Category: Speeches

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the final decision was made to close the Collective Passport Service; and what discussions her Department has had with staff representatives on that closure.

    James Brokenshire

    The future use of the Collective Passport is under review in the light of changing demand for the product and the security of the document. We are engaging with staff and other stakeholders and expect to make an announcement shortly.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people on temporary admission living in Oxfordshire are required to report at Eaton House, Hounslow.

    James Brokenshire

    Immigration Enforcement retains a record of tickets that are issued to people on temporary admission for the purpose of travel to report at an Immigration Reporting Centre.

    Immigration Enforcement does not keep a record of the area from which those individuals have travelled. We are required to provide a travel ticket if the subject resides more than 3 miles away from the reporting centre and is in receipt of Asylum Support. We do not routinely provide travel tickets for anyone else who reports unless they reside over 25 miles away and there is an exceptional reason to do so. Each case is assessed and considered on its own merit.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Turkey on the arrest and charging of Can Dundar and Erdem Gul.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish Government. I set out the UK’s concerns on freedom of expression when I met my Turkish counterpart on 12 March. The specific case of Can Dündar and Erdem Gül is an important one for freedom of expression in Turkey. We and our EU partners are monitoring progress, including by our diplomats attending the opening hearing on 25 March.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement of 25 November 2015, Official Report, column 1361, if he will place in the Library an itemised breakdown of to which HM Revenue and Customs’ projects and programmes he has allocated the additional £800 million announced in that statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    Autumn Statement 2015 referenced £800 million allocated to HM Revenue and Customs at Summer Budget 2015 to tackle evasion and non-compliance.

    The £800 million will fund the following projects:

    • Tax Credit Debt Recovery

    • Criminal Investigations

    • Wealthy: enhanced compliance

    • Tackling the hidden economy

    • Additional Compliance Resource: local compliance

    • Tackling illicit tobacco and alcohol

    • Large Business: enhanced compliance

    • Specialist Personal Tax: enhanced compliance

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts have reported difficulty recruiting specialist nurses for patients with neurological conditions in the last three years.

    Ben Gummer

    Information on how many trusts have reported difficulty recruiting specialist nurses for patients with neurological conditions is not collected centrally.

    It is for local National Health Service organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the military (a) capabilities and (b) asset levels in Northern Ireland to deal with the threat level.

    Mike Penning

    Both the adequacy of military capabilities and asset levels in Northern Ireland are continually reviewed with the Northern Ireland Office and civil authorities, who lead on security in Northern Ireland, to ensure our support is proportionate, effective and efficient. Policing and security remains the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Security Service and therefore this includes our support to civil authorities. For example, support routinely provided in Northern Ireland includes explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and Defence are currently undertaking an enhancement of military vehicles used for the provision of this support.

    I am withholding further information on assessments as its disclosure would prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the Voyager fleet has been fitted with the enhanced defensive aids suite; and what estimate he has made of the cost of fitting that suite to the remainder of that fleet.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I am withholding information on the precise fitment of defensive aids to Voyager as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Derek Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote compliance by clinical commissioning groups with the NICE Quality Standard on Autism.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and National Health Service organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies.

    The Department has also discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. The Quality Standard, which applies to children, young people and adults, recommends that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the NHS to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

    We understand that NHS Halton CCG is working on improvements to the paediatric neurological pathway which incorporates children with autism. This will see the Child Development Centre (CDC) in Halton become a single access point of assessment for the most complex children. It is expected that the CDC will ensure that the first appointment for a child referred to them is well within the three months recommended by NICE.

    The service commissioned by Halton CCG will also comply with NICE guidelines by ensuring that the appropriate mix of clinicians is available for a multi-disciplinary assessment, which also includes Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

    In regard to adults, NHS Halton CCG is currently meeting its statutory requirements with autism by purchasing a diagnostic service on a cost per case basis from our provider of mental health services, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The CCG is working with other partners who receive the same service from the same provider with a view to pooling resources to commission a diagnostic and post diagnostic service.

  • Lord Tunnicliffe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Tunnicliffe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tunnicliffe on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the use of (1) monthly fee debt management plans; (2) percentage fee debt management plans; and (3) a combination of set fee and percentage debt management plans.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government has fundamentally reformed the regulation of the debt management market, transferring responsibility to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) more robust regime to better protect consumers.

    Any consideration of the state of the debt management market should properly await the outcome of the FCA’s authorisation assessment of commercial debt management firms, which is expected in the coming months.

    FCA rules make it clear that fees charged for debt management plans should not undermine the customer’s ability to make significant repayments to the customer’s lenders throughout the duration of the debt management plan.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which organisations have provided diversity and equality training to prison governors since 1 January 2012.

    Andrew Selous

    Equality and diversity training is accessed through the Civil Service Learning (CSL) suite of products. All Prison Governors have access to this learning offer.

    Prior to the availability of CSL, up until 31 March 2013 NOMS ran an in-house package for equality training that tackled inappropriate behaviour called ‘Challenge it, Change it’. This was available to all staff including Prison Governors.

    Equality and diversity consideration is a component of all business specific learning.