UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Maggie Throup – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maggie Throup – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will request that NICE publishes its reasons for including a recommendation on the use of C-reactive protein testing for patients presenting with lower respiratory tract infection in primary care in its guidance on pneumonia but not in its pneumonia draft quality statement.

    George Freeman

    The prioritisation of topics for inclusion in quality standards is a matter for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE has advised that its Quality Standards Advisory Committee considered the inclusion of a quality statement on the use of C-reactive protein testing for patients presenting with lower respiratory tract infection in primary care in its draft quality standard on pneumonia, but felt that this was not an area to be prioritised.

    The minutes of Quality Standards Advisory Committee meetings are published on NICE’s website at:

    www.nice.org.uk/get-involved/meetings-in-public/quality-standards-advisory-committee

    “

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average proportion of spending on DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements was on salaries for UK staff and advocacy work in the UK, broken down by the charities receiving that funding.

    Baroness Verma

    DFID does not hold details of the average proportion of spending through the Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs) on salaries for UK staff.

    PPAs are not used for any campaigning or advocacy efforts in the UK.

    The PPAs are strategic level arrangements with Civil Society Organisations based around mutually agreed outcomes. Organisations have individual performance frameworks against which they formally report against on an annual basis. Funding is flexible and not tied to specific interventions or initiatives.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Tornado aircraft fully modified and available for operations in relation to the total air fleet.

    Earl Howe

    As of 13 January 2016, 48 Tornado aircraft are held in the Forward Available Fleet. This includes aircraft that are held at readiness for contingent operations alongside those deployed on operations

    I am withholding the exact number of Tornado aircraft that are available for operations on the grounds of safeguarding national security.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian government on steps to tackle paramilitary groups in the Nariño region of the country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I am concerned about the continued negative influence of organised criminal gangs and resulting violence in Colombia, which challenges the implementation of the peace process. I am pleased to see that the Colombian Minister of Defence announced that tackling organised crime is a top priority for the Government of Colombia in 2016.

    British Embassy officials in Bogota regularly discuss the challenges posed by armed criminal groups (so called ‘Bandas Criminales’ or BACRIM) in their meetings with the Colombian government. Our Ambassador to Colombia met the Minister of Interior on 1 February when they discussed security challenges, including those posed by the BACRIM. In forthcoming meetings with the Minister of Defence and Minister of Post-Conflict, the Ambassador will seek to raise these issues again. We are also contributing £1m to the MAPP-OAS (the Organisation of American States’ Peace mission) which is monitoring demobilisation.

    On 1 February, President Santos created a committee to tackle organised criminal groups. He has ordered the military to intensify operations to prevent criminal groups stepping into a vacuum created by demobilising FARC units. He also stated that new ‘special forces’ will be created, including joint operations and intelligence. This new strategy will be accompanied by social programmes and aims to benefit communities in Colombia.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average growth in Gross Value Added for (1) the English Core Cities, and (2) Liverpool, from 2009 to 2014.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve trade with (a) Hong Kong and (b) China as a whole.

    Anna Soubry

    Increasing trade and growth through exports, to all overseas markets including Hong Kong and China is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish on the international stage.

    The focus on China and Hong Kong is exemplified by the fact that UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has some 180 full-time equivalent posts in these markets, representing its largest overseas team working on trade and investment. UKTI also works in partnership with the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) which delivers volume trade support on its behalf for UK companies looking to export to China. CBBC offers support for UK businesses across 13 strategic locations in China.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department and NHS England plan to take to improve birth outcomes for women (a) from ethnic minority groups, (b) of lower socio-economic status and (c) from other groups who experience poorer birth outcomes.

    Ben Gummer

    In November, the Government announced a national ambition to halve the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2030. To help meet these aims the Government established a capital fund of £2.24 million to support trusts to buy equipment to improve safety. More than 90 trusts were successful in sharing this funding. In addition, the Government is investing £500,000 to develop a new web-based system to be used consistently across the National Health Service so staff can review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death, and over £1 millon in multi-disciplinary training programmes to ensure staff have the skills they need to deliver world-leading safe care.

    In February 2016, the report of the National Maternity Review ‘Better Births’ was published. It sets out a vision for the future of maternity care in England and puts forward a series of recommendations to ensure that services become safer, more personalised, kinder, professional and more family-friendly. Additionally, in March, NHS England launched the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle designed to support providers and commissioners of maternity care to take action to reduce stillbirths and early neonatal deaths.

    There is evidence to suggest that when implemented the proposals outlined in Better Births will lead to a reduction in inequality of outcomes from maternity services. In particular, more continuity of carer and greater personalisation of care should result in improvements in services to groups of women who tend to experience poorer outcomes, and in turn lead to improved outcomes for women and their babies.

    Later this year the Department will begin a targeted campaign to raise awareness of stillbirth, neonatal death and maternal death risk factors which will be aimed at 16-21 year olds, lower socio-economic groups and ethnic minority groups.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been levied in respect of financial remedies in each key performance indicator designated in respect of the contractual agreement entitled the Provision of Total Facilities Management between his Department and (a) Amey Community Ltd, (b) Carillion (AMBS) Ltd, (c) EMCOR Facilities Services Ltd, (d) Enterprise Managed Services Ltd, (e) G4S Integrated Services (UK) Ltd, (f) Mitie Facilities Services Ltd and (g) Sodexo Ltd in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Stuart Andrew – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stuart Andrew – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide seed funding to voluntary sector organisations to provide services to improve the transition between child and adult health services.

    David Mowat

    This Department with NHS England, Public Health England and representatives from the voluntary sector has been conducting the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Investment Review, looking at investments in and partnerships with the voluntary sector at both a local and national level. As part of this, we considered the Voluntary Sector Investment Programme, consisting of the Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development and Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund grant schemes and the Strategic Partner Programme. On 19 May the Department published Joint review of partnerships and investment in voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in the health and care sector: Final report produced in partnership by representatives of the VCSE sector and the Department of Health, NHS England, and Public Health England.

    We are reshaping the programme to reflect the recommendations in the report and will announce our plans in due course.

    The Department has provided over £420,000 in grant funding, covering three years from 2013-14, to Together for Short Lives, the national organisation that represents children’s hospices. The grant supports the Transition Taskforce’s provision of guidance and training to enable good transitions locally between children’s and adult services for those with life-limiting conditions.

  • Baroness Suttie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Baroness Suttie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2016-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new members of staff appointed to work in the Department for International Trade have been recruited from outside the civil service; and what proportion of those staff are consultants on fixed-term contracts.

    Lord Price

    Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF) and Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

    Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes. The transfer of functions order (No 2016/ 992) laid on 19 October 2016 will come into effect on 9 November 2016.

    As DIT is currently being formed, details of the staff that the Department employs is being finalised, whilst employee transfers and recruitment are taking place.