Category: Speeches

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the efficient and timely transfer of prisoners to hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983; and how many prisoners have waited for more than 14 days for such a transfer in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England has revised good practice guidance on transferring adult prisoners to secure hospitals under sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983. This guidance includes the expectation that a transfer will take place within 14 days, when the need for hospital admission is urgent, and that longer transfer periods should be reported to NHS commissioners, so that steps can be taken to improve. The guidance will be published shortly.

    Between April to September 2015, 343 prisoners waited more than 14 days for a transfer. Data on prisoner transfer waiting times was not held centrally prior to April 2015. Since then, NHS England has collected data from Health and Justice Indicators of Performance (HJIPs) at a national level.

    HJIPs include data on waiting times for transfers between prisons and secure hospitals in England since April 2015 and available information is shown in the attached table, Health & Justice Indicators of Performance – Mental Health Secure Assessment and Transfer. NHS England intends to publish future HJIP data online from April 2016.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to provide an answer to Question 18568, tabled by the hon. Member for East Ham on 2 December 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Government has not made an estimate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for these age groups for each year until 2020.

    The Government asks the Low Pay Commission to make NMW rate recommendations each year based on maximising the wages of the low paid without damaging employment opportunities. The Low Pay Commission will recommend the October 2016 NMW rates and indicative rates for 2017 by the end of February 2016.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 26 January (HL5030), what historic data they hold on cancer registrations and deaths in England over the past 15 years owing to: (1) C50, malignant neoplasm of breast, (2) C61, malignant neoplasm of prostate, (3) C33-C34, malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung, (4) C18-C20, malignant neoplasm of colon and rectum, (5) C43, malignant melanoma of skin, (6) C82-C85, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, (7) C67, malignant neoplasm of bladder, (8) C64, malignant neoplasm of kidney, except renal pelvis, (9) C91-C95, leukaemia, (10) C25, malignant neoplasm of pancreas, (11) C54-C55, malignant neoplasm of corpus uteri and uterus, part unspecified, (12) C15, malignant neoplasm of oesophagus, (13) C00-C14, malignant neoplasm of lip, oral cavity and pharynx, (14) C56-C57, malignant neoplasm of ovary and other unspecified female genital organs, (15) C16, malignant neoplasm of stomach, (16) all other neoplasms, (17) tumours listed in (1) to (5) in total, and (18) tumours listed in (6) to (15) in total.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

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

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bridges of Headley on 25 February (HL6102 and HL6103), whether the Cabinet Office’s new rules on grant funding mean that (1) Citizen’s Advice, (2) the Territorial Army Rifles Association, (3) the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies, (4) English Heritage, (5) Imperial College, and (6) the Marine Management Organisations, can no longer make representations to them, Parliament or the European Commission, on legislation or policy.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The clause ensures that taxpayers’ funds are not diverted away from their intended purpose and wasted on political lobbying. The clause does not stop any grant recipients from campaigning using other sources of funding.

  • David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Common Agricultural Policy on the level of poverty among farmers in Africa.

    George Eustice

    In the past, the CAP ‘dumped’ EU surpluses on global markets through export subsidies. These export subsidies lowered prices for producers in the rest of the world and represented unfair competition with farmers, particularly in developing countries.

    However, over time the CAP has reformed and negative impacts on producers in the rest of the world have been reduced. In the 1980s, export subsidies accounted for around one-third of the CAP budget, but during the last CAP period they represented only around one per cent of the CAP budget. Furthermore, the EU, along with other developed countries, recently committed to eliminating all export subsidies by 2020 as part of the February World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement in Nairobi.

    The EU also grants tariff-free access to its market to Least Developed Countries through the ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) agreement. Many of the countries covered by this agreement are in Africa.

  • 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 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Network Rail’s planned Market Harborough rail-straightening works in Control Period 5 are fully funded.

    Claire Perry

    The planned work at Market Harborough to straighten the line and reduce journey times is part of this government’s £38bn investment in the railway over the period to 2019.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students on (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) Allied Health Professional courses benefitted from the NHS Bursary maternity award in the last five years for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    The following table shows the number of students on nursing, midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses who were in receipt of the NHS Bursary maternity award in each of the last three academic years and those who have subsequently returned to their studies following a period of maternity leave. Information prior to 2013/14 is not available.

    Academic Year1

    Professional Group

    Students in receipt of the NHS Bursary maternity award

    Students returning from a period of maternity leave

    2013/14

    Allied Health Professional

    55

    49

    Midwifery

    99

    92

    Nursing

    633

    558

    2013/14 Total

    787

    699

    2014/15

    Allied Health Professional

    50

    40

    Midwifery

    80

    56

    Nursing

    581

    444

    2014/15 Total2

    711

    540

    2015/16

    Allied Health Professional

    56

    6

    Midwifery

    72

    4

    Nursing

    473

    59

    2015/16 Total2

    601

    69

    Grand Total

    2,528

    1,702

    Source: NHS Business Services Authority

    Notes

    1 Standard academic year (i.e. September to the following August)

    2 The count for these academic years is as at 14 June 2016. There are likely to be further students who commence, or return from a period of maternity leave after this date

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs paid into the public purse from receipts from its 0845 telephone helpline number in each year before 2014; and what those funds so received were spent on.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs did not receive any revenue from 0845 telephone helpline numbers.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ensure that in any review of civil legal aid children and young people’s entitlement to legal aid will be considered.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    We are committed to reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of its implementation.

  • Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to fund additional support for disabled people who might require assistance to fill in job applications and to attend job interviews.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP already provides a range of support for people who require assistance to fill in job applications and to attend job interviews.

    Programmes such as Work Choice, Work Programme and the new Specialist Employability Support offer tailored support for any participants who need help with their jobseeking. This may include help with activities such as filling in job applications and attending job interviews. Access to Work can provide practical support for people who need help with attending interviews due to a health condition or disability.

    Jobcentre Plus continues to offer a range of support, including a free helpline for claimants who have difficulty making their claims for benefit online because of dyslexia or a similar conditions, and Claimant Computer Suites manned by Jobcentre Plus Customer Service staff. In addition, a Jobcentre Plus Work Coach, or where appropriate, a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), can signpost claimants to local sources of support such as Work Clubs, third sector organisations or the National Careers Service.

    The Department is constantly seeking ways to improve these services, but at present there are no plans to fund additional support nationally. However, the support we provide nationally both complements, and is complemented by, our engagement with support provided locally by stakeholders such as third sector organisations, local councils, Work Clubs and other partners.

    We are also exploring innovative new ways to deliver support. For example, the Personalisation Pathfinders project running in three Jobcentre Plus Districts, which will test a new localised approach to helping people with Disabilities and long term health conditions.