Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will estimate the costs attributed to the Department for Education by the former Treasury Solicitor’s Department in each year since 2010.

    Robert Buckland

    The Treasury Solicitor’s Department was renamed the Government Legal Department (GLD) on 1 April 2015. It is primarily funded through the fees it charges for its legal services. It provides Litigation, Employment, Commercial and Advisory legal services to the Department for Education (DfE). The fees charged to DfE for this work, including the cost of disbursements, are as follows:

    Financial year

    Fees (excluding VAT) £

    2010-11

    4,208,845

    2011-12

    4,499,546

    2012-13

    4,805,840

    2013-14

    4,409,976

    2014-15

    4,098,629

    Providing information on the costs attributed to cases relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 would incur disproportionate cost as it would involve a manual exercise to identify those historical cases that relate to FOI.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the uptake of the marriage tax allowance is; what steps he is taking to increase uptake of that allowance; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    400,000 couples have successfully claimed Marriage Allowance. HM Revenue and Customers is continuing to extensively market Marriage Allowance, including through print, radio and billboard advertising. Eligible couples who haven’t already claimed for the tax year 2015/16 will not lose out as they have until 5 April 2020 to do so.

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

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support Public Health England’s decision to reduce the dairy food group in the revised Eatwell Guide; whether the dairy industry was consulted before that change was made; and on what scientific basis that decision was taken.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has adopted the refreshed Eatwell Guide which reflects updated government dietary recommendations based upon conclusions from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, robust modelling and consumer research. It shows the proportions of the different types of foods and drinks we should consume to have a healthy, balanced diet.

    No individual organisation was consulted as part of this refresh. An external reference group informed the development of the Eatwell Guide. Representatives from the health sector, voluntary sector and industry groups including membership, trade and levy organisations (including ones representing agricultural sectors), were members and provided routes of engagement.

    Outside of the reference group involvement, 25 individuals/organisations commented directly to Public Health England. Linear programming, considered the most objective and robust approach by the reference group, informed the sizes of the food group segments, ensuring all government dietary recommendations, including that for calcium, were met.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the University of Bristol study of the mortality rates of people with learning disabilities in NHS care, commissioned by NHS England and announced on 18 June 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    The University of Bristol has appointed the programme team who will oversee the mortality review programme and has consulted with interested parties on the methodologies and approaches to be used. A pilot review programme is underway in the North East and Cumbria which will be used to inform how the programme operates as it is rolled out. A plan is now in place to roll out the review across all regions of England between now and 2018, with pilots starting in other parts of the country during 2016/17. Additional resources have been made available to support regions in this work.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 12 May 2016 to Question 36974, on Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many policy staff are based at each of those 14 locations.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of employees of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) headquarters, working in policy roles as at 31 May 2016, are shown in the table below. Some details have changed since the Answer of 12 May 2016 to Question 36974 because of staff movements and people leaving under Voluntary Exit schemes.

    Policy staff includes all people working in policy directorates as well as those directly involved in the policy making process including, for example, Private Office, analysis, external communications, and legal services (other than those that operate on a local basis such as prosecutors and investigation offices). It excludes corporate functions such as Finance, HR, Digital and Commercial, and regionally based staff such as BIS Local.

    Location

    Number of employees

    Billingham Queensway House, West Precinct, Billingham TS23 2NF

    1

    Birmingham
    Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham B2 4BU

    1

    Bristol
    2 Rivergate, Bristol BS1 6EH

    5

    Cambridge
    Eastbrook House, Shaftsbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8DU

    1

    Cardiff
    Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff CF14 3UZ

    31

    Coventry
    Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry CV1 2WT

    1

    Darlington
    Queensway House, West Precinct, Darlington TS23 2NF

    5

    Gateshead
    St George’s House, Kingsway, Gateshead NE11 0NA

    2

    Leeds
    1 City Walk, Leeds LS11 9DA

    1

    London 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET

    1363

    Manchester
    3 Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester M1 2WD

    2

    Nottingham
    Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham NG2 4LA

    4

    Sheffield
    2 St Paul’s Place, 125 Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 2FJ

    222

    Warrington/Daresbury
    Daresbury Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD

    10

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve coordination of bed allocation for adult in-patient treatment for patients with eating disorders.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health report published in February 2016 set out the start of a 10 year journey for the transformation of the National Health Service care and a shift towards prevention. The proposed mental health pathway and infrastructure development programme in the report envisages a referral to treatment pathway for eating disorders (adult mental health) being published in 2018/19.

    In the Autumn Statement 2014 increased funding of £150 million over the next five years was announced to improve services for children and young people with mental health problems in England. Particular emphasis was placed on improving services for people with eating disorders.

    As part of the planning processes, specialised commissioning teams review the needs of service for patients and where possible reflect provision. There is currently significant attention on eating disorders, primarily focussing on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service but this will extend to the adult pathway of care shortly with the expectation of revised National Institute for health and Care Excellence Guidelines in April 2017. A prime focus of the work on eating disorders is about the improved provision of out of hospital care so patients are only admitted to a bed when clinically required.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase diversity in apprenticeships.

    Robert Halfon

    We want to increase the quality and quantity of all apprenticeships, including for those from a black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) background.

    We have publically committed to increasing the number of BAME apprentices by 20% to 11.9% overall by 2020, from just under 10% in the last parliament. Targeted campaigns and a network of 18 employer diversity champions are driving progress. In 2014/15, 10.6% of those starting an apprenticeship were from a BAME background.

    We have taken action through our marketing campaign ‘Get in Go Far’ to ensure that there is clear representation from BAME apprentices. Research undertaken prior to the campaign ensured that it could reach a diverse audience. The employer diversity champions are committed to sharing good practice and raising awareness of apprenticeships amongst employers.

    Research has been commissioned to explore potential barriers that BAME applicants for apprenticeships face so that we can provide support to improve the success rates of this group. We have started detailed analysis of apprenticeship data to identify areas of under-representation and areas of potential for growth. We are currently developing options to take forward.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of medical research spending which is spent on eye disease.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK Clinical Health Research Analysis (2015) shows that, in 2014, the combined government spend on medical research into eye disease, development and function was £15.1m, or 1.2% of public funding on health research. The report is available at http://www.hrcsonline.net/pages/uk-health-research-analysis-2014 (page 95).

    The Research Councils account for approximately half of this expenditure and support research in response to proposals from the academic community. They welcome high quality applications for support into any aspect of human health which are judged in open competition with other demands on funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health.

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his plans are for the 2015-2020 National Cyber Security Programme; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    A new 5 year National Cyber Security Programme will commence in April 2016. Details of the programme will be published next year.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-01-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the level of debt was in each arms-length government body in each of the last six years.

    Greg Hands

    HM Treasury publishes the total level of public sector liabilities for previous financial years in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA). This sets out the total level of central and local government liabilities, which includes any debt owed by their arm’s length bodies (ALBs).

    HM Treasury does not however hold information on the specific levels of debt attributable to each ALB.

    This information can be found in the individual accounts of each body, and is aggregated in the accounts of the ALB’s parent department. WGA contains a list of all such bodies consolidated into the account.

    Where ALB’s are permitted to borrow, they must do so in accordance with the restrictions and controls set out by HM Treasury in Consolidated Budgeting Guidance and Managing Public Money.