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

    Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the observations of the National Audit Office that there was a 7.2 per cent shortfall in nursing, midwifery and health visitor staffing levels in 2014.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department has set up Health Education England (HEE) to plan the future healthcare workforce for England. They are responsible for ensuring a secure workforce supply that reflects the needs of local service users, providers and commissioners of healthcare. There are already over 50,000 nurses in training. HEE has increased adult nurse training places by 14% over the last two years. HEE has also increased midwifery training places by 1.6% in the last 12 months and have confirmed their intention to maintain that number of places in 2017-18.

    In addition to funding nurses through undergraduate training, HEE is running a return to practice campaign to attract nurses back to the National Health Service. This initiative has already yielded an additional 779 nurses available for employment now.

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

    Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the plans of NHS England for provision of mandated research in the NHS.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health formally holds NHS England to account on its delivery against the research objective in the NHS Mandate, a process which will be rolled forward during 2016/7.

    Progress has been made in the areas of participation of National Health Service organisations in research, with 98% of NHS trusts recruited into National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network Portfolio studies during the course of 2014/15, and 78% of NHS trusts recruiting to commercial contract studies in the same year. In addition, recruitment of participants into such studies increased in 2014/15 compared to the previous year to 618,453 participants. Recruitment into commercial contract studies is at an all-time high, with 34,885 participants in 2014/15; a 35% increase from 2013/14.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since 1990 a British Prime Minister has made public remarks about how citizens of the US should vote.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    This information is not held.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of claims that Eritrean children are fleeing from their country because of human rights violations or crimes against humanity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is deeply concerned by reports that over 3000 unaccompanied minors from Eritrea make the dangerous journey to Europe every year. A number of factors lead to both adults and children leaving Eritrea. These include a mix of economic pressures, a lack of opportunity, and the country’s poor human rights record. The UK remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation inside Eritrea. We have stepped up our engagement with the Government of Eritrea and made clear we want to see concrete action to improve respect for human rights. In addition, through the UK chaired EU/African Union “Khartoum Process”, we are working with African Partners to tackle the smuggling and trafficking networks that exploit these vulnerable children.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking with regard to claims that Eritreans face human rights violations, in the light of the report by the UN Commission of Enquiry on human rights in Eritrea in June 2015 which concluded that the government of Eritrea engages in abuses that occur in a context of a total lack of rule of law” and that it “is not law that rules Eritreans

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK recognises the important work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and is concerned by their findings on Eritrea. In particular we are concerned by reports of arbitrary detention, and shortcomings in the rule of law and respect for fundamental freedoms. At the Human Rights Council in July 2015, we supported an extension of the Commission’s mandate so that it could continue its work. Bilaterally and through the Human Rights Council we have made clear we want the Government of Eritrea to take concrete action to improve respect for human rights and the rule of law. We have also called on Eritrea to engage fully in Article 8 Dialogue with the EU and cooperate with UN human rights bodies. In May 2015 the Eritrean government announced it would reform the civil, criminal and penal codes. The EU is currently providing funding to help reform local community courts in Eritrea to improve access to justice. The project is working with local community courts to put the reforms of May 2015 into practice.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the situation of the Rohingya.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    UK officials frequently visit Rakhine State and receive regular reports about the situation of the Rohingya, which remains of grave concern. The Rohingya continue to suffer from severe restrictions on their freedom of movement, on their access to livelihoods, schools, healthcare and places of worship. The disenfranchisement of the community in the November election and removal of white card identity documents have further compounded the denial of the most basic rights of the community.

    Addressing Rakhine and the persecution of the Rohingya community will be a pressing challenge for the incoming government in Burma. We will continue to work with the new administration on addressing the human rights violations carried out against the Rohingya. The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to Rakhine providing over £18 million in humanitarian aid since 2012, including an additional £6.2 million in 2015/16.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call for an end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have repeatedly called for an end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma. We are focused on practical action to tackle these issues and are persistent in applying pressure to the Burmese government to live up to the commitments it made when it endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at the London Global Summit in June 2014. We will maintain that approach and raise this issue with the new Burmese government at the earliest opportunity.

    During his visit to Burma in July 2015, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), pressed the Burmese government at Senior Ministerial level on the issue. He also launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. We continue to raise the issue in international fora, including through UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council which we co-sponsor.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call for the inclusion of women in the peace negotiations between the government of Burma and the ethnic armed political groups to ensure that the issue of rape and sexual violence in conflict is properly addressed.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are clear that women should have a critical role in the Burmese peace process, not only to ensure that the use of sexual violence is addressed but also so that women’s voices are heard in what is a key element of the country’s transition to peace and democracy. Several lead negotiators are women, including the head of the Senior Delegation of Ethnic leaders, Naw Zipporah Sein, and we encourage all sides to ensure equitable representation in the peace process. We welcome the inclusion of explicit provisions in the National Ceasefire Agreement, signed last October, prohibiting, ‘…any form of sexual attack on women, including sexual molestation, sexual assault or violence, rape and sex slavery’.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider providing funding to the Women’s League of Burma and its members to support ongoing work documenting cases of rape and providing support for victims of sexual violence.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has previously provided funding support to the Women’s League of Burma, including towards the publication of some of their research into sexual violence in Burma. The organisation is invited to contact our Embassy in Rangoon directly if they have specific requests for future support.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve children’s dental health.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department of Health is working with NHS England to test a contract focused on improving oral health, particularly in children. Public Health England has produced guidance to support local authorities in improving dental health, and to assist dental teams on preventing dental disease in young children. In last week’s budget we have announced the introduction of a sugar levy in 2018.