UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the Israeli government on the Children in Military Custody report, funded by his Department, which was published in June 2012.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have held roundtable meetings with Israeli officials to discuss the Children in Military Custody report, most recently on 19 May. Since the publication of the report, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention. This includes piloting of sending summons instead of carrying out night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. There has also been a reduction in the use of solitary confinement and an increase in the use of Arabic to give notifications of arrest. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to push for further progress with Israeli officials. On 27 August, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv lobbied the Israeli Military Advocate General on Children in Detention where the issue of child detention was discussed.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    George Freeman

    NHS England offers BRCA testing to individuals with a greater than 10% chance of carrying the mutation, using a model based on the individual’s personal and family history of cancers. Data is not collected centrally on reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year. However, it is not intended that this will include specific data for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing activity.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on badger culling to date; and what estimate she has made of spending on badger culling in the financial years (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Based on current expenditure it will cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next decade if we do not take rigorous action now. The Government is delivering a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries. This includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity, and badger control in areas where TB is rife.

    To date, Defra has spent the following on badger control for the purposes of eradicating bovine TB:

    2012/2013 – £2.5m

    2013/2014 – £6.3m plus an additional £3.5m on policing costs

    2014/2015 – £3.1m plus an additional £1.4m on policing costs

    Costs for 2015/2016 are currently being finalised and will be published in due course.

    Planning is underway for future years, but we expect the costs to government per area to decrease in line with the estimates contained in Table 4 of the Badger Control Policy: Value For Money Analysis published in December 2015:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-badger-control-policy-value-for-money-analysis.

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homes receiving fibre-optic broadband services in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom regularly publishes data on premises able to receive Next Generation Access broadband services and able to receive superfast broadband services (measured at 30+Mbit/s). Their most recent data, collected in May 2015, showed that AL:UK Next Generation Access (NGA) coverage of 90% and superfast coverage of 83%; that West Midlands region NGA coverage of 91% and superfast coverage of 86%; and Coventry NGA coverage of 91% and superfast coverage of 89%.

    The roll-out continues and the subsequent rise in superfast coverage will be reported by Ofcom in the next update later in 2016

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s expenditure was on Wi-Fi provision for public libraries in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16 to date.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. However, the Government provided funding in 2015-16 which means that by March 2016, free WiFi will be available in 99% of public libraries in England. In total, 70 local authorities will have received funding of around £2.7 million to upgrade or install WiFi in 1017 public libraries. In addition, through the Government’s super connected cities programme, WiFi was previously installed in 288 libraries across 14 cities, UK-wide by the end of March 2015.

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been allocated to the community pharmacy contractual framework in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    Since the community pharmacy contractual framework was introduced in 2005, the usual practice has been to set one year funding settlements for community pharmacy. As previously announced, the funding for community pharmacy for 2016/17 is £2.63 billion. Discussions are being held with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, which represents pharmacy owners.

    We cannot comment further on future funding at this time.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the income tax paid each year by EU nationals who remain in the UK for less than one year in each of the last three years.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested is not available.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the latest arrangements are between the UK and US governments on holding detainees in Diego Garcia.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The US provides the UK with an annual assurance that they have not held any detainees in, nor transported any detainees through, the territorial land, air or seas of the United Kingdom or its territories. The latest assurance was sent on 27 June 2016. Diego Garcia is one of the UK territories.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the result of the EU referendum.

    David Mundell

    Following the EU Referendum, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Lord Dunlop, and I have met with Scottish Government Ministers on a number of occasions, including with the new Scottish Government Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mr Michael Russell.

    We will continue to work with the Scottish Government as we form our negotiating strategy, working closely to get the best possible deal for all parts of the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical commissioning groups on commissioning of off-patent drugs for use in new indications.

    George Freeman

    NHS England supports the national commissioning system in England, including the provision of guidance to the service, where appropriate.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not routinely appraise drugs outside their licensed indications. Where drugs are not appraised by NICE, it is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to decide how drugs should be funded locally, in line with any guidance from NHS England. The Department has produced no guidance and had no discussions with CCGs on off-label drug use.

    Many thousands of patients benefit from the use of off-patent drugs, off-label, every day in the National Health Service. NICE publishes Evidence Summaries on unlicensed and off-label medicines. These provide a summary of the published evidence for selected unlicensed or off-label medicines that are considered to be of significance to the NHS, usually when there is no licensed medicine for the condition requiring treatment or no licensed medicines are appropriate for a significant proportion of people requiring treatment.