The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what visits he has made to Australia in the last year; what the primary purpose was of any such visits; and who accompanied him on such visits.
Jenny Willott
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not visited Australia in the last 12 months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 714, on physical and mental health (parity of esteem), if he will collect and publish mental health spending data for (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) future years.
Norman Lamb
NHS England currently collects and publishes information about mental health spending via its Programme Budgeting Data collection and published expenditure data for 2012-13 on 21 February 2014. This is available on its website at:
www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting
We are working with NHS England to support its plans to develop the Programme Budgeting Dataset for 2013-14 to provide a more meaningful analysis of expenditure on mental health conditions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects the Pension Regulator to conclude its investigation into the Carrington Wire pension scheme.
Steve Webb
This is a matter for the Pensions Regulator which has operational independence.
Inevitably in complex cases involving foreign companies where it appears that scheme abandonment may have taken place, it can take some time for the Regulator to complete the thorough investigations needed to establish whether the legal tests in relation to its ‘anti-avoidance’ powers, including the power to issue contribution notices, are met.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the findings of the recent Global Forum on Incontinence into improving health and social care in incontinence.
Norman Lamb
No assessment has been made of the findings of the recent Global Forum on Incontinence (GFI) into improving health and social care in incontinence. However, we applaud the work of the GFI and the work it is doing to improve the health and social care provisions for incontinence, giving patients and care givers a better quality of life.
Responsibility for continence services sit with NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCG). CCGs are responsible for commissioning high quality continence services based on an assessment of local need and performance managing their providers in the delivery of high quality services.
The Mandate to NHS England requires it to deliver continued improvements in relation to enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions, including those suffering incontinence, across the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework. NHS England will be taking forward a major programme of work through the Primary Care Strategy; it has established a working group on continence care and will provide an update for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Continence Care on 24 June.
To improve standards in continence care, the Department commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to develop clinical guidelines on the management of urinary incontinence in women (issued in 2006) and faecal incontinence in adults (issued in 2007), which are supported by commissioning tools to support CCGs. In February, NICE published a clinical Quality Standard on Faecal Incontinence, QS54, which describes high-priority areas for quality improvement in this area. NHS England continues to champion the use of Quality Standards with both commissioners and providers.
We believe all patients have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion.
We recognise that continence can impact on every aspect of peoples’ lives and that it often requires a joined approach from both health and social care services. That is why in April the Department published the policy paper, Transforming Primary Care: safe proactive, personalised care for those who need it, which focuses on improving and individualising the management of out of hospital care, directly supporting those with continence problems by creating more integrated health and social care services. This paper has been placed in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists the decision of its faculty of sexual and reproductive health not to allow doctors and nurses who have a conscientious objection to supplying contraceptive drugs or devices which act after fertilisation to receive its diploma in sexual and reproductive health.
Jane Ellison
The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare is responsible for decisions on the syllabus of its Diploma, the requirements for entry to the Diploma course, and the award of a Diploma qualification.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to reorganise its funding model to ensure that it is encouraging service delivery for complex multiple needs, in line with an intregrated model of healthcare solutions.
Lynne Featherstone
DFID supports work to strengthen health systems and deliver health programmes, helping developing countries to assess and provide for the health needs of its people. This will enable countries to make sound decisions about the delivery of the promotion, prevention and treatment services that are needed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on (a) the fairness of the hearing of Asiya Noreen Bibi who was sentenced to death in 2011 at the provincial Lahore High Court and (b) providing adequate protection to judiciary officials to allow a further hearing to take place.
Hugh Robertson
We regularly raise the issue of blasphemy laws, and their misuse against both Muslims and religious minorities, at the highest levels in Pakistan and press the government to ensure fair trials.We remain concerned about the case of Asia Bibi and would urge the courts in Pakistan to ensure a fair and swift hearing of her appeal due later this month. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised our concerns regarding these laws and the need for reforms during the recent visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the fairness of the hearing of Asiya Noreen Bibi sentenced to death in 2011 at the provincial Lahore High Court.
Hugh Robertson
We receive regular reports on the case of Mrs Bibi and others facing charges of blasphemy in Pakistan and we are aware that a numbers of NGOs and other governments follow her case closely. We remain concerned about the case of Asia Bibi and would urge the courts in Pakistan to ensure a fair and swift hearing of her appeal due later this month.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to consult on the introduction of custodial sentences under section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 relating to data protection breaches; and if he will make a statement.
Simon Hughes
The Government is currently reviewing the sanctions available for breaches under the Data Protection Act 1998. This includes considering whether to consult on introducing section 77 (CJIA) and commence the enhanced public interest defence under section 78 (CJIA).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what steps he is taking to advance equal rights for LGBT citizens in the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Jenny Willott
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) continue to recognise the UK as the highest ranking country for human rights protection of LGBT people in Europe.
The UK Government is a member of the European Network of Governmental LGBT Focal Points which enables us to disseminate good practice and insight from the UK. Other members include European Union member states.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 will recognise legally valid marriages of same sex couples formed in other European countries as legal marriages in England and Wales. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in liaison with the Government Equalities Office, is also carrying out an exercise to gain recognition of marriages of same sex couples formed in England and Wales overseas, including in other European Union member states.