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Tag: Andrew Murrison

  • Andrew Murrison – 2025 Speech on Access to NHS Dentistry

    Andrew Murrison – 2025 Speech on Access to NHS Dentistry

    The speech made by Andrew Murrison, the Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire, in the House of Commons on 22 May 2025.

    Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I prefer Ben— I have never enjoyed Andrew—but Andrew will do.

    Quite honestly, NHS dentists are saints. As my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) has said, the reason why we do not have any NHS dentists is that it is far more remunerative to do expensive dental work than the sort of grinding service work that NHS dentistry implies. The reason for that, fundamentally, is the so-called new dental contract introduced in 2006. That is the problem. Units of dental activity have plagued the dental profession and the provision of NHS dentistry all these years.

    I am delighted that the Government are revising the dental contract that their Labour predecessor introduced 20 years ago, but, unless they are prepared to underwrite it, I am afraid that we will still be more or less in the same position. It is not as if we are not training dentists—we are training more and more dentists and there are more and more dental schools, and rightly so—but if those professionals are going to practice in the NHS, they need to be incentivised to do so.

    Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)

    I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the 2006 NHS dentistry contract, which clearly needed revision. Why did his party not do that in 14 years in government?

    Dr Murrison

    I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman has destroyed the consensual way in which I was trying to introduce my remarks.

    If I may, I will explain that I think there has been a conspiracy of silence all these years on NHS dentistry. What Government have to get to grips with is whether they intend that dentistry should continue to be a universal part of our NHS and whether it will be exempted from the universality that has characterised the provision of healthcare services in this country since 1948.

    The Government could decide that dentistry is a bit like ophthalmic optics, which in the 1940s was deliberately excluded from NHS provision. I am not recommending that, but I am recommending to the Minister that we are at least honest with the public. At the moment, we have this pretence around NHS dentistry that says, “Of course you have the right to have your teeth fixed at no cost to you at all up front.” In reality, in most parts of the country, mine included, that is a complete fiction.

    When the Government come to their new arrangements, which I welcome very much, can we first have some honesty? Can we have some money behind them? Can we have some idea about what part of current NHS provision the Government intend to deprioritise, if that is their intention, to ensure that we have truly universal provision of NHS dentistry going forward?

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of businesses and other organisations in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK that will be required to pay the apprenticeship levy.

    Greg Hands

    The apprenticeship levy will apply across the UK and will be collected from employers on a UK wide basis. An allowance of £15,000 means those with a paybill exceeding £3million will have to pay the levy.

    Regional level estimates of those likely to pay the Apprenticeship Levy is not available.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department expects hospitals to catch up with any backlog caused by the junior doctors’ strike on 12 January 2016.

    Ben Gummer

    The National Health Service is making every effort to reschedule treatment as quickly as possible and according to clinical priority for those patients whose operations or appointments were cancelled as a result of the industrial action on 12 January 2016.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have withdrawn more than the 25 per cent tax-free allowance from their pension fund as a lump sum since 2014.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not have information on all types of taxable pension payments taken since 2014. However, information on the taxable element of pension flexibility lump sums taken since April 2015 is collated and published quarterly. This also provides details of the number of people who have taken these payments. The publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/flexible-payments-from-pensions.

    “

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that charities report surplus funds awarded to them by the Government.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    All charities in receipt of government grants should submit a final budget reconciliation to the grant giver at the end of the grant demonstrating how all funds have been spent on the activities specified in the grant letter. The Cabinet Office’s published standard terms and conditions of the grant includes the right to recover the grant if it has not been used for the purposes and activities agreed or if terms and conditions have not been met.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information police forces hold on the (a) nationality and (b) ethnicity of those (i) arrested for (ii) convicted of sexual assaults against women.

    Mike Penning

    Under the annual data requirement (ADR), police forces are required to submit data to the Home Office on the ethnicity and sex of persons arrested for sexual offences. These data cannot be broken down to identify the number of arrests for sexual offences against women. Data on the nationality of persons arrested are not collected centrally.

    Police forces hold a range of personal information on the Police National Computer (PNC) and local police databases on those arrested and convicted of any offence, including sexual assaults against women.

    Additionally, the personal information of anyone cautioned or convicted for a sexual offence listed in Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, including sexual assault, is held on the police dangerous persons’ database, Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR).

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he made of the flag flying policies adopted by other European states in respect of national monuments in developing his policy on that matter.

    David Evennett

    No specific assessment has been made of the policy adopted by other European states in respect of national monuments. The decision as and when to fly flags is largely a decision for individual organisations.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to support the Clean for the Queen campaign.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government is delighted to support and endorse the Clean for the Queen initiative. Litter and fly-tipping blight communities and pose a risk to human health, which is why tackling them is a priority for the Government. I gave my backing to the campaign when it was launched and we will continue to promote it, to help reach as many people as possible.

    Together with the Minister for Local Government, Marcus Jones MP, I shall be writing to every Member of Parliament with an English constituency and every English unitary and district Local Authority, to encourage their participation and leadership in this worthwhile campaign.

    Our experience from the first Community Clear-Up Day in March last year demonstrated the enthusiasm and willingness of people across England to give some of their time to improve their local environment. The Clean for the Queen campaign provides a great opportunity for people to come together and clean up our local streets and parks.

    We hope the campaign will help lead to a lasting legacy of a cleaner, tidier Britain.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were imprisoned for non-violent drug offences in each year since 2005.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will request that English Heritage flies the Union Flag over national monuments in its custody in place of its own house flag on each day of the week.

    David Evennett

    There is not an intention to request changes to the English Heritage Trust’s flag flying protocol. Where English Heritage Trust sites, particularly those with military or royal connections, have more than one flagpole, the flag flying policy states that the Union Flag should be flown daily.