Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Review and increase foster care allowances and tax exemptions
Gov Responded - 31 Mar 2023 Debated on - 15 Jan 2024 View Graham Brady's petition debate contributionsWe want the Government to review and increase allowances paid to foster carers, and also tax exemption levels for foster carers, so they reflect the true cost of caring for a child.
Ensure Trans people are fully protected under any conversion therapy ban
Gov Responded - 12 May 2022 Debated on - 13 Jun 2022 View Graham Brady's petition debate contributionsEnsure any ban fully includes trans people and all forms of conversion therapy.
These initiatives were driven by Graham Brady, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Graham Brady has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Graham Brady has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Graham Brady has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Employee Share Ownership (Reform) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - George Howarth (Lab)
Banking Services (Post Offices) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Duncan Baker (Con)
Death by Dangerous Driving (Sentencing) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Theresa May (Con)
Pets (Microchips) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - James Daly (Con)
National Health Service Reserve Staff Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Alan Mak (Con)
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) (No.2) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Pauline Latham (Con)
Local Electricity Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Peter Aldous (Con)
Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Act 2019
Sponsor - Tim Loughton (Con)
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Pauline Latham (Con)
Fracking (Seismic Activity) 2017-19
Sponsor - Lee Rowley (Con)
Crime (Impact Statements) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Melanie Onn (Lab)
Representation of the People (Gibraltar) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Craig Mackinlay (Con)
Electric Vehicles (Standardised Recharging) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Bill Wiggin (Con)
Ceramics (Country of Origin Marking) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018
Sponsor - Chris Bryant (Lab)
School Holidays (Meals and Activities) 2017-19
Sponsor - Lord Field of Birkenhead (XB)
Channel 4 (Relocation) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Jack Brereton (Con)
The Department has no plans to make a comparative assessment of the ventilation standards in buildings in the UK and other countries.
DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.
The Secretary of State provided a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors. This support package will benefit cultural sector services by providing support to cultural venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.
From 15th August, and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, organisations can now put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing.
We are committed to continuing to work with the events sector to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery. We recognise that the events industry and its supply chain has been severely impacted by Covid-19.
We are continuing to meet with stakeholders, including through the Events & Entertainment and Visitor Economy working groups and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to discuss the specific issues facing the sector.
I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Altrincham and Sale West, to the answer I gave in response to question 129057.
We have introduced a broad range of flexibilities to ensure that apprentices can continue with their learning, as far as possible, and to encourage the take up of apprenticeships. These include encouraging the remote delivery of training, allowing changes to be made to end-point assessment, and removal of the requirement that level 2 apprentices should work towards or sit their level 2 English and maths GCSE or functional skills exams this academic year.
Apprenticeships will have an important role to play in creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people, and supporting employers in all sectors to access the skilled workforce they need to recover and grow post-COVID-19. We are looking to support employers of all sizes, and particularly smaller businesses such as childcare providers, to take on new apprentices this year. We will set out further details in due course. We will also ensure that there is sufficient funding to support small businesses wanting to take on an apprentice this year.
At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (IMG EFRA) on 6 March, UK Government ministers received a formal request setting out the scope and rationale for a UKIM exemption for the Scottish Government's deposit return scheme. It will now be considered by Ministers at the relevant Whitehall departments.
Defra officials have met Girlguiding to discuss their research on deposit return schemes. We will continue to engage with a large range of stakeholders, including young people, to ensure everyone has their say.
The Integrated Rail Plan noted that there is a strong case for a connection to the West Coast Mainline (WCML) north of Crewe and that the Union Connectivity Review (UCR) was considering this further. The UCR, undertaken by Sir Peter Hendy, has considered whether any alternatives to the Golborne Link could further improve connectivity to Scotland. Evidence from the Review suggests that alternative connections to the WCML could slightly reduce journey times further compared to the ‘Golborne Link’. However, Sir Peter states that it is clear that further work is required to better understand the case for and against any such options; and has recommended the Government review options for alternative connections north of Crewe between HS2 and the WCML. The government will respond to Sir Peter’s recommendations in due course.
The Integrated Rail Plan noted that there is a strong case for a connection to the West Coast Mainline (WCML) north of Crewe and that the Union Connectivity Review (UCR) was considering this further. The UCR, undertaken by Sir Peter Hendy, has considered whether any alternatives to the Golborne Link could further improve connectivity to Scotland. Evidence from the Review suggests that alternative connections to the WCML could slightly reduce journey times further compared to the ‘Golborne Link’. However, Sir Peter states that it is clear that further work is required to better understand the case for and against any such options; and has recommended the Government review options for alternative connections north of Crewe between HS2 and the WCML. The government will respond to Sir Peter’s recommendations in due course.
Sir Peter has published his Union Connectivity Review as of Friday the 26th of November, the Government thanks Sir Peter for his work and will respond to his recommendations in due course.
Holders of a full Hong Kong car or motorcycle driving licence can exchange this for a GB equivalent without the need to apply for a provisional licence or take a driving test. Information on the average time taken to issue a driving licence to applicants from Hong Kong is not available.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the potential number of applicants who may arrive from Hong Kong with British national overseas status over the next five years. The DVLA is confident that these applications can be absorbed within its existing processes and there are no plans to introduce a dedicated channel.
Holders of a full Hong Kong car or motorcycle driving licence can exchange this for a GB equivalent without the need to apply for a provisional licence or take a driving test. Information on the average time taken to issue a driving licence to applicants from Hong Kong is not available.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the potential number of applicants who may arrive from Hong Kong with British national overseas status over the next five years. The DVLA is confident that these applications can be absorbed within its existing processes and there are no plans to introduce a dedicated channel.
The focus of our policy development and analysis to date has been on ways to meet our 2050 net zero carbon commitment. We have not specifically made an assessment of the savings that could be made if the focus were the next five or ten years, but we continue to develop policies to reduce emissions over both the short term and the medium term.
The Transport Secretary recently announced the Jet Zero Council, which will provide leadership and strategic direction to cut aviation emissions. The Council will focus on developing UK capabilities to deliver zero emission flight.
Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, Government and industry are committing a total of £3.9bn in funding for mid-stage aerospace research and development between 2013 and 2026.
DfT’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition makes £20 million of capital funding available for projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels for use in aircraft and heavy goods vehicles. This government funding will be matched by the private sector, and is expected to support construction of first-of-a-kind plants by 2021. The sustainable aviation fuel produced in these plants is expected to have emissions savings of at least 70% when compared to traditional jet fuel.
Airspace modernisation is vital to the future of aviation, to delivering net zero and, now, to supporting the aviation sector’s recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a critical infrastructure programme of national importance.
However, in light of the pandemic, we recognise that the timescales in which airspace modernisation will take place will change. We are working with the CAA to review the Airspace Modernisation Strategy, to consider the recommendations from ACOG’s recent report ‘Remobilising the Airspace Change Programme’, and will advise stakeholders of our preferred approach in the early Autumn.
The focus of our policy development and analysis to date has been on ways to meet our 2050 net zero carbon commitment. We have not specifically made an assessment of the savings that could be made if the focus were the next five or ten years, but we continue to develop policies to reduce emissions over both the short term and the medium term.
The Transport Secretary recently announced the Jet Zero Council, which will provide leadership and strategic direction to cut aviation emissions. The Council will focus on developing UK capabilities to deliver zero emission flight.
Through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, Government and industry are committing a total of £3.9bn in funding for mid-stage aerospace research and development between 2013 and 2026.
DfT’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition makes £20 million of capital funding available for projects that will produce low carbon waste-based fuels for use in aircraft and heavy goods vehicles. This government funding will be matched by the private sector, and is expected to support construction of first-of-a-kind plants by 2021. The sustainable aviation fuel produced in these plants is expected to have emissions savings of at least 70% when compared to traditional jet fuel.
To help overcome barriers to the production of sustainable fuels for aviation on a commercial scale, the Department’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (F4C) makes capital funding available. As part of the competition we are currently supporting two projects to build plants capable of supplying advanced fuels for use in aviation.
In addition, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), a certificate trading scheme, promotes a market for low carbon fuels. Sustainable aviation fuels are eligible for support under the RTFO and are categorised as a development fuel, so potentially benefit from a higher tradeable certificate value.
On 12 June the Department announced the Jet Zero Council to create a partnership between industry and Government and bring together Ministers and CEO-level stakeholders to drive high ambition in the delivery of new technologies and innovative ways to cut aviation emissions. The Council will be jointly chaired by the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for BEIS.
The Home Office will be introducing new health protection measures at the border, and details will be published soon. Further queries should be directed to the Home Office.
As acknowledged and welcomed in the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels Road-Map”, announced by the Sustainable Aviation coalition on 4 February, the Government is encouraging the production and use of sustainable alternative aviation fuels in the UK by making these eligible for reward under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).
The Department is considering the aviation industry’s request to extend the scope of the RTFO to include Recycled Carbon Fuels (RCFs), which is repeated in the “Sustainable Aviation Fuels Road-Map”. RCFs are fuels produced from fossil wastes that cannot be reused, recycled or avoided.
The Department has commissioned two independent research reports to examine the potential greenhouse gas savings that RCFs could achieve. These are “Low carbon fossil fuels sustainability risks and accounting methodology” published in January 2018 and “Work Package 1-743 Waste Disposal Outcomes and Diversion Impacts” published in August 2019. Further to this research, the Department is developing a greenhouse gas assessment methodology for RCFs and have engaged on this with industry representatives. The Department hopes to consult later this year on legislative proposals.
The Department for Transport published the Business Case for HS2 Phase 2 on 17 July 2017, which includes a connection to the West Coast Mainline near Golborne https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-phase-two-economic-case.
We will continue to update periodically cost estimates and business cases for delivery of HS2 in line with the Government’s protocol for developing major projects. Our latest estimates indicate that the HS2 network will cost between £72-£98 billion with Phase 2b in the region of between £33-£46 billion. The expenditure on Golborne falls within this remit.
As part of the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands we will assess the Golborne Junction to consider the benefits, costs and the best way to serve the North West and Scotland.
Demand for the National Insurance Number (NINo) service is currently high with the average time taken to process applications around 13 weeks. This is for all employment inspired applications including people arriving from Hong Kong with British National Overseas status.
The Department is currently recruiting and training additional staff to reduce these waiting times.
The Department expedites NINo applications for those who require one in order to receive Social Security Benefits.
HSE recently updated web guidance on Ventilation and air conditioning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which is aimed at most businesses, including the hospitality sector.
The guidance provides businesses with simple ways to identify areas in a workplace that may be poorly ventilated and measures they can take to improve ventilation in those areas. It also addresses the issue of balancing good ventilation with thermal comfort (keeping a comfortable workplace temperature).
Although the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the national policy lead for occupational health and safety standards in the hospitality and catering industry, Local Authorities (LAs) are responsible for enforcing health and safety law at individual premises.
HSE is unable to provide data showing what proportion of hospitality businesses have been determined to have poor ventilation as this data is not collected from LAs.
HSE recently updated web guidance on Ventilation and air conditioning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which is aimed at most businesses, including the hospitality sector.
The guidance provides businesses with simple ways to identify areas in a workplace that may be poorly ventilated and measures they can take to improve ventilation in those areas. It also addresses the issue of balancing good ventilation with thermal comfort (keeping a comfortable workplace temperature).
We believe this question relates to ‘current market rent’ assessments of general practice (GP) properties undertaken by the District Valuer Service, which are provided to primary care organisations and integrated care boards under the Premises Cost Directions 2013. This helps to ensure agreed rent levels for these properties are in line with market conditions and provide value for money. It is then for integrated care boards, as part of their commissioning responsibilities for primary care, to consider applications for any new general practice surgeries, taking account of current market rent assessments.
While the Department does not hold this information on how many current market rent assessments for new GP surgeries the District Valuer Service has completed centrally, the Department does engage with NHS England and the District Valuer Service to ensure policy around rent reimbursements for GP surgeries is fit for purpose.
NHS Greater Manchester is currently considering the adoption of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance in relation to access to glucose monitoring technology. Working with the Greater Manchester Medicines Management Group and provider trusts, NHS Greater Manchester is seeking to review commissioning procedures and bring forward plans for adoption of NICE guidance
NHS Greater Manchester is currently reviewing NICE guidance on making available Technology Appraisals on Hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes available.
NHS England have achieved their Long-Term Plan objective of 20% of all Type 1 diabetes patients in receipt of Flash Glucose Monitoring by April 21. Performance was 50% at June 2021 with an even distribution of access across all deprivation quintiles.
The ratio of prescribing Flash glucose monitoring between the most and least affluent areas has been reviewed and has reduced in every English region. When the programme started Flash was twice more likely to be prescribed to patients living in the most affluent areas, but current ratios show virtual parity between the most and least deprived patient groups across England.
The Department has held no discussions with the Greater Manchester Health and Care Partnership, Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System or Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership on plans to collaboratively support people with type one diabetes to access timely and localised care
The NHS Long Term plan sets out how NHS will enhance its support offer for those people living with type one diabetes, including further expanding the provision of structured education and digital self-management support tools.
The Major Conditions Strategy will set out how we intend to tackle conditions that contribute most to morbidity and mortality across the population in England which includes diabetes.
NHS Greater Manchester is currently considering the adoption of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance in relation to access to glucose monitoring technology. Working with the Greater Manchester Medicines Management Group and provider trusts, NHS Greater Manchester is seeking to review commissioning procedures and bring forward plans for adoption of NICE guidance
NHS Greater Manchester is currently reviewing NICE guidance on making available Technology Appraisals on Hybrid closed loop systems for managing blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetes available.
For the financial year 2018/19, the average time taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to assess a clinical trial was 23.29 days. The longest time taken was 56 days. For the financial year 2019/20, the average time taken by the MHRA to assess a clinical trial was 23.47 days. The longest time taken was 56 days. For the financial year 2020/21, the average time taken by the MHRA to assess a clinical trial was 21.43 days. The longest time taken was 49 days. For the financial year 2021/22, the average time taken by the MHRA to assess a clinical trial was 27.58 days. The longest time taken was 68 days. For the financial year 2022/23 (April 2022 – February 2023 inclusive), the average time taken by the MHRA to assess a clinical trial was 42.78 days. The longest time taken was 146 days.
The standard time for the initial coordinated response from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is 30 days from the date of receipt of a valid request for authorisation of a clinical trial. The average coordinated performance against the standard for the last 12 months between February 2022 to February 2023 inclusive was 43.96 days.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recently underwent a programme organisational reform and transformation, supported by independent advisors, to deliver an agency able to modernise medicines and medical device regulation in the United Kingdom and take advantage of its new sovereign regulator status. This process and the ongoing implementation of the changes is under constant review by MHRA itself and departmental officials, including any impact on delivery and effectiveness. As part of that and the normal business planning cycles, the two teams will continue to work together to support the Agency to continue to protect the health of the UK population including ensuring the safety of clinical trials.
The following table shows the number of Good Clinical Practice inspectors who are trained to perform the inspections of phase I clinical trial units, who are members of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Phase I Accreditation Scheme of this type during each January from 2019 to 2023
Year | Number of inspectors |
January 2023 | 5 (plus 1 inspector in training) |
January 2022 | 6 |
January 2021 | 7 |
January 2020 | 6 |
January 2019 | 6 |
On 22 December 2021, the Government accepted the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to children aged five to 11 years old who are in a clinical risk group, or who are household contacts of the immunosuppressed. On 16 February 2022, the Government subsequently accepted the JCVI’s advice to offer vaccination of children aged five to 11 years old not in a clinical risk group. However, the size and characteristics of a potential future wave were uncertain at the time of the JCVI’s advice, therefore it was not possible to determine the cost per quality adjusted life years gained.
Four of the eight projects have published at least one paper on their findings. We anticipate papers from the remaining four studies although we do not have a confirmed timetable for their publication.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not made this assessment. The UKHSA provides guidance on immunisation techniques in Chapter Four of the Green Book, which follows available evidence and international recommendations for the administration of vaccines. This is reviewed and updated regularly by the UKHSA and states that it is not necessary to aspirate the syringe after the needle is introduced into the muscle because there are no large blood vessels at the recommended injection sites.
In addition, the only licensed route of administration for COVID-19 vaccines is via intra-muscular injection into the preferred site, the deltoid muscle. No assessment has therefore been made for intravenous injection. Vaccinations are not administered into the vein as this would be potentially harmful.
E-cigarettes are regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR). Local Trading Standards are responsible for the enforcement of these regulations. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provides central funding to local authorities for local trading standards activity. It is for local decision making how this is allocated across services.
To support local enforcement of TRPR, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are currently reviewing evidence and assisting in the identification of e-cigarette device seizures across the United Kingdom. It is working with various trading standards organisations, to correctly identify grey, black market and counterfeit devices entering illegally from foreign markets to UK distributors.
E-cigarettes are regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR). Local Trading Standards are responsible for the enforcement of these regulations. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provides central funding to local authorities for local trading standards activity. It is for local decision making how this is allocated across services.
To support local enforcement of TRPR, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are currently reviewing evidence and assisting in the identification of e-cigarette device seizures across the United Kingdom. It is working with various trading standards organisations, to correctly identify grey, black market and counterfeit devices entering illegally from foreign markets to UK distributors.
These studies will now be completing between August 2021 and January 2022. Additionally, the National Institute for Health Research funded researchers are expected to publish their main study findings in peer-reviewed open access journals.
Many cases of asthma will be diagnosed and managed in a primary care setting. Primary care data is not currently linked to the data collected by the National Health Service for hospital admissions.
Inhaled budesonide was trialled as part of the PRINCIPLE trial platform in the United Kingdom as a treatment for COVID-19 in non-hospitalised patients who are 65 years old and over or 50 years old and over with an underlying health condition. On 12 April, interim analysis from the PRINCIPLE trial revealed that inhaled budesonide reduced the time to self-reported recovery by a median of three days. However, the full analysis is currently underway to understand the full benefit of this treatment. Clinical guidance has been issued for clinicians to consider prescribing inhaled budesonide on a case-by-case basis, but inhaled budesonide is not currently recommended as the standard of care in the UK. The Department will continue to monitor the results as more detailed data and analysis from the trial becomes available and stand ready to adjust guidance should this be appropriate.
The quarantine system is a risk based one, based on medical evidence. International travel, particularly to ‘red list’ countries, where there is a high risk of transmission of new variants of COVID-19, presents a danger to the public. This continues to be the case even when vaccinated. The Government is prioritising the prevention of new variants entering the country and the possibility of these being spread in the wider community. Individuals who have been vaccinated might nonetheless contract another variant, particularly while in ‘red list’ countries and spread it even if quarantining at home. This means it is vital to continue to follow the public health guidance and rules including the necessity of quarantining in hotels.
Data on effectiveness of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be published in due course, once larger numbers of the population have been vaccinated with two doses and sufficient time has elapsed for an effect to be monitored.
Public Health England (PHE) is considering the impact of false positives on vaccine efficacy estimates, as part of its vaccine monitoring work. Several vaccine effectiveness studies, including PHE’s, use both repeat virology swabs and antibody testing to help exclude false positives.
The Department continues to monitor evidence on the use of ivermectin both as a prophylactic and treatment for COVID-19. A recent collection of small studies shows some positive indications that ivermectin may act as a treatment for COVID-19. However, further high quality, larger-scale studies are still needed to confirm the safety and efficacy of this treatment. The Therapeutics Taskforce will keep the position on ivermectin under review as more data becomes available.
The National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation jointly awarded over £5.3million for a programme of research of eight projects to understand the routes of transmission of COVID-19 in different environments and groups of people. These projects are 12-15 months in duration and are expected to report findings in the summer of 2021.
We are aware of the STOIC study on the efficacy of inhaled Budesonide. STOIC is a Phase II trial with 146 participants. Phase II trials can indicate whether a treatment has potential to benefit patients, and positive results are normally followed by larger scale Phase III trials.
The Phase III PRINCIPLE trial, which currently has over 4,200 patients enrolled to date, is also trialling inhaled budesonide as a trial arm, the results for which are imminent. This will help us to assess whether this drug provides an effective way of treating COVID-19 in community settings.
The Therapeutics Taskforce is continuing to monitor any new, high quality evidence on COVID-19 therapeutics and has been following recent findings on ivermectin.
The Department has monitored a collection of small studies which have now completed and provided some positive signals on the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. However, larger scale studies are still needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of this treatment. The Therapeutics Taskforce is aware that several more studies into ivermectin are set to conclude in the next few months and will continue to monitor these ongoing trials to assess the evidence available on whether ivermectin can prevent and/or reduce the severity of COVID-19.
Enforcement of the regulations is a matter for local authorities. Ministers and officials have regular discussions on a wide range of issues including ventilation for businesses within the hospitality sector.
Enforcement of the regulations is a matter for local authorities. Ministers and officials have regular discussions on a wide range of issues including ventilation for businesses within the hospitality sector.