The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of women accessing mental health services experienced sexual or domestic abuse in each of the last five years.
Alistair Burt
Information on the number and the proportion of women who access mental health services having experienced sexual or domestic abuse is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Madaya in Syria.
Mr Desmond Swayne
Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis. We have given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to those in need and continue to push for humanitarian access to be granted to all besieged and hard to reach places. This includes through our participation in the International Syria Support Group’s Humanitarian Taskforce and our position in the UN Security Council.
On Madaya, several inter-agency convoys have now reached the town delivering much-needed humanitarian assistance. On 23 March, the UN received written approval from the regime for further inter-agency convoys in April to six of eleven besieged locations including Madaya. Under this plan, deliveries are expected to reach 40,000 people in Madaya. We also are pleased that on 4 April, the Syria Arab Red Crescent was able to supervise medical evacuations from Madaya.
However, progress is too slow and we are deeply concerned by reports of civilian deaths in Madaya due to blocked medical evacuations. We are calling for this to end, alongside the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps have been taken by NHS England to commission access to molecular diagnostic tests for (a) melanoma, (b) lung cancer, (c) colorectal cancer, (d) breast cancer and (e) all paediatric cancers.
Jane Ellison
The independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the need for more accessible molecular diagnostic provision in its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020, published in July 2015.
Following this, in September 2015, we confirmed a commitment from NHS England to implement the recommendations on molecular diagnostics. This will mean that around 25,000 additional people a year will have their cancers genetically tested to identify the most effective treatments. NHS England worked with partners across the healthcare system to produce an implementation plan, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: Taking the strategy forward, which was published on 12 May 2016.
Also in September 2015, the NHS England Board approved the development of a Personalised Medicine Strategy for the National Health Service, to be discussed at the NHS England Board in the summer. This work will build on the 100,000 Genomes Project, in which the NHS is a key delivery partner. The Project will sequence whole genomes from eligible patients with rare diseases and cancers. It is moving the NHS to a new model of diagnosis and treatment based on understanding of underlying genetic causes and drivers of disease and a comprehensive phenotypic characterisation of the disease (rather than deduction from symptoms and individual diagnostic tests). This will be critical in guiding the approach to molecular diagnostics.
In addition, changes to the section 118 guidance implemented in the national tariff payment system for molecular diagnostics which were implemented from April 2016 will support clinical change and practice and have been broadly welcomed by industry bodies. This means molecular genetic tests which are companion diagnostics being funded separately by commissioners for the first three years before being incorporated into national prices for treatment episodes. There are six tests routinely commissioned in this way in their first three years which have been funded in this way with effect from April, and an annual process for ensuring that new tests which are clinically and cost-effective and adopted as commissioning policy by NHS England or mandated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, are reflected in ongoing arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to reassure university students that the outcome of the EU referendum will not prevent those students from studying abroad in Europe.
Joseph Johnson
There are no immediate changes following the EU Referendum, including in the circumstances of British citizens studying, or planning to study, in the EU. Future arrangements for studying abroad will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures are in place for her Department to monitor and deport former students of (a) the Cambridge College of Learning and (b) similar institutions which also closed before collection of sponsorship data of non-EU nationals began.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Home Office continues to take action at every opportunity to prevent immigration abuse, pursue immigration offenders and increase compliance with immigration law including arresting and returning illegal migrants to their country of origin.
Information on former overseas students of the Cambridge College of Learning is not aggregated in national reporting systems. This information could only be obtained by a manual case by case review to collate the data, which would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department is monitoring the implementation of the family test across Government.
Mr Oliver Letwin
The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014, through the publication of guidance for officials – which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf. Consideration of the Family Test takes place as part of the usual policy making process within departments.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call for the release or charging of Can Dündar and Erdem Gul of CNN Turk, arrested in connection with alleged offences in May; and whether they are making representations to the government of Turkey about the recent arrests of seven teachers and three others connected with Gülen schools in Manisa province.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We continue to monitor specific cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. Our Ambassador to Turkey highlighted his concerns about the number of journalists detained in Turkey, including Mr Dündar and Mr Gül, in his public blog released on International Human Rights day. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in these and other areas. Freedom of expression must be respected and all media outlets must be allowed to report freely without intimidation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received on the ethics of fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.
David Evennett
On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:
The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any projects funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are within one hundred miles of Kyo-hwa-so camps, Kwan-li-so camps, Ku-ryu-jang centres, Jip-kyul-so prisons or Ro-dong-dan-ryeon-dae centres; and what steps they are taking through the British Embassy in Pyongyang to access prisoners in those camps.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are not aware of any Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded projects that take place within one hundred miles of Kyo-hwa-so camps, Kwan-li-so camps, Ku-ryu-jang centres, Jip-kyul-so prisons or Ro-dong-dan-ryeon-dae centres. Together with other EU member states resident in Pyongyang, our Embassy has requested access to these camps on numerous occasions, and will continue to do so. However, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to refuse access by independent observers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the tendering process for masts for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme’s Extended Areas Services project.
Mike Penning
There has been constant engagement between officials in the Home Office led Emergency Service Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport regarding the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), specifically the Programme’s Extended Areas Services (EAS) project, and DCMS’ Mobile Infrastructure Programme (MIP).