Category: Speeches

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in resolving problems of damage to rights of way caused by off-road vehicles and trail motorcycles.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The responsibility for the management of off-road vehicles and motorcycles on public rights of way lies with local highway authorities and National Park Authorities, who have considerable powers to deal with problems of damage through the use of traffic regulation orders and also through the use of voluntary constraint agreements.

    No recent assessment of the state of the off-road network has been made, but previous research has shown that problems are localised.

    In order to share knowledge and build on existing best practice Defra and Natural England have set up a one-off forum for motor vehicle stakeholders in November to share their experiences and discuss ways of working together in the future.

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

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 2 November (HL2863 and HL2866), and in the light of the fact that data about the detention of different groups of mental health patients under different segregated regimes, and the number of police call-outs to mental patient wards to deal with incidents involving different groups of mental health patients, are not collected centrally, whether they have any plans to change the way in which they collect data about patients in mental health wards.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health and Care Quality Commission (CQC) currently use a range of processes to monitor the quality of mental health services, including inspections, surveys, notification of the CQC by providers of certain events and analysis of national data collections. As part of this process the Health and Social Care Information Centre reviews of the content and frequency of data collection through the Mental Health and Learning Disability Minimums Data Set.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons statistics on National Lottery good causes expenditure has not been updated on the gov.uk website since December 2014; and when he plans to publish those updated statistics.

    Tracey Crouch

    We have encountered significant technical difficulties in updating the National Lottery Grants Database which have proved much more complex to resolve than anticipated. The delay in updating is very unfortunate however we have been working hard to resolve the issue and expect an update to be accessible in the New Year. Meanwhile, information about grants can be found on the websites of many distributors.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 18 December 2015 (HL4511), whether embarked United States Marine Corps F-35B aircraft will abide by the US joint service publications on command and control for the Joint Force (Maritime and Air) Component Commanders, and whether those guidelines will apply to UK Component Commanders in Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier operations.

    Earl Howe

    We continue to identify opportunities to develop interoperability and synergy with our allies. The precise command and control arrangements for potential US embarkations will be developed over the course of the programme, utilising our own experience and that of our allies.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to standardise the collection of data on cholesterol.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) provides information and data for commissioners, analysts and clinicians in health and social care and is responsible for matters relating to standardisation of the collection of cholesterol data.

    The HSCIC administers the Health Survey for England which is an annual survey of the general population. Since 2008, it has included measurements of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The data is publically available from the UK Data Service.

    Additionally, cholesterol testing in primary care for people diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes is included in the Quality Outcomes Framework. This information from this is published every year by the HSCIC.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the British Medical Association’s report Prescribed drugs associated with dependence and withdrawal: building a consensus for action published in October 2015 on the effects of sudden withdrawal from prescribed drugs that have been over-prescribed; and (2) the need for more training on those effects; and whether they have plans to take any action as a result of that report.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We welcome the British Medical Association’s report and its contribution to addressing this serious issue.

    It is the responsibility of local areas to plan, develop and improve health services according to the healthcare needs of the local population, including services for people dependent on prescription or over-the-counter medicines.

    The Department, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England (NHSE) are responsible for helping local areas to understand how they can best support people dependent on prescribed or over-the-counter medicines and have undertaken a number of initiatives. These include:

    – supporting a project by St George’s University of London to strengthen the training of medical students in relation to substance misuse;

    – supporting the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, Royal College of General Practitioners and others to develop information and educational materials, and training on addiction to medicines for General Practitioners and other healthcare professionals;

    – the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency publishing a learning module on benzodiazepines in April 2013;

    – PHE supported an expert group led by the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA) to develop an online only core resource on opioid pain medicines that can be used as a source of consistent information by any medical body developing its own materials, and are working with RCOA colleagues to support the widespread dissemination and implementation of this online only resource;

    – in June 2013, PHE published a commissioning guide for the NHS and local authorities, ‘Commissioning treatment for dependence on prescription and over-the-counter medicines: a guide for NHS and local authority commissioners’, which sets out their expectation that support should be available in every area for people with a dependency on prescription or over-the-counter medicines, based on a full assessment of local need. A copy of this guidance is attached;

    – PHE supporting a small number of local areas to pilot improvements in their commissioning of responses to dependence on prescribed or over-the-counter medicines; and

    – Commissioning research into prescribing patterns of dependence forming medicines in primary care.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the Government plans to publish its response to Lawrence Tomlinson’s report on the lending practices of banks to small businesses.

    Anna Soubry

    The matter is being taken forward by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which has appointed firms to conduct an independent “skilled persons” review of RBS’s treatment of business customers in financial difficulty and the allegations of poor practice set out in Lawrence Tomlinson’s report. The review is complex and is still ongoing. The FCA expects to make an announcement about the outcome of the review later this year.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) men and (b) women who were remanded in custody (i) before conviction and (ii) after conviction did not go on to receive a custodial sentence for each offence type in the last year for which information is available.

    Mike Penning

    It has not proven possible to respond to these questions within the timeframe available before prorogation.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of installing a continuous noise barrier on the eastern side of the M1 passing through Mill Hill.

    Andrew Jones

    On the M1 between the A41 near Apex Corner and M1 junction 2 in the Mill Hill area, four areas are identified by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs noise mapping process as being noise ‘Important Areas’ which require further investigation.

    One of these areas is located along the M1 southbound carriageway from the beginning of Station Road to Woodland Way, opposite Mill Hill Broadway station and is currently being studied to see if a noise barrier is practical here. There are a number of issues to be investigated, including whether a barrier can be put in place over a structure and along an embankment.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what budget has been allocated for the Public Duty Cost Allowance in each of the next five years.

    Ben Gummer

    The Public Duties Cost Allowance is to assist former Prime Ministers with the costs of continuing to fulfil duties associated with their previous position in public life. A copy of the policy and guidance on the allowance is in the Library of the House. The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life. The allowance is not paid to support private or parliamentary duties. Civil servants are not entitled to claim this allowance.

    Current recipients of the allowance are published in the Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts. Previous recipients have included Lady Thatcher; the current recipients who are former Prime Ministers are Sir John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. I also refer the Hon. Member to my answers to him of 9 September 2016 to (UIN 44045, 44048, 44049, 44053, 44054, 44055, 44056).

    The Public Duties Cost Allowance rate is currently set at a limit of £115,000 per annum. When originally introduced, the Government stated that it would be the equivalent in amount to the Parliamentary Office Costs Allowance. I would note that that allowance is now known as the Parliamentary Staffing Allowance, determined by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and that is currently set at the rate of £148,500 per annum.”