Category: Speeches

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseekers who have registered disabilities in East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow have been sanctioned in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    The available information on JSA sanctions, including those with a disability (which refers to the disability status of the claimant undergoing a sanction and is self-recorded by the claimant) is published at:
    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that torture survivors who reach the UK, in particular those from Syria, have access to specialist rehabilitation; and whether they have plans to increase the number of places available via the Gateway Protection Programme for torture survivors from all states.

    Lord Bates

    Asylum seekers and refugees have access to health services and if they raise torture as part of their asylum claim, they are signposted to organisations that specialise in providing support for torture survivors.

    We have no current plans to increase the number of places available under the Gateway Protection programme. The responsibility for identifying and referring refugees to the UK rests with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We will continue to work closely with them to identify those in most need of protection.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Syrian refugees and asylum seekers were informed of mental health provisions they could expect in Northern Ireland before they agreed to settle there.

    James Brokenshire

    The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme prioritises those who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. Northern Ireland, in common with other devolved administrations and local authorities, is provided with full case details of all referrals before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement so they can make an assessment of whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure the appropriate care and integration of these refugees. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time for a result to be given of a DEXA bone density scan in each NHS region in England; and what assessment they have made of the average waiting time for such results in (1) Scotland, and (2) Wales.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Data are not collected on the average waiting time for a result to be given for a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Data are collected on the average waiting time from referral to test, and these are shown in the following table for the four NHS England commissioning regions for most recent period, which is November 2015. Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales.

    Table: average median waiting times in weeks for a DEXA scan from referral by NHS England commissioning region, November 2015

    Region

    Number of weeks

    North of England

    2.1

    Midlands and East of England

    1.7

    London

    1.8

    South of England

    1.8

    England

    1.9

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children were educated at home in the UK in the academic year 2014–15.

    Lord Nash

    The department does not collect data relating to the number of home educated children in England. Home education elsewhere in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

    It is unacceptable for any child of compulsory school age not to be receiving a suitable education. We recognise parents may choose to home school their children and many do a good job, but that education must be of a suitable quality.

    We are taking steps to ensure the system is as robust as it can be when it comes to protecting young people, while at the same time safeguarding the rights of parents to determine how and where to educate their children.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the £31 million of child maintenance arrears written off in 2014-15 was written off under each of the ground in the Child Support Management of Payment and Arrears (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

    Priti Patel

    The circumstances of the £31 million of child maintenance arrears written off in 2014-15 is shown in the table below:

    Circumstance

    2014/15 write off (£m)

    The person with care has requested that the Secretary of State ceases to act in respect of the arrears

    6.5

    A child in Scotland has requested that the Secretary of State ceases to act in respect of the arrears

    0.0

    The person with care, or (in Scotland) the child, has died

    3.0

    The non-resident parent died before 25 January 2010 or there is no further action that can be taken with regard to recovery of the arrears from the non-resident parent’s estate

    19.8

    The arrears relate to liability for child support maintenance for any period in respect of which an interim maintenance assessment was in force between 5 April 1993 and 18 April 1995

    0.1

    The non-resident parent has been informed by the Secretary of State that no further action would ever be taken to recover those arrears

    0.2

    Other

    1.3

    Notes

    1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
    2. The circumstance ‘Other’ includes amounts written off following Secretary of State and client part payment, £0.5m, arrears written off which were due to the Secretary of State, £0.2m and adjustments to arrears balances which have transitioned to the 2012 Child Maintenance system, £0.6m.
  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the advisory role to government of the Council of Data Science Ethics will be; whether that advice will include advice on EU legislative proposals on the right to be forgotten; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the Council’s membership has the necessary leadership expertise to fulfil its role.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Science and Technology Committee report on the Big Data Dilemma recommended that a Council for Data Ethics be established. The Government response was published on 26th April 2016 and can be found at the following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmsctech/992/99204.htm

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the relocation of Bahraini citizenship from Sheikh Isa Qassim.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned by reports that the nationality of Bahraini Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim is being revoked, and we have raised these concerns at senior levels in the Bahraini government and publicly. We strongly encourage Bahrain to live up to its international human rights obligations.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the scale of trolley waits in the accident and emergency department of the Royal Blackburn Hospital and the consequent safety of patients.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    No such assessments have been made. The provision of accident and emergency (A&E) services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital is a matter for the local National Health Service. The NHS in East Lancashire has established an A&E delivery board to oversee system performance and the effective delivery of urgent and emergency care locally.

    Ministers consult weekly with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission about A&E performance.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on support for people with mental health conditions who claim jobseeker’s allowance.

    Alistair Burt

    The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Health met on 3 June this year where they agreed to greater cross government working between our respective Departments. Both Departments have established a joint working unit and next year will launch a range of voluntary mental health and employment pilots to support claimants with, or at risk of developing a mental health condition to retain and return to employment.