Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the introduction of the new funding system for supported housing, what guarantees they plan to give that guidelines for local authorities will be sufficiently robust to ensure that there are no trade-offs between different groups in need of supported housing.

    Lord Freud

    The Secretary of State announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 15 September 2016 that a formal consultation document will be published shortly. This consultation will consult on appropriate safeguards to ensure that funding continues to support vulnerable groups and promotes the supply of supported housing.

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many student visas her Department issued to Syrian nationals in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is provided in the table below:

    Entry clearance student visas granted to Syrian nationals (Main Applicants, Tier 4 & pre-PBS equivalent)

    Year Granted

    2010 395

    2011 390

    2012 204

    2013 176

    2014 169

  • Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many NHS England Trusts provide prostate surgery; how many of those track their incontinence rates after prostate surgery; of those hospitals that track outcomes, what is the average rate of post-surgical incontinence; what assessment they have made of whether survey-based research could be used to estimate the incontinence rate of those hospitals that do not track their outcomes; and if so, what is their estimate of the incontinence rate in those hospitals.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Prostate Cancer Audit 2014 found that 61 National Health Service trusts in England currently carry out radical prostatectomy, although others may carry out other surgical procedures. Estimates are not collected centrally of the number of patients who experience post-surgical incontinence.

    According to Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors in England: Report on a pilot survey using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS), published by the Department and the NHS in 2012, 44% of prostate cancer patients reported some urinary leakage and this was associated with lower quality of life scores. A copy of the report is attached.

    Prostate Cancer UK and the Movember Foundation are currently funding a PROMS programme, Life After Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, to assess for the first time the long-term quality of life of prostate cancer survivors, including the proportion who suffer from incontinence and other treatment related consequences.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many elite football hubs his Department is co-sponsoring with the Football Association in 2016.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government’s partnership with the Football Association to improve grassroots football facilities and coaching will see the first two football hubs completed in Sheffield by summer 2016. Advanced discussions are also underway for further hubs in the other pilot local authorities of Liverpool and Birmingham. Other partners are expected to support a shared ambition for over £200 million of total funding to the ‘Parklife’ programme that aims to deliver up to 150 new football hubs in 30 English cities by 2020.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safety and background checks are carried out on people renewing taxi driver licences or applying for new taxi driver licences in the UK.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which local licensing authorities in England and Wales license taxi drivers. Regulation of taxi drivers in Scotland and Northern Ireland is devolved to the Scottish Government and Northern Irish Assembly respectively.

    Local licensing authorities in England and Wales have a duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi driver’s licence is a fit and proper person to hold such a licence.

    Although the term ‘fit and proper’ is not defined in legislation, the procedure for assessing a driver’s fitness will typically involve a criminal record check, a medical check, a local topographical knowledge test and possibly a special driving test. The inclusion of any or all of these elements and the stringency thereof is a matter for the licensing authority. However, the Department for Transport publishes Best Practice Guidance to assist licensing authorities when setting standards.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their new prosperity fund will give priority to countries with large refugee and migrant populations, lack of own resources, or tourism reduced by wars, such as Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia.

    Baroness Verma

    The Government has not yet approved any country allocations from the Prosperity Fund.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the Postgraduate Loans Scheme in 2016–17 and 2017–18.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Student Loans Company has produced a suite of information and guidance materials for institutions and prospective students and this is available from SLC’s website, The Student Room and Gov.UK. Additionally, BIS and the SLC are working together with a number of organisations, including Universities UK, to ensure that information and guidance is also disseminated through their own channels. Plans for 2017-18 will be drawn up later this year once the loan has been launched

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it the Government’s policy to invite a delegation of parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe as official observers of the forthcoming EU referendum.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government welcomes observers – either from within the UK or from overseas – who wish to observe our electoral process. The Electoral Commission accredits observers who may, once accredited, observe proceedings at the poll, proceedings at the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers, and proceedings at the count. It is therefore open to parliamentarians from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to apply for accreditation as observers.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is allocated to motorcycling safety in his Department’s budget for the current year.

    Andrew Jones

    Motorcycling safety is embedded within different areas including wider road safety policy, international vehicle standards and the THINK! road safety campaigns. As such there is not a separate budget allocation.

    A significant role is also played by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which oversees the training and testing of motorcyclists.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to complete the training review, publication and roll-out of training programmes on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, for training delivered (1) in the UK to military officers from overseas, and (2) to foreign military forces.

    Earl Howe

    Our Armed Forces already undertake high quality training on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) but a training needs analysis (TNA), which will report shortly, is assessing the level of future WPS/PSVI training required for UK and overseas militaries. Every year around 150 military officers from more than 50 countries attend UK Defence Academy courses that include lectures on WPS; and students on the Advanced Command and Staff Course are offered an additional two week ‘elective’ on "Gender, War, and Armed Forces", which some of the overseas officers choose to attend.

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is also delivering WPS and PSVI in-country training to foreign militaries through the deployment of short term training teams and deployable experts, and via our overseas training establishments. The MOD is developing a standardised core syllabus for the training on WPS and PSVI delivered to foreign forces, which is expected to be finalised in January 2017. Building on the core syllabus, the training is then theatre-specific and tailored to the needs of troops being deployed, based on the level of training they have already received.

    The MOD does not routinely publish its training materials but, as part of an accreditation process, it will share course materials with allies in NATO, the European Union, and the United Nations.