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  • 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 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what planning his Department is carrying out to prepare for the change of US President; and what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the UK-US relationship of the (a) Republican and (b) Democratic Presidential candidates being elected.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    Successive British Governments have worked with Republican and Democratic Presidents to advance our mutual interests and tackle shared challenges. We expect that the UK and the US will continue to be the closest of partners after the US elections on 8 November.

  • 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 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of the UN Secretary-General’s statement of 11 July 2016 on events in South Sudan; and whether the Government supports calls for an arms embargo to that country and the strengthening of the UN mission in South Sudan in the light of its response to those events.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We welcomed the statement made by the UN Secretary-General on the situation in South Sudan. Our policy continues to be focussed on helping to protect the people of South Sudan and we are in support of an arms embargo as a means to support this. We lobbied hard to strengthen the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and supported UN Security Council Resolution 2304, adopted on 12 August, which mandated a regional protection force of up to 4000 additional troops to robustly protect civilians and key humanitarian transit routes in Juba. In addition, the Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon the member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) announced on 8 September that the number of UK troops to be deployed within UNMISS will be increased to close to 400 in order to support the mission’s operations.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) policy his Department follows and (b) advice his Department gives to staff travelling to malarial regions regarding the use of Lariam as an anti-malarial drug; and what records his Department holds on the number of times (i) Lariam and (ii) alternative anti-malarial drugs have been prescribed to staff in his Department in the last three years.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) follows guidance from the UK Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP). The FCO provides medical advice to staff travelling to malarial regions on a case-by-case basis, taking into account factors such as the age of the officer concerned, location and duration of stay. This might in some instances result in an officer being advised to take mefloquine (larium), but no officer is forced to do so. Any staff with concerns are encouraged to discuss with the FCO Healthline or their Regional Medical Advisor, as well as with their local clinic of healthcare provider. The FCO does not hold records on the numbers of staff prescribed mefloquine (larium) and alternative anti-malarial drugs.

  • 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 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the cases of (a) Ali al Nimr, (b) Dawoud al Marhoon and (c) Abdullah al Zaher who were sentenced to death as children for participating in political protests in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain concerned about the cases of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdallah al-Zaher and continue to follow them closely. We most recently got assurances on 7 September and our expectation remains that they will not be executed. Our Embassy in Riyadh also frequently raise our concerns and will continue to do so.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many deaths have occurred in the last five years following abortions provided through the NHS and carried out by the private sector.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Data from abortion notification forms (HSA4) indicates that between 2011 and 2015, the most recent five years for which data is available, there was one death relating to a termination funded by the National Health Service and carried out by the independent sector.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 400, on applying the results of experiments on animals to human patients, tabled on 5 September 2016.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government considers that the carefully regulated use of animals in scientific research remains a vital tool in improving the understanding of how biological systems work and in the development of safe new medicines, treatments and technologies.

    At the same time, the Government believes that animals should only be used when there is no practicable alternative and it actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), in particular through funding for the National Centre for the Replacement Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), and also through ongoing UK-led efforts to encourage greater global uptake of the 3Rs.

    Advances in biomedical science and technologies – including stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques – are all providing new opportunities to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research.

    As part of this, Innovate UK, the NC3Rs, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council have produced a Non-animal Technologies Roadmap for the UK.

    The Roadmap offers an approach for the UK to develop, exploit and deploy new non-animal technologies for long-term economic and societal benefit. Integral to this strategy have been two Innovate UK industry-led competitions which have awarded approximately £7m in grant funding; “Developing non-animal technologies” and “Advancing the development and application of non-animal technologies”.

    EU and UK law requires safety testing on animals before human trials for new medicines can begin and animal research still plays an important role in providing vital safety information for potential new medicines.

    The Early Day Motion (EDM 400) rightly draws attention to the UK life science sector’s Concordat on openness in animal research which was launched in 2014, and provides new opportunities for transparency and debate in this area.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of NHS England’s clinical policy prioritisation process for specialised services on the provision of treatment to patients in the devolved nations; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    As health is a devolved function, it is for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to make decisions about how they prioritise funding for specialised treatments. NHS England’s clinical policy prioritisation process relates solely to the direct commissioning responsibilities of NHS England and predominantly affects patients in England.

    However, NHS England works closely with the three devolved nations, particularly through the Rare Diseases Advisory Group (of which the three devolved nations are members), whose function is to provide advice to NHS England and the devolved nations on the commissioning of highly specialised services. The devolved nations are also observers on the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group, which advises NHS England on which specialised services should be prioritised for funding.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Care Quality Commission and (b) Marie Stopes International on the suspension of Marie Stopes’ abortion services in the UK.

    Nicola Blackwood

    I have met Care Quality Commission (CQC) officials leading on this issue. Departmental officials have had, and continue to have, regular discussions with the CQC and Marie Stopes International (MSI), following the suspension of some MSI services. These discussions have centred on what actions MSI needs to take and what assurances they need to give that they will be able to meet the required standards and quality of service in future.

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

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the mandate to Health Education England for 2016-17; and whether he plans that that mandate will reference the strategic review of the cancer workforce recommended in the England Cancer Strategy.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Health Education England mandate 2016-17 was published on 13 October 2016. A copy of ‘Delivering high quality, effective, compassionate care: Developing the right people with the right skills and the right values’ is attached.

    The mandate sets Health Education England an objective to continue to take forward the relevant recommendations set out in the Independent Cancer Task Force report, ‘Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 – 2020’, including working with partners to develop a vision for the future shape and skills mix of the workforce required to deliver a modern, holistic patient-centred cancer service.

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

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to continue to support Commissioning through Evaluation; and whether he plans to maintain patient access to that programme whilst a formal decision is made on its future.

    David Mowat

    There are no current plans to stop supporting the Commissioning through Evaluation programme.