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Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that every patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is recorded on (a) a local searchable database and (b) the UK registry for IBD patients.

    Jane Ellison

    The IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) Registry provides a United Kingdom-wide repository of anonymised IBD adult and paediatric patient data for prospective audit and research purposes. Patients must consent for their data to be added to the registry. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has allocated transitional funding this year to incorporate IBD audit data collection into the IBD Registry, providing an enhanced system for data capture and quality improvement that will be available to every hospital in the UK. This will allow the entry of data locally and support service improvement. Initially the focus will be for IBD patients receiving biologic treatments, but the system will address other key aspects of IBD care in the future.

    The second step of data collection will be to focus on new patients with IBD to begin to understand the incidence of IBD in the UK. This picture will build up over a number of years and be dependent on the engagement of clinicians.

    No specific assessment of the potential effects on healthcare due to the introduction of a registry of patients with IBD in England has been made. However, the data provided through the register can support National Health Service services in areas such as the assessment of local IBD populations as well as in measuring incidence and outcomes with services in other parts of the UK.

    Although there is no direct Department funding, HQIP have given £290,000 for a year’s transition funding to join the audit data with the registry.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

    The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals working for which organisations have received clearance to directly access the database of Suspicious Activity Reports in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr John Hayes

    The end user organisations (police forces, multi agency teams and other agencies) that have ‘direct’ access to suspicious activity reports (SARs) are listed in the SARs Annual Reports, which are available on the NCA website. They are summarised in the table below.

    Year

    Number of end users organisations that have ‘direct’ access to SARs

    2009

    78

    2010

    78

    2011

    78

    2012

    77

    2013

    69

    2014

    69

    2015

    71

    All individuals outside of the NCA who have ‘direct’ access to SARs are accredited by the NCA Proceeds of Crime Centre as being Financial Investigators, Financial Intelligence Officers or Financial Intelligence Administrators in line with the end user agreements in place with each organisation. Not all those individuals that have accreditation have ‘direct’ access to SARs. It is not possible, without further significant analysis, to determine the number of individuals who over time have had such access to the SARs System.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the Bonfield Review of consumer advice, protection standards and enforcement for energy efficiency and renewable energy to be published.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Bonfield Review is an independent review, being led by Peter Bonfield. We expect the review to be published in the near future and will announce the date in due course.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to incentivise energy companies to assist people in (a) fuel poverty and (b) fuel debt.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government recently consulted on proposals to increase the amount that energy companies pay to fund household energy efficiency improvements for low income and vulnerable households to £450m by 2017 and up to £640m by 2018.

    Energy companies are also required to provide over 2 million low income and vulnerable households with a £140 rebate off their energy bill each winter, under the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

    These proposals combined will see up to £1bn of support for low income and vulnerable households each year from 2018.

    If suppliers believe a domestic customer is having difficulty paying all or part of their energy bills, they must offer facilities to make payments by: deductions direct from benefits, known as Fuel Direct; regular instalments paid through a means other than a prepayment meter; or, using a prepayment meter, where it is safe and reasonably practicable for the customer to do so.

    It is important that customers who are experiencing difficulties in paying their gas or electricity bills contact their supplier as soon as possible to arrange a repayment plan that suits their needs.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with EU Science Commissioner Carlos Moedas on potential discrimination against UK academics who bid for EU funding.

    Joseph Johnson

    I am in close contact with Commissioner Moedas, who has responsibility for EU science, research and innovation and we have both publicly emphasised the importance of continuing to work together to produce high quality research. In addition, the European Commission has made it clear that while the UK remains a member of the EU, proposals from, or including, UK applicants must be treated in the same way as applications from other Member States. The Department remains vigilant and open to evidence of problems in this area. Specific instances of these problems can be fed back to the email address research@beis.gov.uk.

    “

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the representations from the GMC and other health regulators that the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive does not provide sufficient safeguards to ensure that doctors who provide temporary and occasional services in the UK have the right knowledge, skills and behaviours to practise safely.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department supports the principle of free movement for healthcare professionals that the Directive helps provide for and the benefits this can bring. Temporary and occasional provision of services in particular provides important benefits in terms of movement of professionals around the European Union and is not a new concept in the Directive.

    The Department has worked with the General Medical Council and other health regulators extensively over a number of years, including during the negotiations with other Member States, as part of the revision of the Directive. The United Kingdom secured positive changes to the requirements placed on individuals seeking to provide work on a temporary and occasional basis. The changes include the requirement for professionals to provide the regulatory body with a declaration of their knowledge of language and an attestation confirming the absence of temporary or final suspensions and criminal convictions; these supplement the existing requirements, such as providing proof of legal establishment in their home Member State, proof of nationality and evidence of professional qualifications.

    In addition, individual employers ensure that the people they employ or contract with have the required knowledge and skills for the posts for which they are applying.

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

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the powers, duties and responsibilities of Regional School Commissioners.

    Lord Nash

    The eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) take decisions in the name of the Secretary of State in relation to schools and academies (including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools). The RSCs were appointed through open competition, with successful candidates being appointed for their outstanding leadership skills and track record. The process was overseen by the Civil Service Commissioner. RSCs are line managed by the national Schools Commissioner.

    The responsibilities of RSCs include:

    a) monitoring the performance of the academies, free schools, UTCs and studio schools in their area;

    b) taking action when an academy, free school, UTC or studio school is underperforming;

    c) approving the conversion of maintained schools to academies and making the decision on the sponsor for new academies in areas where the local authority has identified a need for additional school places;

    d) making recommendations to ministers about free school applications and advising on whether approved free school projects are ready to open;

    e) encouraging organisations to become academy sponsors or to establish free schools, approving applications to become sponsors and helping to build the capacity and capability of existing sponsors within their area;

    f) approving changes to open academies, for example: changes to age ranges, mergers between academies, and changes to MAT arrangements;

    g) addressing underperformance in local authority maintained schools through sponsored academy arrangements.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is providing universities to increase collaboration with Chinese research institutions; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    We are working with UK universities in a number of important ways to increase our collaboration with Chinese researchers.

    We have regular discussions with the Chinese government on education and research collaboration These discussions are both at the working level, where BIS science and higher education teams have a close relationship with their opposite numbers, and also through regular Ministerial exchanges such as the annual People to People Dialogue, the UK-China Education Summit, the biennial UK-China Science and Innovation Joint Committee meetings and the annual Prime Ministerial summit meetings.

    In addition, our flagship international science and innovation fund, the Newton Fund, has achieved a transformation in UK-China research collaboration since it was launched in April 2014 and continues to strengthen our collaborative work. The fund, includes significant university participation in programmes on urbanisation, climate change, environment, food security and health. Universities also play a major role in building research capacity in China through means of Newton grants for partnerships, PhD placements, training and joint workshops.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to reduce the administrative burden placed on fishing boats under 10 metres.

    George Eustice

    I am keen to ensure that administrative burdens on the small-scale fleet are kept to the minimum possible, while still allowing for effective management of the fishery. Improvements to the services offered to fishermen by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) include:

    • Simplification of the application process under the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund scheme;
    • The introduction of exemptions under the Landings Obligation so that industry does not have to bear a disproportionate cost of disposing of unwanted fish;
    • Streamlining application forms to reduce size and make them easier to understand; and,
    • Moving to permanent vessel licences, eliminating the need to replace them every five years.

    Defra and the MMO will continue to engage with individuals within the ten metres and under fishing community in order to identify additional areas where administrative burdens might be reduced, or where other improvements could be made.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Questions 20212, 20253, 20254 and 20256, how many age disputes were (a) raised, (b) resolved when the person was under 18 when first raised and (c) resolved when the person was over 18 when first raised in each local authority area in each year since 2006.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office publishes quarterly data on the number of Age disputes raised and resolved for asylum applicants, by country of nationality.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501990/asylum3-q4-2015-tabs.ods

    Historic data regarding the locations of age disputed asylum applicants cannot be provided at local authority level as to do so would incur disproportionate costs.