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  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many occasions in each of the last 10 years there have been incursions by Spanish naval or other state vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters; and on how many occasions they have summoned the Spanish Ambassador or made other diplomatic representations over such incursions.

    Baroness Warsi

    The total number of unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW), from 2010 onwards, are as follows:

    2010 – 103
    2011 – 24
    2012 – 229
    2013 – 496
    Jan-May 2014 – 185

    During this period, the Spanish Ambassador has been summoned three times on incursions related matters – 15 November 2012, 19 November 2013 and 2 April 2014. The British Government cannot readily provide statistics for incursions into BGTW by Spanish State vessels before 2010. This could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. The Government upholds British sovereignty over BGTW by challenging and protesting unlawful incursions. We will continue to make representations to the Spanish government at the highest level, making clear the damage they cause to our bilateral relationship.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the standards of design used for new homes in large-scale greenfield developments in England since 2010.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Government is keen to ensure that new homes are well-designed and the National Planning Policy Framework and accompanying Practice Guidance strongly encourages local authorities, working with local partners, to achieve this. However, information about the standard of design for new homes is not collected centrally.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to ensure thatthe rights in international law of both Israel and Palestine become the starting point for any renewal of negotiations.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government has strongly supported the tireless efforts of US Secretary of State Kerry to facilitate a lasting final status agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is disappointing that, despite these efforts, greater progress was not made. However, we remain convinced that common ground and political strength can be found, and we remain committed to doing all we can to support the US and the parties as they seek to find a way forward.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the Palestinian footballers, Adam and Johar Halabiya, who were reportedly arrested without charge at the Jordan and West Bank border, following their hospital treatment for gunshot wounds.

    Baroness Warsi

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have spoken to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on the issue. The IDF have informed us that Adam and Johar Halabiya were transferred to Jordan for medical treatment and that the IDF approved their continued treatment during detention. Upon their release from the hospital, they were arrested on a terrorism-related charge.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Israel concerning thereported destruction of fruit trees belonging to the Tent of Nations farm outside Nahalin village on 4 May; and whether they intend to encourage the payment of compensation.

    Baroness Warsi

    We have not raised this specific issue, including compensation, with the Israeli authorities. However, we repeatedly make clear to the Israeli authorities our serious concerns about continued demolitions of Palestinian property and the need to abide by their other obligations under international law. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised the issue of demolitions in general on 28 May with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Israel concerning reports of two Palestinian youths killed by live fire, and one critically injured, during the Nakba Day demonstration.

    Baroness Warsi

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised the use of lethal force in this case with both the Israel Defence Force and the Israeli Border Police on 16 May.

    On 21 May, the local EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah issued a local statement expressing deep concern about the deaths of two Palestinian youths on 15 May in the West Bank and emphasising the importance of such incidents being investigated thoroughly. They reiterated the need for security forces, whether Israeli or Palestinian, to refrain from the use of lethal force, except in cases where there is a real and imminent threat to life.

  • Lord Clement-Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Clement-Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued guidance as to whether members of either House of Parliament are, or should be, considered as Politically Exposed Persons for the purposes of United Kingdom financial regulation; and, if so, what guidance.

    Lord Deighton

    The UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007 define Politically Exposed Persons [PEPs]. UK Members of Parliament are not currently considered PEPs for UK purposes. However, revised global standards require that they are treated as PEPs.

    As similar definitions apply in other jurisdictions UK Parliamentarians are likely to be considered as PEPs in other jurisdictions. We are seeking a risk-based approach to the application of this requirement in negotiating the Fourth Money Laundering Directive.

    Treasury Ministers have approved industry guidance which further confirms that UK Parliamentarians are not PEPs for UK purposes. Some UK banks may apply enhanced due diligence to UK Parliamentarians in accordance with their own risk appetite, and as part of global policies and procedures.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are taken to verify the competence of (a) doctors and nurses and (b) staff of pharmaceutical companies involved in the conduct of clinical trials.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) expect everyone involved in a clinical trial to be qualified and trained to perform their tasks (as per Schedule 1, part 2 (2) of the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations(SI 2004/1031).

    Staff of pharmaceutical companies are not “conducting” a trial as defined in the clinical trial regulation (SI 2004/1031 Reg 2 “interpretation”). However, the same Good Clinical Practice principles apply to those involved in clinical trial activities; i.e. they should be qualified and trained to perform their tasks. At sponsor site inspection, inspectors will verify the training records, CV, and job description of selected employees to confirm adequate training has been given.

    Sponsors are expected to carry out checks in audits or monitoring to ensure that on completion of training, staff are indeed carrying out their duties according to requirements and/or procedures (these checks should be documented in monitoring/audit reports). Inspectors check the monitoring visit reports to determine non-compliances are adequately followed up and re-training is given to site personnel when necessary.

    The voluntary MHRA Phase 1 Accreditation Scheme requires that a Principal Investigator (PI) for a First in Human study has relevant experience and a post graduate qualification in pharmaceutical medicine (such as a Diploma in Pharmaceutical medicine, Diploma in Human Pharmacology, MSc in Clinical Pharmacology or equivalent). An exemption to this requirement has been issued for PI’s that do not have a post graduate qualification but are able to demonstrate that they have a significant amount of experience in this field (and are often involved in teaching the post-graduate courses). An application for an exemption is assessed independently by the Faculty of Medicine.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many days of employee absence there were in each Government department in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Francis Maude

    It is for individual departments to provide detailed information on absence for each of the last ten years.

    This Government is working to reduce Civil Service absence levels and we know that the average days lost per employee has fallen from 8.7 in June 2010 to 7.4 in December 2013. Average Working Days Lost per staff year are now at their lowest reported figure since 1999, whilst the total number of days lost in the Civil Service is at its lowest recorded level.

    The figures for the Cabinet Office are:

    Dec

    2003

    Dec

    2004

    Dec 2005

    2005-06

    2006-07

    2007-08

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    Yr to Dec 2013

    3.5

    3.0

    4.2

    4.1

    3.3

    4.8

    4.8

    3.6

    4.0

    3.7

    2.7

    2.5

    and can be found online here at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-absence-data

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average distance is between an onshore windfarm and its connecting sub-station.

    Michael Fallon

    The Department does not hold this information. Windfarms usually own the cables connecting them to substations. Gathering the information requested would, therefore, require contacting individual windfarm developers at a disproportionate cost.