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  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent the spread of gonorrhoea in England.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) undertakes a number of actions to limit the spread of gonorrhoea and other sexually transmitted infections in populations most at risk of infection in England, which are outlined in PHE’s Strategic Action Plan for Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV. These activities are focused on (i) developing and providing high quality surveillance data to monitor rates of gonorrhoea and related antimicrobial resistance, (ii) producing national guidance and a service specification template to optimise infection detection, (iii) maintaining effective treatment by advising on national treatment guidelines, promoting good prescribing practice and updating national guidance on the management of gonorrhoea in primary care, (iv) leading the public health response to local and national outbreaks to control wider dissemination in the population (v) supporting high quality case and partner management by providing expert advice, (vi) improving prevention by raising awareness in professionals and affected communities through local and national campaigns, and (vii) co-leading research to improve the evidence base. A copy of the Strategic Action Plan is attached.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of anti-semitism within bodies representing students in English universities.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government is clear that there is absolutely no place in higher education or anywhere else in society for bigotry, hatred or any form of racism such as anti-Semitism.

    Recent reports of anti-Semitism are extremely concerning and must be met with a decisive response. We expect all bodies with a role in English higher education to be absolutely clear in their opposition to racism in all its forms, and to have robust policies in place to tackle such hatred and support victims.

    At the Government’s request, Universities UK has set up a taskforce to examine what more can be done to tackle harassment and hate crime on campus, including anti-Semitism.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department collects on trends in e-cigarettes used in the UK across the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not collect any data on the number of people who use electronic cigarettes. The Department makes use of various data sources, including that published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre and the Office for National Statistics as an evidence base for policy making. This includes the Opinions and Lifestyles Survey for electronic cigarette use by adults and the Smoking, Drinking and Drugs survey for use by young people.

  • 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 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of relations between the UK and Burundi, and of the security situation in that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The security situation in Burundi remains fragile with continued abductions, illegal detentions, torture, gang rapes and killings. We are also concerned at the apparent recent increase in the number of targeted assassinations, most recently the assassination of Brigadier General Athanase Kararuza and his wife on 25 April and the attempted assassination of the Minister of Human Rights, Social Affairs and Gender, Martin Nivyabandi on 24 April. I join UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in condemning these attacks.

    We continue to make clear our concerns to the Government of Burundi. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) visited the country in December last year where he urged the Burundian government to engage in meaningful, inclusive dialogue with the opposition without preconditions. In January he met Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe to reiterate this message. Mr Duddridge writes regularly to Mr Nyamitwe to convey our concerns and to urge his government to take the necessary steps to resolve the current situation. Only a genuine and inclusive dialogue, based on the respect of the Arusha Agreement, will enable Burundian stakeholders to find a consensual solution to the situation facing their country.

    Our Ambassador to Burundi in Kigali travels regularly to the country to meet members of the Burundian Government and we will shortly be increasing the British Government’s presence in Bujumbura through the recruitment of a Burundi Coordinator.

  • Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular and cognitive health.

    Jane Ellison

    The UK Chief Medical Officers have made an assessment of the effect of moderate alcohol consumption on cardiovascular and cognitive health as part of their review of the alcohol guidelines.

    The advice that the UK Chief Medical Officers give on how the public can limit their risks from drinking alcohol can be found on Gov.uk at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-risks-from-alcohol-new-guidelines

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  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of nightly rough sleepers within a quarter of a mile of New Scotland Yard.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to doing all we can to prevent homelessness. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million.

    This will include a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to tackle rough sleeping, and will build on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative, which saw two-thirds of rough sleepers in London come off the streets after a single night.

    DCLG publishes regular statistics on rough sleeping. While they are not collected at the level requested, they are available by local authority. These are available (the latest figures are attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2015.

    The GLA collects more detailed statistics on rough sleeping in London. These are available at: http://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports

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  • 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 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the impact on British shipping of the decision by the President of Egypt to give control of the expansion of the Suez Canal to the Egyptian armed forces.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are not aware of any impact on British shipping in relation to the Egyptian armed forces’ involvement with the Suez Canal. The New Suez Canal Project, completed in August 2015, has shortened the transit time and has increased the number of ships which the Canal can handle on a daily basis. The Egyptian armed forces continue to provide security for the Canal and support the activity of the Suez Canal Authority as they did before the expansion of the Canal.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 30262, what plans Health Education England has to reform funding not related to the bursary scheme for postgraduate training in (a) child psychotherapy, (b) clinical psychology and (c) improving access to psychological therapies from 2017-18.

    Ben Gummer

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 April 2016 to Question 32448.

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  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 20 April (HL7528), whether damage caused to bulbs and plants in commercial horticultural establishments, in town and country alike, would be considered serious enough to warrant the issue of a licence.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    As licence applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, whether or not a licence would be issued would depend on the specific circumstances under which an application is made.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34485, on mental health services, when he expects NHS England to publish the website addresses referred to in that Answer.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department is currently working with NHS England and the Local Government Association to ensure that all local transformation plans (LTPs) are brought together in one place as soon as possible.

    A quantitative analysis on LTPs by NHS England is available on NHS England’s website at the following page:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/nhse-camhs-baselining-summary1.pdf

    A qualitative analysis will be available on key themes later this year. The intention from 2016-17 is to mainstream children and young people’s mental health as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle and to integrate LTPs into the new Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

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