UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 December 2015 (HL4139), what assessment they have made of whether the police have sufficient officers to undertake enforcement action to deal with moving traffic offences outside London.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has not made any assessment of this nature. It is a matter for chief officers, working with their Police and Crime Commissioners to decide the size and makeup of their workforce, taking into account local priorities.

  • Mark Prisk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Prisk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Prisk on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to increase the £250,000 threshold for properties outside London under the Help to Buy ISA scheme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government does not plan to revise the eligibility criteria for the Help to Buy: ISA scheme.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2016 to Question 27250, what assessment has she made of the reasons for the 34 per cent increase in the number of TB restricted herds in Somerset in the year to November 2015.

    George Eustice

    It is not possible to be precise about the reasons for changes in the number of TB restricted herds in any county of England. This will be due to a multitude of factors, including increases in the amount and sensitivity of TB testing. Short term changes should be considered in the context of long term trends.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to publish an updated timetable for commencing the building of the first T26 Global Combat Ship.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We are working with industry to develop an optimised schedule for the T26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme. As part of this, on 22 March 2016, we announced that agreement had been reached with BAE Systems on the award of a contract to extend the T26 GCS Demonstration Phase to June 2017.

    In addition to maturing further the detailed ship design, investing in Shore Testing Facilities, and extending our investment in the wider supply chain, this extension to the Demonstration Phase will allow us to continue the work to develop a revised baseline for the programme.

    The timing of the award of the contract to build the Type 26 Global Combat Ships will be central to this re-baselining work and, in due course, a revised programme will be produced and considered through the normal investment approvals process. An announcement on the timing of the award of a T26 GCS build contract will be made at the appropriate time.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how he plans to ensure that an additional 20,000 patients a year will have their cancers genetically tested as part of the Government’s Cancer Taskforce strategy; and what data he plans to collect on those people who are tested.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the need for more accessible molecular diagnostic provision in its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020, published in July 2015.

    Following this, in September 2015, we confirmed a commitment from NHS England to implement the recommendations on molecular diagnostics. This will mean that around 25,000 additional people a year will have their cancers genetically tested to identify the most effective treatments. NHS England is currently working with partners across the healthcare system to produce an implementation plan to determine how best to take forward the Taskforce’s recommendations.

    Regional Genetic Laboratories are central to all NHS Genomic Medicine Centres and have been the focal point for adoption of genomic technologies into healthcare for over 40 years. These laboratories are currently the focus of an NHS England Specialised Commissioning intended re-procurement exercise, the invitation to tender for which is due to be launched towards the end of the year. The re-procurement aims to create a new genomic laboratory infrastructure for the National Health Service in England based on centralised and local genomic laboratory hubs to support rare, inherited and acquired disease, as well as the future personalised medicine requirements inclusive of molecular diagnostics in stratified medicine.

    In September 2015, the NHS England Board approved the development of a Personalised Medicine Strategy for the NHS, to be discussed at the NHS England Board in the summer.

    This work will build on the 100,000 Genomes Project, in which the NHS is a key delivery partner. The Project will sequence whole genomes from eligible patients with rare diseases and cancers. It is moving the NHS to a new model of diagnosis and treatment based on understanding of underlying genetic causes and drivers of disease and a comprehensive phenotypic characterisation of the disease (rather than deduction from symptoms and individual diagnostic tests). This will be critical in guiding the approach to molecular diagnostics.

    In addition, changes to the section 118 guidance implemented in the national tariff payment system for molecular diagnostics from April will support clinical change and practice. This includes a number of molecular diagnostic tests to be funded separately by commissioners for the first three years before being incorporated into national prices for treatment episodes.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of apprentices in the Tees Valley area (a) went on to work full-time with the employer with which they trained and (b) were subsequently unemployed in the last year for which figures are available.

    Nick Boles

    Statistical data broken down by region on (a) apprentices working full-time for the employer with which they trained or (b) were subsequently unemployed, is not available.

    Latest Apprenticeship Evaluation Learner Survey 2016 data show that 9 out of 10 of all recent apprenticeship completers were in employment 12-20 months after completion. And 72% of those in employment were with the same employer with whom they completed their apprenticeship.

    Information on Apprenticeship starts by region and local authority is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509995/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.XLS

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

    “

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many women’s organisations the Minister for Middle East and Africa met during his recent visit to Somalia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    In my recent visit to Somalia on 2 August I met with representatives from Committee of Goodwill Ambassadors for Female Participation; a group tasked by the Federal Government of Somalia to identify mechanisms to deliver a Somalia commitment to increase women’s representation in Parliament, through the electoral process planned for October this year. I used the opportunity to emphasise UK support for the work of the Committee and the UK’s continued commitment to women and girls in Somalia.

  • Lucy Frazer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lucy Frazer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Frazer on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken to help rough sleepers and homeless people.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many. That is why we launched a new £40 million Homelessness Prevention programme to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

    This will enable authorities to support vulnerable people, preventing them from becoming homeless, and ensuring those who do have somewhere safe to stay.

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the options that were agreed by the UK, Morocco and the Saharawi under the 1990-91 ceasefire agreement for a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara have changed.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The options for a referendum on the self-determination of Western Sahara, as set out in the UN Secretary General’s 1990 report and the 1991 MINURSO mandate, have not changed. The UK fully supports UN-led efforts to encourage Morocco and the Polisario Front to agree a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

  • Baroness Benjamin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Benjamin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Benjamin on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to address the market failure identified by Ofcom in the provision of UK children’s media content.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government recognises the important contribution children’s television makes to promoting British culture and the UK economy. In April, the Government introduced a new tax relief for children’s ‘live action’ television productions to attract inward investment and support our domestic market. We have noted the issues identified by Ofcom and will continue to monitor the sector and consider whether further measures are needed.