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  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 1.10 of his Department’s paper, Inflected blood: Government Response to Consultation on Reform of Financial and Other Support, published in July 2016, whether survey respondents were asked whether they were infected with both HIV and hepatitis C.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Responses to the consultation were provided on a voluntary basis and none of the questions asked were compulsory. Consultation respondents were asked in separate questions to indicate if they had hepatitis C and/or HIV, from infected National Health Service supplied blood/blood products. Whilst respondents were not asked specifically whether they had stage 1 or stage 2 hepatitis C, many voluntarily offered this information.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s paper, Infected Blood: Government Response to Consultation on Reform of Financial and Other Support, published in July 2016, whether he plans for people receiving discretionary support from the reformed scheme to continue to receive (a) prescription prepayment certificates, (b) advice on support with benefit applications and appeals, (c) one-off £1,200 lump sum payments for dependants and (d) means-tested top-ups to their income to lift them above the poverty line; and whether he plans for the partners of bereaved people to continue to receive annual payments topping their income up to £19,000 per year.

    Nicola Blackwood

    In 2017/18, a new, single, discretionary scheme will replace the current three discretionary support schemes (The Caxton Foundation, The Eileen Trust and The McFarlane Trust), and it is intended to be equitable, transparent, flexible and responsive to individual needs, that may change over time.

    Details on the components that will make up a new discretionary scheme are still being worked through and will be publicised in due course. In the meantime, the current discretionary arrangements remain throughout the current financial year.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the special appeals process for people infected with Stage 1 Hepatitis C as a result of receiving contaminated blood will be managed by (a) his Department or (b) the new single trust which will be established from 2017-18.

    Nicola Blackwood

    In 2017/18, we will introduce a special appeals mechanism for people currently at stage 1 of their hepatitis C infection, to apply for a higher level of payment, equivalent to the stage 2 annual payments of £15,500, details of which are still being considered. We envisage that the new single scheme administrator will administer and manage such a process.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total budget in each year of the Spending Review Period will be for the new support package for people affected by contaminated blood.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The annual budget for the new support scheme will range between £46.2 million and £46.6 million for each year of the Spending Review period.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s paper, Infected Blood: Government Response to Consultation on Reform of Financial and Other Support, published in July 2016, whether it is planned that the new single trust set to be established in 2017-18 will receive all funds held in reserves by the Caxton Foundation, the Eileen Trust and Macfarlane Trust; and how much is held in reserves by each of those charities.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There will be a new scheme administrator combining the functions of the existing schemes into a single scheme going forward. The new scheme administrator will become operational in the financial year 2017/18 and the current bodies will operate until then. We are working on transition plans and would hope that the charities would use any reserves to support beneficiaries. Details of reserves are published in the Annual Accounts.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK-supplied weapons are which are known to have been used in Yemen since January 2015.

    Sir Michael Fallon

    As at 12 October 2016 the following UK-supplied precision-guided weapons have been used in Yemen: Paveway, PGM500 (also known as the Hakim 2), Dual Mode Brimstone and Storm Shadow, along with ALARM (anti-radiation missiles).

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which UK officials were present at discussions on the peace process in Syria between the US and Russia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​Discussions to re-establish a nationwide Cessation of Hostilities have been led bilaterally between the US and Russia as co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). The UK participates in full meetings of the ISSG as well as through our Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on the peace process in Ukraine.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Foreign Secretary has discussed the Minsk Peace Process to resolve the on-going conflict in eastern Ukraine with a range of European partners and counterparts, including bilaterally with Foreign Ministers from France and Poland as well as multilaterally at recent EU and Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe summits. The Foreign Secretary has also discussed the conflict with President Poroshenko and Foreign Minister Klimkin of Ukraine during a recent visit to Kyiv, and stressed the need for progress on Minsk implementation during a phone call last month with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on recent discussions on the peace process in Syria between Russia and the US.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), discusses Syria regularly with US Secretary of State John Kerry. Both the Foreign Secretary and US Secretary of State Kerry attended International Syria Support Group meetings on 20 and 23 September in New York. The Foreign Secretary and Secretary Kerry met again, along with their French, German, Italian and EEAS counterparts, to discuss Syria in Boston on 24 September. The conflict in Syria was discussed at the UN Security Council on 17, 21 and 25 September.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many country specialists for (a) Russia, (b) China, (c) North Korea, (d) the US, (e) Syria and (f) India are employed by his Department.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    It is not possible to identify the exact number of country specialists working on these countries within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Career Diplomats develop longer-term expertise on countries, linked to their language skills and pattern of relevant work in London or in post. We also have expertise within our local staff colleagues across the network. In London, we have at any one time approximately 10 specialist Research Analysts focussed on these countries and additional Research Analysts working on relevant regional issues and countries.