The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dowd on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to review the Pet Animals Act 1951.
George Eustice
Defra is reviewing the Pet Animals Act 1951 as part of a wider review of some of the animal related licensing schemes. We are looking to consult on a set of proposals shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of (a) CRE and (b) other superbugs which are persistent to antibiotics.
Jane Ellison
The Government has already taken significant action to address carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and other organisms that are resistant to antibiotics.
The UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy set out key steps for tackling organisms that are resistant to a range of antibiotics. As part of our strategy to reduce the incidence of such infections, we have tightened the regulatory aspects in England by revising the Health and Social Care Act Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections in July 2015. The revised Code strengthens links and references to antimicrobial resistance within primary and secondary care. Furthermore, the NHS Standard Contract published in March 2015 included amendments to require compliance with the Code of Practice. This enables regulators such as the Care Quality Commission to look at compliance with the Code within its inspection programme.
At the same time, we have ensured that a range of guidance and tool kits have been produced to support healthcare staff to manage carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and other resistant bacteria. Public Health England has published updated standards in June 2015 covering additional training on infection and control, which includes a carbapenemese-resistant Enterobacteriaceae toolkit for the non-acute and community sector.
In terms of surveillance of carbapenemase-resistant organisms, Public Health England has rolled out the second generation surveillance system for the reporting of notifiable infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance in December 2014. It has also developed an electronic system for reporting carbapenemase-producing organisms, to allow demographic and clinical risk information to be captured and analysed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were wrongly released in each of the last five years; what crime each such prisoner had been convicted of; from which prison each such prisoner has been released; how many such prisoners were released from (a) public and (b) private prisons; what category of prisoner each person wrongly released was; how long it took to return each such prisoner to prison; what further crimes each such prisoner committed while wrongly released; how many such prisoners remained at large in each of the last five years; what crime each at large prisoner was originally convicted of; from which prison each at large prisoner was wrongly released from; whether this was a (i) private and (ii) public prison; and what category of prisoner each at large wrongly released prisoner was.
Andrew Selous
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the doctors applying to Round 1 for Speciality Training posts commencing in the period August to December 2016 applied directly from Foundation Year Two.
Ben Gummer
The information is not currently available. Analysis of training application numbers is carried out by Health Education England (HEE) once recruitment rounds have been completed. HEE will publish the data once this work is complete via the UK Foundation Programme Office (UK FPO) annual reports.
The 2015 annual report is available on the UK FPO Website:
http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/download.asp?file=FP_Annual_Report_2015_-_FINAL.pdf
The appointments to specialty or general practice are self-declared by the doctors in response to the survey and are not verified against recruitment data.
Whilst the survey is a fairly accurate predictor of the destination of doctors who have completed foundation training the figures are not intended to be an accurate employment record.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yvette Cooper on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many take charge requests under the Dublin III Regulation the UK has received from other EU member states for family reunification in the (a) unaccompanied minors, (b) family members, (c) dependent persons and (d) discretionary categories in the last 12 months; and how many such requests have been (i) approved, (ii) refused and (iii) remain under consideration.
James Brokenshire
Data on cases progressed under the Dublin Convention is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically and is therefore not currently available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the trend in the size of the hedgehog population in England since 2000; and what is the reason for that trend.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The People’s Trust for Endangered Species’ State of Britain’s Hedgehogs Report 2015 estimated a population of 1.55 million hedgehogs in England, Wales and Scotland in the 1990s. Since 2000, rural populations are thought to have declined by at least a half and urban populations by up to a third. The current population is estimated at around 1 million.
The reasons for their decline are complex and include a number of factors including intensive agricultural practices (including loss of hedgerows), use of pesticides reducing availability of food, roads, a lack of available shelter in urban areas and restriction of movement and badgers which predate on hedgehogs and compete for their food.
The Government supports efforts to encourage local communities to work together in supporting the hedgehog such as making our gardens more hedgehog friendly and more welcoming to wildlife in general.
Working with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species the Government has recently published advice for homeowners in the form of five simple steps to make gardens more hedgehog friendly, from letting grassy areas grow wild to providing food and shelter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what specialist support is provided by his Department to vulnerable adults without family support.
Alistair Burt
The Department does not provide any such support directly.
The Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities in England to meet the care and support needs of vulnerable people, carers and their families. Statutory guidance sets out the circumstances and services that a local authority, working with its local partner organisations, may arrange to meet people’s needs. Examples include information, advice and advocacy, care and support at home or in the community, counselling and other types of social work, goods and facilities, domiciliary care and accommodation in a care home or in suitable premises of some other type.
Where a person has substantial difficulty in being fully involved in their care planning or lacks capacity to agree and consent to the care plan and has no family or friends who are able to support their involvement, an independent advocate must be appointed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-07-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance the Government has issued to local police forces in response to the recent increase in reported racist incidents.
Karen Bradley
We have been working with the police at national level to monitor the increase in reported hate crime over the past few weeks and to ensure that local forces have the necessary guidance and assistance to respond. Operational guidance on hate crime was issued by the College of Policing to all forces in 2014.
Police forces are responding robustly to recent incidents, and victims can be reassured that their concerns about hate crime will be taken seriously by the police and courts. Any decisions regarding resourcing of front-line policing are a matter for chief constables in conjunction with their police and crime commissioner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the paper presented to members of the Ethical Medicines Industry Group on 5 September, stating that new drugs and treatments can be made available to UK patients more quickly once the UK has left the EU; and what preparations they are making to ensure that the UK can more rapidly approve medicines once the UK has left the EU.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Nothing will change overnight as a result of the European Union referendum decision.
The United Kingdom remains a member of the EU until Article 50 negotiations have concluded. EU law continues to apply and ongoing compliance with EU law is considered important in facilitating orderly transition, for negotiating purposes, and to offer certainty in the meantime. As long as the UK is subject to EU law, the present arrangements remain in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work his Department is undertaking with authorities in China to support the welfare of animals.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Government takes all reports of animal cruelty throughout the world seriously, and is committed to raising standards of animal welfare at home and abroad. We are at the forefront of international efforts to protect animals, both domestic and wild, and continue to work with governments around the world, including China, to gain agreement to animal welfare standards and to phase out cruel and inhumane farming and trapping practices.
We also work with the European Commission through the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to promote the welfare of a range of species internationally, including stray dogs and farmed animals. China, as a member of OIE, is committed to delivering the required standards.
Tackling the illegal wildlife trade has been a particular focus of our discussions with China. In a joint statement issued during last month’s Chinese State Visit, the UK and China recognised the importance and urgency of combating the illegal wildlife trade and committed to take active measures to tackle this global challenge. This built on previous commitments by China to tackle the issue, including agreement to join HRH The Duke of Cambridge’s International Taskforce on Transportation and Illegal Wildlife Trade, and plans to phase out the domestic commercial trade in ivory.