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  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 238W, on abortion and 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 31W, on abortion, if he will make it his policy that his Department collects data on the number of (a) neonatal deaths following a legal termination of pregnancy, (b) foetuses that show signs of life following an attempted termination and (c) such foetuses registered as live births; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department has no plans to collect this data.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on in vitro fertilisation, if he will provide specific references to the available evidence that no genomic DNA is found in the mitochondria but only in the cell nucleus; how their consideration that mitochondrial DNA is not part of the genome relates to the presentation of data on the human genome in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases; what precise genetic modifications are applied to the eggs or embryos that would prevent any nuclear DNA from the egg or embryo donors from being inherited by the resulting child; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    We have been advised by the Wellcome Trust that whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria.

    Inheritance of nuclear DNA from the donor egg is prevented in the Maternal Spindle Transfer technique through the removal of the spindle from the donor egg. Given that the nuclear DNA in the form of condensed chromosomes is attached to the spindle, nuclear genomic DNA from the donor will be removed and not inherited by the resulting child. Techniques that allow the visualisation of condensed chromosomes in eggs are used to ensure that all the chromosomes are removed.

    For embryos used in the Pronuclear Transfer technique, the nuclear genomic DNA is enclosed within the nuclear membrane of the maternal (egg-derived) and paternal (sperm-derived) pronuclei. The donor nuclear genomic DNA will be removed when the pronuclei are removed.

    There is no universally agreed definition of genetic modification in humans. The Government has adopted a working definition for the purpose of taking forward the draft mitochondrial donation regulations, that genetic modification involves the germ-line modification of nuclear DNA that can be passed on to future generations. Therefore, the Government does not accept that mitochondrial donation amounts to genetic modification.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints about abortion clinics were made to the Care Quality Commission in the last 12 months.

    Jane Ellison

    This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    Responsibility for investigating specific complaints about providers lies with other bodies; however the Care Quality Commission uses comments and correspondence from the public to inform its inspection and other regulatory functions.

  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the results were of the Metropolitan Police investigation into the death of an unnamed woman in Slough on 21 January 2012 following an abortion performed by Marie Stopes International.

    Damian Green

    The Government does not comment on the investigation of individual cases as
    these are the operational responsibility of the respective police force
    involved.

  • Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Elfyn Llwyd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Elfyn Llwyd on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of an increase in the need for court reports arising from his Transforming Rehabilitation agenda on the workload of court staff.

    Jeremy Wright

    We do not anticipate that Transforming Rehabilitation will have a substantial impact on the number of pre-sentence reports written. The National Probation Service (NPS) will continue to offer same-day reports where possible and to work closely with the Courts to minimise adjournments.

    By expanding post-release supervision for those sentenced to under 12-months, this cohort of offenders will now benefit from rehabilitative activity who were previously excluded, but this will not impact on pre-sentence Court activity.

    The new Risk of Serious Recidivism (RSR) tool will be used to inform the allocation of cases to new Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) or the NPS and complements the pre-sentence report process. The RSR is straightforward to use and will support the identification of the likelihood of an offender committing serious re-offending in the future. We will ensure that CRCs work closely with the NPS so that cases are brought before the courts speedily and effectively.

  • John Leech – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    John Leech – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Leech on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a cap on data charges which can be imposed by mobile telephone operators.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    On 3 December Government announced it had reached agreement with the mobile network operators and other telecommunications providers(1) as part of the Telecoms Consumer Action Plan (2). Working with Government and Ofcom, major telecoms companies have agreed to reduce the risk of unexpectedly high bills. As a result, all of the main operators now provide ‘near data allowance’ alerts to help consumers manage their data usage. They have also increased the visibility and usability of other usage monitoring tools, such as apps. Some operators also offer spend caps to help limit any out of allowance charges that consumers may incur.

    In addition, customers who use data while abroad are protected by the Roaming Regulations. These limit the amount that operators can charge for data roaming within the EU. They also require all mobile operators to apply a cut-off limit once consumers have used €50 (excluding VAT) of data per month (within or outside of the EU), unless the consumer has opted for another limit. The provider must send an alert when the consumer has reached 80 per cent and then 100 per cent of the agreed data roaming limit, and must stop charging at the 100 per cent point unless the consumer consents to continuing to use data.

    (1) 3, BT, EE, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone

    (2) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-vows-to-end-unfair-consumer-bill-and-subscription-practices

    “

  • Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the decision was made to embark on an expansion of the Public Defender System advocates.

    Simon Hughes

    The decision to expand the Public Defender Service was taken shortly before the advert for advocates was published on the 20th January 2014

  • Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McIntosh on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made on the review of partnership funding for flood defences; and when the results of this review will be published.

    Dan Rogerson

    The independent evaluation of the Flood and Coastal Resilience Partnership Funding approach was published on 23 April 2014. The report is available on the Defra R&Dwebpages at the following the link:

    http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=18734&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=fd2663&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

    “

  • Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McIntosh on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the future of community hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified no recent representations on the future of community hospitals. This Government believes the National Health Service should improve discharge from acute hospitals and increase access to care and treatment in the community.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-05-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his department’s policies of the findings of The Armed Forces & Society survey produced by Lord Ashcroft.

    Anna Soubry

    The Ministry of Defence was grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Ashcroft for conducting what proved to be a very useful survey of the attitudes of the public and the Armed Forces towards each other. While there were many positive findings, of particular concern was the perception amongst a majority of the public that veterans would have physical or mental problems as a result of service. Lord Ashcroft described this as ‘not only untrue, but damaging’.

    The 2012 survey provided valuable insight into the relationship between the Armed Forces and the nation they serve. This relationship is at the heart of the Armed Forces Covenant, which we published in May 2011. A great deal has been achieved through this mechanism in the last few years across a wide range of areas, including healthcare, accommodation, education, and welfare.

    We will go on looking at what more we can do for our Armed Forces, their families, and Veterans, to ensure that they continue to receive the recognition they deserve, and if necessary, whatever help they may require.