Author: admin

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the predicted cost of the implementation of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security is in each of the next three years.

    Mark Simmonds

    The National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security was launched at the Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit and builds on lessons to date, and address some of the challenges in the previous NAP. The NAP’s Implementation Plan will be launched later this year.
    In line with our UN commitments on women, peace and security we will continue to address violence against women and support women’s role in building peace and promote their participation, with a particular focus on Afghanistan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Somalia and Syria.

    The aims of the NAP and Implementation Plan are to ensure a more coherent and effective approach to the work on Women, Peace and Security. They provide the frameworks for activities which are funded through existing departmental budgets. Those budgets include: the Conflict Pool (the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund from 2015-16), the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, the Arab Partnership Fund and Official Development Assistance – all of which help to fund the work on women, peace and security across the world.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Sudan counterpart on that government’s attitude towards its Christian communities.

    Mark Simmonds

    We regularly raise our concerns with the Government of Sudan about religious persecutions and the need to respect freedom of religion or belief for all its citizens. My officials have recently made representations to the Foreign Minister, urging the Government to respect the right to freedom of religion or belief including one’s right to follow the religion or belief of choice. This right is enshrined in international human rights law as well as in Sudan’s own 2005 Interim Constitution. We will continue to raise these issues.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he plans to make to his Egyptian counterpart on press freedom in that country.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement on 23 June expressing his concerns and urging the Egyptian Government to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of expression by reviewing this case as a matter of urgency.

    The Egyptian Ambassador Ashraf el-Kholy was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 23 June. FCO Political Director, Simon Gass told the Egyptian Ambassador that the British Government was deeply concerned by the verdicts, along with the procedural shortcomings seen during the trials. The British Ambassador to Egypt raised this issue in Cairo with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 June.

    British Ministers and diplomats will continue to urge the Egyptian Government to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of expression.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat level for UK visitors to Kenya.

    Mark Simmonds

    There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping, in Kenya. The main threat comes from extremists linked to Al Shabaab, a militant group that has carried out attacks in Kenya in response to Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia. Violent crime also poses a threat. Full details of our travel advice for British Nationals can be found online. The FCO keeps its travel advice under constant review.

  • Alistair Burt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alistair Burt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Burt on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) Government Ministers, (b) non-governmental organisations and civil society groups and (c) survivors attended the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Simmonds

    I refer my honourable Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary to this House on 16 June 2014 on the outcomes of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. 79 Ministers and 129 country delegations were accredited for Summit, plus 950 experts from civil society, non-governmental organisations, academia, health practitioners, military and policy. Many more members of the public attended the Fringe. The FCO supported participation of the 300 grass roots and civil society activists from conflict affected countries, many of whom had direct experience of sexual violence in conflict. Other organisations who attended also had survivors as part of their delegations. Together we discussed practical action to tackle impunity for the use of sexual violence as a tactic of conflict and continued the long process of changing global attitudes to these crimes.

  • Ms Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ms Diane Abbott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Diane Abbott on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he plans to make to his Egyptian counterparts on the seven year jail terms handed down to three Al-Jazeera journalists; and if he will make a statement.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) made a statement on 23 June expressing his concerns and urging the Egyptian Government to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of expression by reviewing this case as a matter of urgency.

    The Egyptian Ambassador Ashraf el-Kholy was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 23 June. FCO Political Director, Simon Gass told the Egyptian Ambassador that the British Government was deeply concerned by the verdicts, and with the procedural shortcomings of the trials. The British Ambassador to Egypt also raised this issue in Cairo with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24 June. We will continue to raise this case with the Egyptian authorities.
  • Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the number of people who received telehealth and telecare services in each of the last four years.

    Norman Lamb

    NHS England does not currently collect data about the number of people receiving telehealth or telecare services. The latest information held is from the Telehealth Services Association (TSA), which is the industry body for telehealth and telecare. In 2011 the TSA stated that in 2011 there were an estimated 1.37 million telehealth, telecare and telecoaching connections in England.

    NHS England is establishing a regular survey to gather data on the number of individuals who benefit from telehealth and telecare, and is also developing a set of consistent measures for commissioners which will be more meaningful and demonstrate the impact of these technologies on health outcomes.

    NHS England recognises the potential of these technologies to empower patients to take greater control over their conditions and provide care that is convenient, accessible and cost-effective. The ambition is to create the right commissioning environment that supports and encourages the use of technology that can improve care and outcomes for patients.

  • Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many calls to 999 were made by or on behalf of residents of care homes in each of the last four years.

    Norman Lamb

    Information is not held centrally on the number of calls to 999 made by or on behalf of residents of care homes, or the number of residents of care homes attending accident and emergency departments.

    Information on the number of residents of care homes who had an emergency admission to a hospital in each of the last four years shown in the following table.

    Number of finished admission episodes for emergency admissions by source of admission in England, 2009-10 to 2012-13

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    NHS run care home (from 1 April 2004)

    3,428

    3,396

    3,086

    3,538

    Non-NHS (other than local authority) run care home

    10,965

    10,510

    11,806

    15,158

    All sources of admission

    5,177,887

    5,287,032

    5,242,839

    5,336,043

    Source:

    Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

    Notes:

    1. Includes activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

    2. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

    3. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage, improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice.

    4. FAEs recorded as "The usual place of residence, including no fixed abode" may contain a number of episodes where patients may have resided in care homes, subsequently designating it as their usual place of residence. Such FAEs were not recorded as admissions from a care home. The number of times this may have occurred is unknown.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stewart Jackson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons his Department’s Outcomes Strategy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases and Asthma in England, published in 2011, does not include an implementation programme timetable; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England intends to continue to fund the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) audit as part of the NCAPOP (National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme).

    The COPD and asthma outcomes strategy was published by the Department around the time of the National Health Service transition to the current structures. It was designed to help NHS commissioners understand the key evidence based and cost effective interventions which would improve the quality of care for patients with COPD. As such, it was not intended to be supported by an implementation plan.

    In May 2012, the Department published the NHS Companion Document to the Outcomes Strategy, setting out how the NHS can implement changes at a local level.

  • Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many residents of care homes presented at accident and emergency departments in England in each of the last four years.

    Norman Lamb

    Information is not held centrally on the number of calls to 999 made by or on behalf of residents of care homes, or the number of residents of care homes attending accident and emergency departments.

    Information on the number of residents of care homes who had an emergency admission to a hospital in each of the last four years shown in the following table.

    Number of finished admission episodes for emergency admissions by source of admission in England, 2009-10 to 2012-13

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    NHS run care home (from 1 April 2004)

    3,428

    3,396

    3,086

    3,538

    Non-NHS (other than local authority) run care home

    10,965

    10,510

    11,806

    15,158

    All sources of admission

    5,177,887

    5,287,032

    5,242,839

    5,336,043

    Source:

    Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

    Notes:

    1. Includes activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

    2. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

    3. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage, improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice.

    4. FAEs recorded as "The usual place of residence, including no fixed abode" may contain a number of episodes where patients may have resided in care homes, subsequently designating it as their usual place of residence. Such FAEs were not recorded as admissions from a care home. The number of times this may have occurred is unknown.