3	10.9
September 2015	6.9	10.9
October 2015	7.1	11.1
November 2015	7.0	10.6
December 2015	5.7	10.5

Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS England

Notes:

Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits.
Until September 2015, adjustments were permitted for clock pauses, where a patient declined reasonable offers of admission and chose to wait longer. From October 2015, there is no longer any provision to report pauses or suspensions in waiting time clocks.
Not every admission to hospital is for an operation, but hospital episode statistics suggest that 94% of elective finished admission episodes involve some form of procedure or intervention.

01/01/2023

Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-03-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to conduct an impact assessment on the local economy of Cumbernauld of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs Cumbernauld office.

Mr David Gauke

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to create two new Regional Centres in Scotland, in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019-20, accommodating between 5,700 and 6,300 employees. HMRC’s new Regional Centres will give its staff all they need including a modern office environment, close to good travel and transport links. They will provide stable, high quality jobs and offer a wide range of opportunities for training and promotion and allow its staff to follow more varied career paths than have previously been possible.

HMRC will help all its staff work through their options. It will give everyone the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances with their manager ahead of any office closures or moves, so they know about any issues that need to be taken into account when making decisions.

01/01/2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much production work by (a) value and (b) numbers of jobs has been undertaken by employees in the UK on UK defence contracts placed with US defence companies in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not currently collate information on how much production or support work is undertaken in the UK or US on UK defence contracts, either by value or number of jobs. A comprehensive breakdown of which MOD contracts placed over the last five years are with UK or US suppliers is also not held centrally.

The MOD routinely publishes statistics on contracts it places on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index. This includes an overall estimate of MOD expenditure for work undertaken in the UK and lists all organisations with which we have spent £5 million or more in the financial year. These statistics include expenditure with US companies.

The MOD does not collate information centrally on the value of production work undertaken in the UK on contracts placed by the US Department of Defense.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many representations he has made to his (a) Yemeni and (b) Saudi Arabian counterpart in each of the last twelve months on the conflict in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) is in regular contact with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Al Jubeir regarding the situation in Yemen. During his recent tour of the Gulf, the Foreign Secretary held constructive discussions with all six GCC countries, underlining the UK’s commitment to finding a peaceful resolution and working in partnership with key regional actors to achieve this. I also regularly engage with the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and President Hadi to encourage commitment to the political process and the UK Special Envoy to Yemen, Sir Alan Duncan, visited the region in April and May to deliver messages to key Yemeni and regional interlocutors. Yemen remains a top priority for the UK Government and we are committed to working towards a durable peace.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to provide employment and social enterprise opportunities for (a) the homeless and (b) those at risk of homelessness in (i) the West Midlands and (ii) Birmingham, Northfield constituency.

Mr Marcus Jones

The government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. We have increased central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Spending Review period. We have also maintained and protected homelessness prevention funding for local government, totalling £315 million by 2019/20. One person without a home is one too many, and we are clear that more needs to be done to ensure that support is available for some of the most vulnerable in society.

We recognise that employment and social enterprise opportunities are key factors to help people avoid homelessness and secure a sustainable place to live and build personal resilience. That is why we have invested £15 million to improve outcomes for young people through the Fair Chance Fund. This funding is turning around the lives of around 1,900 18 to 25 year olds with complex and overlapping needs, by supporting them into accommodation, education, training and employment. Young people are being supported by seven projects across the country including in Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Walsall and Wyre Forest and the majority of projects are funded by social investment. We will build our learning on this to our £10 million Social Impact Bond for people with complex and multiple needs. In addition we have funded a £40 million Platform for Life programme, providing affordable shared accommodation for homeless young people, so that they have a stable platform for work.

Moreover, we are actively working across government and through our local partners to help vulnerable people find a job and get into training. STRIVE, a joint pilot project with BEIS, DCLG and DWP, is helping homeless people into jobs by improving their basic English, maths and IT skills and is being delivered by Crisis and St Mungo’s. We are continuing to drive cross government action through the Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness which is making sure that homelessness is an integral part of every department’s planning and that policies are joined up.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will take steps to review the level of limited diplomatic representations of the UK in Central America.

Sir Alan Duncan

The UK Government’s links with the Central American region are strong and were enhanced in 2012 following the then Government’s decision to reopen our Embassy in El Salvador. We have Embassies located in five of the seven Central American countries – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. We also have Honorary Counsuls in Nicaragua and Honduras.

Our Ambassadors to Guatemala and Costa Rica are non-resident Ambassadors to Honduras and Nicaragua respectively. They and their staff in Guatemala City and San José visit Honduras and Nicaragua regularly and engage across the full range of our interests in the region. While we keep our diplomatic network under review, there are currently no plans to change the UK’s diplomatic footprint in Central America.

I look forward to meeting my counterparts from across Central America at the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Foreign Ministers meeting in the Dominican Republic on 25-26 October.

01/01/2023
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent UN Commission of Inquiry report on human rights abuses in Eritrea under President Isaias Afwerki.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We recognise the important work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and are concerned by their findings on human rights in Eritrea, in particular reports of arbitrary detention, and shortcomings in the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms. At the Human Rights Council in July, we supported an extension of the Commission’s mandate so that it can continue its work.

We regret that the Commission has been unable to visit Eritrea and therefore had to rely on witnesses who are outside of Eritrea and whose testimony may have been based on first-hand experience of Eritrea some time ago. We have made clear to the Government of Eritrea that it must improve respect for human rights and honour its international obligations, including allowing the Commission access.

01/01/2023
David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Jane Ellison

One of the main symptoms of pulmonary aterial hypertension (PAH) is shortness of breath. An awareness campaign focusing on the symptoms of breathlessness to support earlier diagnosis of related conditions was piloted by Public Health England in early 2015. The results of the regional phase of the campaign are currently being evaluated.

Furthermore, the NHS England PAH centres provide a continuing education programme at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels to educate doctors about this rare condition and the national Clinical Reference Group works closely with the PAH Patients Association to increase public awareness.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse has been of the roll-out of the English Baccalaureate to date; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

The English Baccalaureate measure was introduced in 2010. The EBacc defines an academic core of subjects, including GCSEs in English, maths, science, humanities, and languages. Schools have been able to deliver significant increases in the take up of EBacc subjects over the last 5 years without requiring additional funding to do so.

EBacc entry has increased significantly, from 22% in 2010 to 39% in 2015. EBacc achievement has also increased, from 15% in 2010 to 24% in 2015.

The Department funds a range of support for teachers including 35 maths hubs which support maths teachers, the National Science Learning Network to provide high quality professional development for science teachers and the Network of Excellence for computing to provide professional development for computing teachers through a network of master teachers. English teachers have benefitted from the funding provided to the Royal Shakespeare Company, who produced and provided to all state-funded secondary schools a free copy of its RSC Shakespeare Toolkit for Teachers, and Poetry by Heart to help teachers deliver inspirational poetry teaching.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect on the number of people employed in Wales who are from non-EU countries of the salary threshold increase for Tier 2 visa applications to £35,000.

James Brokenshire

The Government announced in 2012 that from 6 April 2016 Tier 2 visa holders who apply for settlement in the UK will be required to meet a minimum annual salary requirement of £35,000. PhD level roles and those in recognised shortage will be exempt from the £35,000 threshold.

Data of the number of people employed in specific regions of the United Kingdom is not available. The Home Office holds individual records showing the working location of Tier 2 (General) migrants, but centralised records show the registered address of the Tier 2 Sponsor, which is normally that organisation’s Head Office.

The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This includes the impact on the top ten occupations and is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf

01/01/2023