Category: Speeches

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to tackle illegitimate and fraudulent activity by claims handling companies.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    Tackling bad practices by claims management companies (CMCs) is a priority for the Government. Action already taken includes the removal of over a thousand CMC licenses since 2010 and the issuing of over £2 million in fines.

    Collaborative work between the Claims Management Regulation Unit and other regulators has resulted in the successful disruption and prosecution of criminal operations by CMCs engaged in fraudulent and illegitimate claims.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has for the revised UK-Malawi tax treaty to be signed.

    Jane Ellison

    As is usual in any negotiation, the text of a tax treaty remains confidential between the two governments during the negotiations. It is not therefore possible to comment on the contents of a treaty before it is signed.

    The majority of the UK’s double taxation treaties are based on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention. However, some developing countries prefer to follow the United Nations Model, whose provisions differ in some respects from the OECD Model, including in the “permanent establishment” article. Many of the UK’s treaties with developing countries contain at least some of these provisions. A treaty will be signed only when both governments are satisfied with its contents.

    It has long been the UK’s policy to include robust anti-abuse provisions in its tax treaties to ensure that they operate as intended and in particular that residents of third countries cannot indirectly benefit from their provisions.

    The text of the new treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016 Malawi raised some further points for consideration, which we will work together on. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published. Parliament will scrutinise the revised agreement, as part of the affirmative Statutory Instruments procedures, before the treaty can enter into force.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to implement the family test.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Officials in my Department have liaised with Department of Work and Pensions as the lead department for the Family Test on cross government activity to embed and encourage routine use of the Test. This has included training officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant learning materials and best practice.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve one year cancer survival rates over the next five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent Cancer Taskforce’s five-year strategy for cancer, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015, recommends improvements across the cancer pathway with the aim of improving survival rates. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead on the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards to redesign care and patient experience.

    She is currently setting up a new Cancer Transformation Board to lead the roll-out of the recommendations of the new strategy, and a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Harpal Kumar, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will oversee and scrutinise their work. Timeframes and phasing for implementation will be dependent on the final financial settlement reached as a result of the spending review.

    We announced in September 2015 that Health Education England (HEE) is developing a new national training programme for an additional 200 staff to get the skills and expertise to carry out endoscopies by 2018. The content of the next mandate from the Government to HEE is currently being determined.

    A commitment to whole-person care for patients, including those living with and beyond cancer, is embedded throughout the cancer taskforce report. In addition, the cancer vanguards have been established to explore new models of care, with a focus on delivering more person-centred care.

    Ensuring the National Health Service is able to support the availability and use of effective treatments and medicines for rare cancers is a key priority. Cancer 52, an organisation which specifically represents patients with rarer cancers, was represented on the independent Cancer Taskforce. The Taskforce’s report made many recommendations relevant to rarer cancers, focussing in particular on improving access to diagnostic testing, including fast, direct general practitioner access to key blood tests, and increasing patient access to the most advanced treatments.

  • Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that attachment theory is understood by teachers across schools in England to help readiness for learning.

    Edward Timpson

    Attachment issues can impact on educational outcomes, particularly for looked after children and for those children who have left care through adoption. The attachment of these children may have been adversely affected through difficult experiences in their early years.

    Every school must have a designated teacher for looked after children who promotes their educational achievement. Every looked after child must also have the support of the local authority’s Virtual School Head. These vulnerable children, including those who have left care, also attract the pupil premium worth £1900 per eligible pupil. Schools may use this funding to purchase training for staff on recognising and responding to attachment related issues.

    Stephen Munday is leading an independent group to develop a framework of core Initial Teacher Training content to build a better shared understanding of the essential elements of the training. Although we cannot pre-empt what will be included in the framework, the group will be considering a broad range of course content including special educational needs and disabilities and classroom management, amongst other things. Stephen Munday will report to Ministers in the spring of 2016.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 26570, on planning permission, which local authority made each of those article 4 directions; and what modifications his Department made to eight of those directions.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has been notified of Article 4 directions for basement developments made by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster.

    The Secretary of State has modified Article 4 directions which remove office to residential permitted development rights for:

    – the London Borough of Richmond; the London Borough of Sutton; Brighton and Hove City Council and Oxford City Council: to exclude those properties which had secured prior approval for the change of use from office to residential before the date the Article 4 directions took effect;

    – London Borough of Camden: to reduce the geographical coverage of the Article 4 direction;

    – Broxbourne Borough Council; the London Borough of Islington and the London Borough of Merton: to exclude those properties which had secured prior approval for the change of use from office to residential before the date the Article 4 directions took effect and to reduce the geographical coverage of the Article 4 directions.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of his Department’s spend on the refurbishment of Drapers’ Hall, Coventry in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government announced a range of investments in arts projects across the country in the 2016 Budget. This included £1 million for the refurbishment of Drapers Hall in the 2017/18 financial year.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to allow community pharmacies to care for patients with long-term health conditions through (a) medical reviews and (b) other assistance with that condition.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacies already take significant steps to care for patients with long term conditions (LTCS). Community pharmacy staff routinely deliver a range of services to meet the needs of patients with LTCs, including timely dispensing of medicines, opportunistic and prescription-linked public health interventions, such as advice on a healthy diet and nutrition, stop smoking advice to help maintain the health of people with LTCs such as diabetes and heart disease, support for self-care and signposting, when they are not able to provide the support themselves.

    In addition, community pharmacists provide advice on the safe use of medicines so they are taken as intended, through medicines use reviews and the new medicines service, the latter intended for people with certain LTCs prescribed new medicines. Utilising pharmacists clinical skills assists with optimising medicines in a way which puts patients at the centre of decision making, with regular monitoring and review, helping to improve their health outcomes.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients, including those with LTCs, and the public.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people under the age of 25 in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Manchester, Withington constituency are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of leaving the EU on EU funding for flood defence projects.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    No Government Grant-in-Aid funding for flood defence projects comes from the European Union. Where EU Structural Funds are being used in partnership funding, current arrangements for such funding will remain in place until we leave the EU.