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Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they are giving to consumers about the health risks of eating processed meat.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England’s advice is that, on average, people should be eating no more than 70 grammes of red and processed meat a day. People who eat a lot of these meats are at higher risk of bowel cancer than those who eat small amounts. Therefore, people who eat more than 90 grammes of red or processed meat a day are advised to cut down.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Part 1 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, what assessment he has made of whether all armed forces personnel aged 16 and 17 are able to study for 280 guided learning hours per year towards accredited qualifications.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Armed Forces meet the requirement of Raising the Participation Age, as defined in the Education and Skills Act 2008.

    In the Naval Service, all new recruits, whether Royal Navy or Royal Marines and irrespective of age, undertake a Level 2 accredited apprenticeship. This is as part of Phase 2 training for the Royal Navy and Phase 1 training for the Royal Marines.

    The Army provides full-time training and education to all recruits aged 16 and 17, largely through the Junior Entry courses at Army Foundation College, Harrogate.

    All non-commissioned Royal Air Force recruits, regardless of their age, are enrolled onto a Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 accredited apprenticeship according to their Trade.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents relating to safety of children in secure training centres and young offender institutions have been raised by Barnardo’s advocates with (a) Youth Justice Board monitors and (b) local children’s safeguarding boards in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

    Andrew Selous

    Although youth offending is down, reoffending rates are far too high and the care and supervision of young offenders is custody is not good enough.

    That is why the Justice Secretary has asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of youth justice. He will report back later this year with recommendations on how to improve the treatment of young people in our care.

    The Table below is based on quarterly information provided to the Youth Justice Board by Barnardo’s and includes all safeguarding issues raised with a Barnardo’s advocate. When a safeguarding issue is raised with a Barnardo’s advocate, they will make a referral through the establishment’s safeguarding process, which is agreed with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The YJB monitors continually check whether referrals are being made when they should be. Cases can also be directly referred to the LADO by any member of staff, a Barnardo’s advocate, or a YJB monitor.

    Table 1: Number of safeguarding incidents reported to Barnardo’s advocates in STCs and under-18 YOIs: July 2013-June 2015

    July 2013 to June 2014

    July 2014 to June 2015

    STCs

    29

    26

    Under-18 YOIs

    172

    208

    Notes:

    • The July 2014 to June 2015 data include Hassockfield STC and Hindley YOI which were decommissioned part way through this period
  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bus operators have an incentive to invest in new vehicles when franchising is an option open to local authorities.

    Andrew Jones

    Local transport authorities with access to bus franchising powers will wish to ensure that local operators are aware of their intentions, so that investment decisions can be taken and services continue to be provided in the best interests of passengers.

    Any authority that chooses to implement franchising will have the ability to specify its requirements of operators as part of any franchise contract. This could include requirements relating to the standards of vehicles to be used by operators.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that any new Emergency Authorisations related to neonicotinoids or seed management will include a provision that both certified seed and farm-saved seed are acceptable for the distribution of the seeds that are in the order.

    George Eustice

    Any future application for authorisation of neonicotinoids for emergency use will be assessed according to the legal requirements. These cover: the risks from use; whether the use addresses a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means; and the means by which the use will be limited and controlled.

    The requirement for limited and controlled use includes ensuring that the product is demonstrably targeted towards those growers with the greatest need. The applicant would need to establish an auditable supply chain to ensure this requirement was met.

    The assessment of the application would be based on the case made by the applicant. If the requirements outlined above are met, the Government would have no grounds for withholding authorisation.

    However, there is no clear reason why it would be necessary to exclude farm-saved seed in designing appropriate control measures for an emergency authorisation of pesticide use on oilseed rape. We have drawn this issue to the attention of potential applicants.

  • 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 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33901, if he will make it his policy to collect such information in future.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services, so that women are able to access the care they need at the right time and close to home.

    NHS Digital (formerly the Health and Social Care Information Centre) is starting to collect information about perinatal mental health services in the new Mental Health Services Dataset and this will increase the amount of data about women’s contact with a range of mental health services during pregnancy and in the first year after birth. We expect that some initial data on perinatal mental health will be available later this year. We will use this initial information to refine how data on perinatal mental health is collected going forward.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will raise with the Palestinian Authority the recent reported increase in arbitrary arrest and allegations of torture and ill-treatment of their detainees.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are deeply concerned by these reports, and have raised our concerns around the conduct of the security forces with the Palestinian Authority. Through our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, we are working with the Palestinian Authority to support reform of the Palestinian security sector, aiming to strengthen civilian oversight and accountability of the security forces.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been provided to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in each year since the combined authority was established.

    Andrew Percy

    The funding shown below has been provided directly by the government to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since it was established on 1 st April 2014.

    Combined Authority

    Financial year

    Overall total (£m)

    West Yorkshire Combined Authority

    2014/15

    72.3

    2015/16

    120.0

    2016/17

    182.6

    “

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to encourage the exploration of natural gas in the North Sea.

    Jane Ellison

    To support exploration activity, the Government has significantly cut tax rates for the oil and gas sector and introduced the Investment and Cluster Area Allowances to reduce the effective rate of tax paid by producers. Lower tax rates will encourage exploration by improving the economics of new discoveries.

    Over the last two years the Government has also funded a £40 million programme of seismic surveys. This will boost offshore exploration in under-explored areas of the UK Continental Shelf.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the slowing of economic growth in Q3.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government’s economic plan is working. In Q3 2015, the economy grew 0.5 per cent – the 11th consecutive quarter of quarter-on-quarter growth – and 2.3 per cent in the year to Q3 2015. The economy is now 12.4 per cent larger than at the start of the 2010. The UK is forecast by the OECD to be the joint fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2015.