Tag: William Wragg

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK withdrawing from the EU on the promotion of UK trade with other Commonwealth countries.

Greg Hands

Withdrawing from the EU will give us the opportunity to shape our own international trade and investment opportunities, drive even greater openness with international partners and put Britain firmly at the forefront of global trade and investment.

We already enjoy excellent trading relationships with Commonwealth partners and we are committed to strengthening these further.

The UK is co-hosting, with Malta, the inaugural Commonwealth Trade Minister’s meeting in London in March 2017. This will be an excellent opportunity to promote greater trade and investment within the Commonwealth.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on steps to remove foreign national offenders from UK prisons to their home countries.

Andrew Selous

The Secretary of State for Justice and the Home Secretary have regular bilateral meetings where they discuss progress on removal of FNOs. As announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on 8 February, MoJ officials have also been working closely with the Home Office to introduce a legal requirement for defendants appearing in court to provide their name, date of birth and nationality. This will enable earlier identification of foreign national offenders and help with the removals process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce variations in mental health spending and services between clinical commissioning groups.

Alistair Burt

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning non-specialised mental health services to meet the needs of their local communities. NHS England has made the requirement of CCGs through the planning guidance document, Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance 2016/17 to 2020/21 (December 2015), that they should increase their spending on mental health each year at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many additional staff have been employed to work on EU-related matters in which Government Departments (a) over the last 12 months and (b) since January 2016.

John Penrose

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex on 11 February to UIN: 26361, and to the hon. Member for Clacton on 18 April to UIN: 33727.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will place in the Library copies of all letters, leaflets and other material from her Department circulated to (a) stakeholders and (b) members of the public on the EU referendum; what the costs of the production and distribution of that material has been since 1 January 2016; and what she estimates the cost of any further production and distribution of such material will be between 6 May 2016 and 23 June 2016.

Mr Ben Wallace

I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my hon Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (John Penrose) UIN 38825.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many migrants from (a) the EU, (b) the EEA and (c) countries outside the EU have settled in the UK since 1 January 2004 in each (i) region and (ii) local authority area where they have settled.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on reaching a decision on NHS England’s commissioning responsibilities for drugs capable of preventing HIV infection in high-risk groups.

Nicola Blackwood

In September the Court of Appeal heard an appeal against an earlier judgement of the High Court, which ruled that NHS England does have powers to commission pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at risk of contracting HIV. Judgement is still awaited. No decisions on commissioning of PrEP have yet been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve prisons’ engagement with employers; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Selous

Supporting offenders into meaningful employment is a vital aspect of the Government’s approach to rehabilitation.

We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by Prison Governors. And we want Governors to do more so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works.

We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release.

I regularly meet businesses across the country including at two successful roadshows at HMP Sudbury and HMP/YOI Drake Hall, and most recently at HMP Wayland where local media have supported our campaign. New businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses.

The Prime Minister has announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking ensure that UK overseas aid is spent effectively and transparently.

Mr Desmond Swayne

As set out in the aid strategy, UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, the government will ensure that every penny of money spent delivers value for taxpayers, and projects that do not will be cancelled. Departments follow good financial management principles set out in HM Treasury guidance in ‘Managing Public Money’ for all their expenditure. In addition, ODA spend is subject to scrutiny by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact. The UK Aid Strategy also commits all departments to achieving greater levels of transparency in aid spend.

DFID has robust internal processes such as strong ministerial oversight, mandatory reviews on all programmes, detailed management information for use at all levels of the organisation including on project performance and quality. Other departments will have their own arrangements and DFID will continue to share good practice advice with them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department has had with representatives from the higher education and further education sector on the EU referendum.

John Penrose

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are routinely published in transparency returns available on the Gov.uk website.