Author: admin

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken towards securing international agreement for the elimination of nuclear weapons in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty; and what plans he has for further steps towards such agreement in the next 12 months.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    As stated in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the UK is working with our international partners to tackle proliferation and to make progress on multilateral nuclear disarmament. The UK plays a leading role on disarmament verification with the US and Norway. In February 2016 the UK proposed a Programme of Work at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva with the aim of reinvigorating the Conference’s work. The P5 Process, initiated by the UK, brings together nuclear weapons states to build trust and confidence to help create the conditions which would enable disarmament. Over the coming year we will continue to press for key steps towards multilateral disarmament, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and successful negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament.

    The Government continues to work to deliver the Strategic Defence and Security Review commitment to reduce our stockpile of nuclear weapons to no more than 180 warheads by the mid 2020s.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to assist with the implementation of the recommendations put forward to the Human Rights Council by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government shares the concerns of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding human rights in Eritrea, in particular shortcomings in the rule of law and indefinite national service.

    We have made clear to the Eritrean Government the tangible improvements we want to see, including amending its national service system and fully implementing its own constitution. We are also urging the Government of Eritrea to increase further its engagement with international human rights bodies, such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which recently visited Eritrea and was allowed access for the first time to a place of detention. We are supporting UN and EU programmes set up to address recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review on human rights, and are funding a programme on strengthening the rule of law implemented by the Slynn Foundation.

    The mechanism of the Special Rapporteur is an important tool for the international community to strengthen its engagement with Eritrea. The UK Statement to the Human Rights Council on 21 June called on both the Special Rapporteur and the Government of Eritrea to consider ways that they might work together constructively to enhance the progress Eritrea has begun to make in its human rights observance.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in implementing the recommendations put forward by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government shares the concerns of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding human rights in Eritrea, in particular shortcomings in the rule of law and indefinite national service.

    We have made clear to the Eritrean Government the tangible improvements we want to see, including amending its national service system and fully implementing its own constitution. We are also urging the Government of Eritrea to increase further its engagement with international human rights bodies, such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which recently visited Eritrea and was allowed access for the first time to a place of detention. We are supporting UN and EU programmes set up to address recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review on human rights, and are funding a programme on strengthening the rule of law implemented by the Slynn Foundation.

    The mechanism of the Special Rapporteur is an important tool for the international community to strengthen its engagement with Eritrea. The UK Statement to the Human Rights Council on 21 June called on both the Special Rapporteur and the Government of Eritrea to consider ways that they might work together constructively to enhance the progress Eritrea has begun to make in its human rights observance.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on support for the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government shares the concerns of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding human rights in Eritrea, in particular shortcomings in the rule of law and indefinite national service.

    We have made clear to the Eritrean Government the tangible improvements we want to see, including amending its national service system and fully implementing its own constitution. We are also urging the Government of Eritrea to increase further its engagement with international human rights bodies, such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which recently visited Eritrea and was allowed access for the first time to a place of detention. We are supporting UN and EU programmes set up to address recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review on human rights, and are funding a programme on strengthening the rule of law implemented by the Slynn Foundation.

    The mechanism of the Special Rapporteur is an important tool for the international community to strengthen its engagement with Eritrea. The UK Statement to the Human Rights Council on 21 June called on both the Special Rapporteur and the Government of Eritrea to consider ways that they might work together constructively to enhance the progress Eritrea has begun to make in its human rights observance.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to (a) reprint and (b) revise the Start4Life leaflets covering breastfeeding, bottle feeding and early child nutrition.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Public Health England will continue to reprint Start4Life leaflets on breastfeeding (in a simpler format) and bottle feeding, and will be revising the early child nutrition leaflet to incorporate new guidance from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, when available.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had any discussions with the Home Secretary on the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) review of the classification of products containing cannabidiol since the MHRA’s news story on that review was published on 13 October 2016.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There have been no discussions at Ministerial level but officials from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Home Office have been in contact regarding this issue.

    At present, the MHRA has offered an opinion that products containing cannabidiol used for medical purposes should be regulated as medicinal products. If manufacturers do not accept this, the MHRA can use a statutory determination process to formally classify their product(s).

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 11 and 18 October 2016 to Questions 46460 and 47904, whether the Government plans to put measures in place to replace the National Stroke Strategy after December 2017.

    David Mowat

    The National Stroke Strategy remains valid and implementation of it continues. There are, therefore, no current plans to renew it. Action is being taken to ensure the progress made on stroke continues. This includes:

    – ongoing work in virtually all parts of the country to organise acute stroke care to ensure that all stroke patients, regardless of where they live or what time of the day or week they have their stroke, have access to high quality specialist care;

    – publication of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy in 2013, which includes many stroke specific strategic ambitions;

    – a CVD expert forum, hosted by NHS England, to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy; and

    – NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Stroke works with the Strategic Clinical Networks, clinical commissioning groups, voluntary agencies and individual providers to support better commissioning and provision of stroke care.

    More generally, the NHS Five Year Forward View recognises that quality of care, including stroke care, can be variable and that patients’ needs are changing and new treatment options are emerging. The Five Year Forward View sets out high level objectives to address these issues.

    There are no current plans for a formal evaluation of the National Stroke Strategy. However there is a continuous evaluation of the quality of stroke care via the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP). This measures most of the key indicators defined as important in the strategy and findings are freely available on the SSNAP website at:

    https://www.strokeaudit.org/

    “

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to evaluate formally the National Stroke Strategy before the end of 2017.

    David Mowat

    The National Stroke Strategy remains valid and implementation of it continues. There are, therefore, no current plans to renew it. Action is being taken to ensure the progress made on stroke continues. This includes:

    – ongoing work in virtually all parts of the country to organise acute stroke care to ensure that all stroke patients, regardless of where they live or what time of the day or week they have their stroke, have access to high quality specialist care;

    – publication of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy in 2013, which includes many stroke specific strategic ambitions;

    – a CVD expert forum, hosted by NHS England, to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy; and

    – NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Stroke works with the Strategic Clinical Networks, clinical commissioning groups, voluntary agencies and individual providers to support better commissioning and provision of stroke care.

    More generally, the NHS Five Year Forward View recognises that quality of care, including stroke care, can be variable and that patients’ needs are changing and new treatment options are emerging. The Five Year Forward View sets out high level objectives to address these issues.

    There are no current plans for a formal evaluation of the National Stroke Strategy. However there is a continuous evaluation of the quality of stroke care via the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP). This measures most of the key indicators defined as important in the strategy and findings are freely available on the SSNAP website at:

    https://www.strokeaudit.org/

    “

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department sought legal advice in relation to the departures of Dame Lowell Goddard and Ben Emmerson QC from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

    Sarah Newton

    Provision of advice from legal advisers is subject to legal privilege.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent on work by Ben Emmerson QC for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse during the period since he left his post as senior lawyer on that inquiry; and if she will publish a breakdown of those costs.

    Sarah Newton

    On 12 March 2015 the former Home Secretary established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse under the Inquiries Act 2005. The Inquiry is independent of the Government and is responsible for the management of its own budget and the publication of its own financial reports.