Category: Speeches

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of tax credit recipients who are likely to be migrated onto universal credit in each year of this Parliament.

    Priti Patel

    The number of people on benefits is driven by a range of factors. Because of this, the programme measures progress by the successful achievement of milestones of its delivery plan rather than targets for numbers of claimants.

  • 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 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the recommendations on page 13, paragraph 2, of the Mental Health Taskforce report, published in February 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure all local areas have a multi-agency suicide prevention plan.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the recommendation by the independent Mental Health Taskforce that every area should have a local suicide prevention plan in place delivered through multi-agency groups.

    We will be working with Public Health England to engage and support local authorities that do not have a local multi-agency suicide prevention plan to put one in place.

    I will be meeting soon with Departmental officials and our delivery partner organisations on suicide prevention to explore ways in which we can work together to re-invigorate the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, including improving local delivery of its aims.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the UK contributes towards the subsidisation of sugar production.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Sugar production is not directly subsidised in the UK. However, sugar beet growers in the UK are entitled to make a claim for support under the Basic Payment Scheme of the Common Agricultural Policy.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much in interest was paid on legal aid repayments in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has received the following in interest repayments on outstanding civil interest bearing debt over the last ten years:

    Financial year

    Interest Repayments (£000s)

    2014-15

    6,236

    2013-14

    6,624

    2012-13

    5,985

    2011-12

    7,052

    2010-11

    5,212

    2009-10

    5,709

    2008-09

    5,615

    2007-08

    7,760

    2006-07

    9,450

    2005-06

    9,182

    There is no interest charged on criminal debt.

    The statutory charge has existed since the inception of the legal aid scheme and the Government believes it is right for those who are funded through legal aid and recover property to repay their costs. The current level of simple interest is appropriate in discouraging vexatious or unnecessary legal action and encourages early repayment.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that UK nursing is effectively represented at (a) the World Health Assembly and (b) other EU and international fora.

    Ben Gummer

    The World Health Assembly (WHA) is usually attended by the Chief Medical Officer and senior health officials. In the past the Chief Nursing Officer has attended the WHA, though in recent years has not been part of the Department’s delegation. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) is largely focussed on public health and the Chief Nurse at Public Health England works with and contributes to international nursing development with the WHO, including attendance at the WHO Nursing Forum, and also contributes to other global programmes.

    There is a European Chief Nursing Officers forum which Government chief nurse advisors attend. It is for the Chief Nursing Officer for England to attend this meeting. In her absence one of the other United Kingdom Chief Nursing Officers should attend.

  • Lord Dubs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Dubs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dubs on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many child refugees have been transferred to the UK because they had an existing family connection in the UK from (1) France, (2) Greece, and (3) Italy, in (a) 2015, and (b) 2016 to date.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Our records currently indicate that in 2016 the Government has transferred just under 100 unaccompanied refugee children to the UK under the Dublin Regulation, the majority of which are from France. This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

    In 2015, around 20 unaccompanied refugee children in Europe were accepted for transfer to the UK.

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

    Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of clinical commissioning groups have undertaken a systematic audit across GP practices to identify people with (1) possible undiagnosed atrial fibrillation, and (2) atrial fibrillation at high risk of stroke who are not anticoagulated or maintained in therapeutic range.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England’s Sustainable Improvement Team is taking action to promote the use of GRASP-AF (Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation) within general practitioner (GP) practices in England. GRASP-AF is an audit tool developed by and trialled in the National Health Service which greatly simplifies the process of identifying patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) who are not receiving the right management to help reduce their risk of stroke.

    The Sustainable Improvement Team is also working with NHS RightCare, a programme committed to improving people’s health and outcomes, to help promote the use of GRASP-AF in the programme’s 65 first wave clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS RightCare’s ‘Commissioning for Value’ packs help CCGs identify priority areas such as AF, and the GRASP AF tool provides a practical method of addressing any inequalities. NHS England’s intention is that the work with NHS RightCare will increase the number of CCGs using GRASP-AF in a systematic way.

    Anonymised data from GRASP-AF can be uploaded to CHART Online, a secure web enabled tool that helps practices improve performance through comparative data analysis. This allows practices and CCGs to benchmark their management of AF with other practices across England and so help identify and reduce any variation in practice.

    The use of GRASP-AF is voluntary and its use therefore varies across CCGs. Currently 2,248 GP practices have uploaded data from GRASP-AF to CHART online across 151 out of the 209 CCGs. Of these, 19 CCGs have all GP practices in their area uploading data.

    In addition to the NHS action outlined above, all local authorities in England are required to offer the NHS Health Check programme, with the large majority commissioning general practice to provide them on their behalf. More than 15 million people aged 40-74 are, have been or will be eligible for an NHS Health Check between 2014 and 2018. The programme’s best practice guidance recommends that a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading and those individuals who are found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred for further investigation.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to respond to its call for evidence on the cost of providing childcare published on 15 June 2015.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The call for evidence is part of the government review on the cost of providing childcare and is one of the sources of evidence that will inform its outcome. The review will inform decisions on funding for early years which will be made as part of the Spending Review on 25 November. The Department published the analysis of the responses to the call for evidence on GOV.UK on 8 October and the report is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-bill-policy-statement

    “

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of cerebral palsy among pupils and staff working in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    The reforms introduced in September 2014 will ensure that all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 0 to 25, including those with cerebral palsy, have improved access to the support they need.

    Local authorities are responsible for meeting the educational needs of all children with SEND within their local area. They must co-ordinate education, health and care provision for individual children and ensure that young people and parents are involved in discussions about their individual support and about local provision more generally. Statutory Local Offers published by each local authority must set out what support is available for all children and young people with SEND in their area, including those with more complex needs.

    The reforms detailed in the SEND Code of Practice were drawn up in consultation with a wide range of interested parties, many of whom represented the interests of children and young people with specific impairments. They are intended to improve outcomes for every child or young person with SEND by placing them at the heart of a system designed to respond to their individual needs and aspirations.

    The Department has not assessed the impact of the SEND Code of Practice, or regional variations in provision, on the basis of any specific impairment but is monitoring implementation closely.

    This monitoring includes inputs from annual data collection; termly surveys of local authorities and Parent Carer Forums; and feedback from specialist SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations. From May 2016, this monitoring will be enhanced by a new joint Ofsted/CQC inspection framework for SEND, which is currently the subject of a national consultation.

    Schools are required by the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify the SEN of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that they get the support they need. Teachers are expected to be able to adapt their teaching to the needs of all pupils, and to have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

    To support the school workforce, the Department has funded almost 11,000 SEN Coordinators to attain Masters-level national awards between 2009 and 2014, at a cost of almost £33 million; is funding SEND conferences for school leaders and supporting the development of a ‘SEND gateway’ for education professionals, which offers a wide range of online training and information.

  • 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 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what planning for post-conflict stabilisation and reconstruction in Syria the Government has undertaken.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UK has factored the need for post-conflict stabilisation and reconstruction into our planning from the beginning of the crisis and committed £1bn towards this. We are now working with international partners to coordinate stabilisation efforts as they develop, and to update our post-conflict planning to reflect the timeline envisaged in the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) process. We are ensuring that an internationally coordinated stabilisation mechanism is ready for a scenario in which transition has taken place, when delivery of stabilisation efforts to support political transition will be necessary. This all rests on an inclusive political settlement, which is why the UK is pushing hard for the ISSG to deliver transition leading to a ceasefire and an inclusive government which represents all Syrians. The Syria Conference in February provides an important opportunity to advance stabilisation and reconstruction planning.