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  • Lord Patel of Blackburn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patel of Blackburn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patel of Blackburn on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Nigeria to take action on the abduction of young girls by militant groups.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Prime Minister, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and the Minister for Africa, my Hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), have all spoken to their Nigerian counterparts since news of the abduction broke on 18 April. In May the Minister for Africa travelled to Nigeria to discuss the situation with President Jonathan and Defence Minister Gusau and to agree the range of British assistance now being provided. Our High Commission in Abuja are in regular contact with the Government of Nigeria about this abduction, which is an abhorrent crime.

    The Foreign Secretary hosted the London Ministerial on Security in North East Nigeria on 12 June, in the margins of the Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict. Representatives from Nigeria and its neighbours, as well as the US, France, Canada, United Nations, African Union and European Union agreed further concrete measures to tackle the terrorism threat in Nigeria and the region.

  • Lord Patel of Blackburn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Patel of Blackburn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patel of Blackburn on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the proportion of ethnic minorities in the senior civil service.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    To win the global race we need the best civil servants regardless of their background so we must recruit, retain and promote on the basis of merit. We want to see more talented people, whatever their background, reach the very top roles.

    As at 1 October 2013, the proportion of senior civil servants who declared that they are from an ethnic minority background is 3.8%.

    We believe that for too long talent management in the Civil Service has been weak and the Government plans to address this as part of its ongoing programme of Civil Service reform.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost of the special administration process in relation to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust.

    Earl Howe

    The appointment of Trust Special Administrators (TSAs) to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in April 2013 was made by Monitor. The TSAs’ final proposals were accepted by Monitor in January 2014, and by the Secretary of State in February 2014.

    In an announcement on 13 March 2014, Monitor stated that the costs of the process to date had been £7,250,000, with an additional £250,000 incurred by the team of administrators in expenses.

    Following the Secretary of State’s acceptance of the proposals, the TSAs have remained in post to continue with the day to day management of the Trust and to work on implementing the proposals.

    In the announcement Monitor anticipated that the overall cost of the TSA contract for the lifetime of the project would be between £12 million and £15 million.

    Monitor’s announcement can be found on its website at:

    www.gov.uk/government/news/mid-staffs-monitor-announces-next-steps

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why funding for the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure was withdrawn by NHS England in the case of Jake Foster who suffers from Leigh’s disease.

    Earl Howe

    Since 1 April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for commissioning specialised services. As a procedure, Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) falls within this remit.

    SDR is not typically considered as a treatment for patients with Leigh’s Disease. For this reason, NHS England has not to date considered developing or publishing a policy on the use of SDR for this condition.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve support for children and adults with dyspraxia, a form of developmental co-ordination disorder.

    Earl Howe

    It is for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to assess the needs of the local populations they serve. CCGs work with their local providers to gain an understanding of the nature of local provision, and the part it should play in their future commissioning plans.

    The Children and Families Act has introduced new arrangements for supporting young people with a special educational need and disability, including dyspraxia, and their families. A single assessment involving professionals and commissioners, and the child’s family, will identify the care needs for the child or young person (from ages 0 to 25) to inform an individual Education, Health and Care Plan focusing on outcomes and the integrated services to deliver them.

    The Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people should be supported to achieve their best, regardless of their disability or circumstances. The new special educational needs and disability (SEND) Code of Practice due to come into force in September, sets out clear guidance for educational settings on the process for appropriate identifying, assessing and securing further support for children with SEND which can include those with dyspraxia. Through the Code we are ensuring all educational settings have arrangements in place for monitoring the progress of all pupils and responding quickly to their needs.

    Chapter 6 of the draft Code of Practice makes specific reference to dyspraxia amongst examples of conditions that educational settings should be aware of when planning SEND provisions.

  • Lord Dykes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Dykes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dykes on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are considering with the United States authorities and other countries to counter cyber virus crime and extortion.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime, which the National Crime Agency (NCA) published in May this year, makes clear that the threat from organised crime groups using cyber tools to commit fraud and online attacks is an increasing risk. This Government has taken significant action to transform the way the UK responds to the cyber threat, including cyber crime, underpinned by £860m additional investment between 2011/12 and 2015/16.

    The UK is working closely with US authorities and with a wide range of other countries to tackle the problem of cyber crime and the associated problem of extortion. The recent international operation between the NCA, the FBI and 9 other countries to disrupt the communications used by criminals to connect with computers that are infected with malicious software (‘malware’) known as GameOverZeus and Cryptolocker illustrates the level of international cooperation that the NCA undertakes. This included close coordination in delivering protective security advice through GetSafeOnline and Cyber Streetwise.

    We are also working overseas to help increase the capability and capacity of other countries to tackle cyber crime, through support for improved legislative arrangements, such as the implementation of the principles of the Budapest Convention on Cyber Crime and the development of capacity internationally to tackle cyber crime.

  • Lord Jenkin of Roding – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Jenkin of Roding – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jenkin of Roding on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much public money is spent annually on research into Alzheimer’s disease; and what is their estimate of the amount spent on such research by commercial and charitable sources.

    Earl Howe

    Since 2009-10, dementia research funded by Government through the National Institute for Health Research, the Medical Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council has almost doubled, from £28.2 million to £52.2 million in 2012-13. Over the same period, funding by the charitable sector has increased, from £4.2 million to £6.8 million in the case of Alzheimer’s Research UK and from £2 million to £5.3 million in the case of the Alzheimer’s Society. Data on annual expenditure on dementia research by commercial sources are not available.

  • Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the pilot schemes on discharge from hospital of the homeless.

    Earl Howe

    We have commissioned Homeless Link to undertake an evaluation of the Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund and expect to receive a full report in September.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord de Mauley on 11 March (WA 374), what offence would be committed by an RSPCA inspector making entry, or attempting to make entry, to private property of a private home without the permission of the owner.

    Lord Faulks

    If the RSPCA are investigating an allegation of animal cruelty and the owners do not cooperate or refuse entry to their property, the RSPCA would normally call upon the assistance of the police. The RSPCA has no special powers for entry or search and seizure – these powers lie with police constables and some local authority officers.

    As such they would be subject to the law as any member of the public would be.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord de Mauley on 11 March (WA 374), further to making a complaint about an RSPCA inspector directly to that organisation, what other bodies have the power to regulate the conduct of RSPCA inspectors; and what advice is publicly available to individuals wishing to make a complaint about an investigator.

    Lord De Mauley

    A complaint can also be made to the police or the Charity Commission depending on the nature of the complaint.