The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have an agreement or understanding with the IRA that there will be no attempts to stop or bring to court its members on charges relating to tax fraud or tax terrorism in South Armagh.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Genomics England is familiar with the Broad Institute’s database and it is one of a number of data sources that will be included in their clinical interpretation process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether HMRC’s current pilot of the Codentify system is consistent with their obligations under the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes the restrictions in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously. These require that the development, implementation and enforcement of tobacco policies as part of public health policies should be protected from the influence of the tobacco industry.
Codentify is a system, developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. The trial HMRC is undertaking is to see whether these existing codes could help officers in the field to authenticate products and help tackle illicit tobacco. No other companies currently provide such codes.
The use of Codentify by HMRC is not part of an exercise to evaluate the wider use of potential tools available on the market. Any such exercise would be undertaken in the context of the implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive track and trace security feature requirements, which will be implemented by May 2019 for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.
The European Commission is still considering, with Member States, proposals for new pan European security features and track and trace systems, and has yet to determine any technical specifications. HMRC are not evaluating Codentify as a track and trace tool or potential security feature; the aspects of the system being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.
The use of Codentify is not a formal pilot and there will not be reports or results to publish. Instead the trial will identify the strengths, weaknesses and usefulness of using Codentify to HMRC as an authentication tool in the field. HMRC will review this later in 2016. Some resource has been spent providing access to the system and training officers in the use of the tool. However, this has been minimal and has not been separately identified. The Department of Health leads on public health policy and has been consulted on this initiative. HMRC sees no conflict between its current use of the Codentify system and FCTC requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many prosecutions have been undertaken by the Financial Investigation Unit within the Child Maintenance Group in each financial year since 2012; and how many civil actions have been taken by the Financial Investigation Unit in cases where there is not sufficient evidence to justify a criminal prosecution to recover funds owed to Parents with Care in that time.
Priti Patel
Child Maintenance Group’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) was established on 1 April 2014.
During the year 2014/15, the FIU initiated 65 criminal prosecutions and also enabled civil enforcement action on 1,697 cases, collecting a total of £528,201.
During the year 2015/16, the FIU initiated 70 criminal prosecutions and also enabled civil enforcement action on 1,424 cases, collecting a total of £581,217.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of Christians in Sudan, in the light of the arrests and continuing detention of Telahoon Nogosi Kassa Rata and Hassan Abduraheem Kodi Taour.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Freedom of religion or belief in Sudan continues to be an area of deep concern. We have consistently called on the Government of Sudan to ensure all legislation is consistent with the Interim Constitution of 2005; within which religious freedom is enshrined. We regularly attend court cases in Sudan on freedom of religion or belief and through our project work we also seek to support lawyers who take on cases addressing important human rights issues.
Our Ambassador in Khartoum raised the specific cases of Mr Talahon and Reverend Hassan with the Minister of Guidance and Religious Endowments and the Sudanese Director of Church Affairs in February. We also raised this issue with the Sudanese Director of Human Rights during the UK-Sudan bilateral talks in March, and again with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April. Furthermore, we continue to raise concerns about the scope of the National Security Act (2010) and the powers it gives the National Intelligence and Security Service. Most recently, we highlighted this issue in our statement at Sudan’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council on 4 May. We will remain active on these issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase patients’ access to specialist multi-disciplinary teams to improve care for heart failure patients in the community.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England is working with key partners to ensure better co-ordination and integration of all services with the aim of delivering person-centred and coordinated care which is tailored to the needs and preferences of the individual, their carer and family.
In particular, to encourage better practice in the caring for heart failure patients, NHS England has established a best practice tariff for acute heart failure. It is also working with Health Education England to explore ways of improving the provision of and increasing access to echocardiography, which is used for the diagnosis of heart failure.
To help the NHS understand what a good quality service looks like, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publish quality standards which define best practice within a topic area and it has published quality standards for acute and chronic heart failure. NHS England expects all commissioners and providers to take account of quality standards in the services that are delivered to patients.
NICE has developed a commissioning toolkit for the use of natriuretic peptides assessment in primary care for suspected heart failure. It has also produced guidance on acute heart failure and chronic heart failure, both of which cover the use of natriuretic peptides.
NICE guidance and quality standards are published online only, but due to the complexity and length of their content, they cannot be included as attachments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to increase investment in decentralised renewable energy in developing countries.
James Wharton
The UK Government is playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries. DFID has a range of programmes which are working with developing countries to ensure renewable energy markets work effectively as well as supporting energy businesses to grow, and providing consumers with access to funding to buy solar goods. For example, our Energy Access Ventures programme is investing in off-grid electric and we are delivering green mini-grid solutions across Africa.
Through the UK Government’s Energy Africa campaign we are working with solar firms to help them access the finance they need to expand their businesses, create jobs and help reach millions of people in Africa without electricity access.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU, Africa and the Middle East on diplomatic steps to tackle the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.
Mr David Lidington
Ministers discuss the current migration crisis with EU counterparts and those from other affected regions on a regular basis. Last night, The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met with African and EU representatives as part of a British Chairmanship of the Khartoum Process.The UK is playing a leading role in taking forward joint efforts.
For example, countering people smuggling will be a priority for the UK in its engagement with a new Libyan Government resulting from the UN-led process.The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron)announced in Valletta £200 million of new UK money for projects in Africa to address the root causes of migration. 31 European nations and 36 African nations attended the Valletta Summit on Migration earlier this month.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many volunteers there are currently carrying out work in each prison in England and Wales.
Lord Faulks
This information is not held centrally. The Ministry of Justice facilitates a wide and varied range of opportunities for volunteers to work with offenders, within prisons and in the community, and also directly recruits volunteers to sit on its Independent Monitoring Boards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Ministers and staff of her Department will be attending the Hanoi Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in November 2016; and what the projected cost of that attendance will be in (a) staff salaries, (b) travel and (c) other costs.
Karen Bradley
The UK remains committed to its global leadership role in helping to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. During his visit to Vietnam in July 2015, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK would provide £200,000 to support Vietnam in hosting a third high level international conference on the illegal wildlife trade. The Conference, to be held on 24-25 November 2016, will build on the successful London and Kasane Conferences of 2014 and 2015. Decisions about who will represent the UK at the Vietnam Conference have not yet been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time for a result to be given of a DEXA bone density scan in each NHS region in England; and what assessment they have made of the average waiting time for such results in (1) Scotland, and (2) Wales.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Data are not collected on the average waiting time for a result to be given for a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. Data are collected on the average waiting time from referral to test, and these are shown in the following table for the four NHS England commissioning regions for most recent period, which is November 2015. Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales.
Table: average median waiting times in weeks for a DEXA scan from referral by NHS England commissioning region, November 2015
|
Region |
Number of weeks |
|
North of England |
2.1 |
|
Midlands and East of England |
1.7 |
|
London |
1.8 |
|
South of England |
1.8 |
|
England |
1.9 |