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  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the actual expenditure on public health in (1) 1996–97, (2) 2000–01, (3) 2009–10, and (4) 2014–15; and what percentage of total expenditure on the NHS and public health those amounts represent.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Expenditure on public health in 2014-15 was £5,062 million.

    Public health expenditure in 2014-15 represents 4.5% of total Departmental health expenditure of £113,345 million.

    The Department is unable to provide figures on public health from earlier years as prior to 2013-14 primary care trusts were responsible for public health and budgets were determined locally.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what public health requirements were included in NHS England’s mandate for 2014–15, and which of those were achieved.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England commissions certain public health services through the National Health Service Public Health (Section 7A) Functions Agreement including national programmes for immunisation and screening, health and justice and (prior to 1 October 2015) public health services for children aged 0-5.

    NHS England’s Mandate for 2014-15 included commitments to support improved public health through the promotion of early diagnosis of illness and using NHS staff contact with patients to help people stay in good health.

    The extent to which NHS England has met its commitments under the Section 7A Agreement and the Mandate for 2014-15 is set out in the relevant accountability statements, a copy of which is attached for each one.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many NHS trusts would not have been in financial balance in financial year 2014–15 without further in-year supplements to their approved budget for that year; and what percentage of all NHS trusts that represents.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts do not receive budgets directly from the Department. They receive income via the provision of services to NHS England and clinical commissioning groups, through what might be described as trading activity.

    In addition to normal income sources, in 2014-15 the Department provided non-recurrent deficit support income directly to NHS trusts. Without this non-recurrent funding, 125 organisations would have been in financial deficit. This equates to 51% of all NHS trusts and foundation trusts.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for the proliferation of nuclear weapons of the underground test of a nuclear device by North Korea on 6 January.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK strongly condemns the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and international norms. This provocation endangers regional and international security. We are currently working with other UN Security Council members on further measures in a new Resolution, while continuing to urge the rigorous implementation of sanctions by the international community.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the document Future Operating Environment 2035 published by the Ministry of Defence on 14 December 2015.

    Earl Howe

    Whilst formally released outside the Department in December, the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) published the "Future Operating Environment 2035" (FOE35) internally so that it was available throughout the SDSR period. FOE35 was a source of information on the threats and challenges that Defence would be asked to address in the future. Consequently, SDSR decisions were informed by the Future Operating Environment work and, in particular, the need to focus on being more agile and innovative. The Ministry of Defence continues to consider how the future operating environment will shape the business of Defence. DCDC will take this work forward as it develops the Defence Joint Operating Concept and the Joint and environmental future operating concepts in 2016.

  • Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Leader of the House whether she will set up a working party to consider the combining of the contents of the Companion to the Standing Orders with those parts of Erskine May that refer to the House of Lords in order to produce a single reference volume reflecting the law, privilege, proceedings and usage of Parliament as applicable to the House.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Companion to the Standing Orders is the single authoritative statement of practice and procedure of the House, issued with the authority of the Procedure Committee.


    Erskine May is edited by the Clerk of the House of Commons. It contains some additional information about the history and privileges of Parliament, including the House of Lords, and Lords Clerks contribute to its production, but for the House of Lords the resulting text does not have the authoritative status that it does in the House of Commons. For this reason, and in order to keep the Companion a manageable length, I do not propose to pursue amalgamation of the texts into a single volume.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 29 December 2015 (HL4764), whether they will list the social and environmental influences that they take into account when defining character or the propensity to commit crime.

    Lord Bates

    An individual’s character and propensity to offend are influenced by a range of factors, but could include social aspects of a person’s upbringing or their environment.

    As the Home Secretary has set out, there is nothing inevitable about criminality, however, and most people do not go on to become criminals whatever circumstances they grow up in. And it is important to remember that the only cause of a crime is, in the end, the criminal. The government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy will focus on tackling the six key drivers of crime, including character, and will be published in the spring.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 8 January (HL4766), what is their assessment of the adequacy of railway links between London and South-West England.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The National Infrastructure Commission is not currently undertaking work on railway links between London and South West England.

    Network Rail assessed the adequacy of the rail links between London and the South West as part of the rail industry’s Long Term Planning Process. The Western & Wessex Route Studies form part of this process and develop options for future services and for investment in the rail network up to 2043.

    The options set out in the Route Studies are based on a regional and route based interpretation of the outputs and demand forecasts from previous market studies.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent deaths of Kurdish men and youths in Van and other parts of south-east Turkey since 1 January; and whether they have made representations to the government of Turkey about that matter.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The ongoing violence in the predominantly Kurdish areas of south east Turkey, including Van, is extremely concerning. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill members of the Turkish police service and security forces in violent terrorist attacks. We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the PKK, whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. Our thoughts are with the victims of these attacks, and the civilians who have been caught up in the violence. We have been clear, in public and private, that PKK violence must end and we support a return to the peace process, in the interests of Turkey and the region. We stand ready to help in any way we can. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and our Ambassador to Turkey have emphasised the need to respect human rights and the importance of avoiding civilian casualties to the Government of Turkey.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the ability of Kurds in south-east Turkey to live in secular, democratic and gender-equal communities.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Turkish government recognises promoting gender equality and preventing violence against women amongst the range of human rights issues it is committed to addressing. Prime Minister Davutoğlu spoke publicly on 9 December about the importance his government attaches to these issues. We have welcomed the previous measures taken by the Turkish government, such as the 2013 “democratisation package”, to improve rights for minority groups in Turkey and to resolve the Kurdish issue through the peace process but, as the EU’s Annual Progress Report highlights, there is more progress to be made. We want the peace process to be resumed, building on previous progress.