The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 March (HL7079), concerning parity of esteem” as specified in the Belfast Agreement 1998
Lord Dunlop
In the Belfast Agreement, the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in relation to the people of different traditions in Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS plans to make minoxidil available to women who have lost their hair.
George Freeman
Minoxidil (Regaine) for the treatment of alopecia is available to purchase ‘over the counter’, without prescription.
Regaine cannot be prescribed in primary care as it is listed in Schedule 1 to the National Health Service (General Medical Service Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004 (the ‘blacklist’).
However other minoxidil products are available for clinicians to prescribe if they consider them to be clinically appropriate for an individual patient.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-07-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received about the decision of Birmingham Assay Office, pursuant to the Legislative Reform (Hallmarking) Order 2013, to open an office in Mumbai on 18 July that will use a mark for silver to be imported into the UK that is similar to the established anchor mark used for domestic production; and whether they will publish any assessment they have made of the prospective impact of that decision on the Birmingham silversmithing trade.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Hallmarks are not an indication of geographic origin and are already applied widely to articles manufactured in places other than the location of the four UK Assay Offices, including to articles manufactured outside the UK.
Government has received four representations expressing concern about the decision of Birmingham Assay Office, pursuant to the Legislative Reform (Hallmarking) Order 2013, to open a sub-office in Mumbai.
An impact assessment of the costs and benefits of removing the restrictions on overseas hallmarking was published alongside the government consultation on the proposals in 2012, and covered the whole of the hallmarking sector. The Impact Assessment estimated that there would be a benefit to business of £3.44 m. A copy of the impact assessment can be found on the Parliament website accompanying the Legislative Reform (Hallmarking) Order 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with other government departments on the forthcoming Carbon Plan.
Mr Nick Hurd
We are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and other government departments in order to meet the shared challenge of moving to a low carbon economy. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how we will meet our carbon budgets through the 2020s (the period covering the fourth and fifth carbon budgets).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of GP appointments and A&E visits each year for self-treatable conditions which could have been treated at home or with advice from a pharmacist; and if he will make a statement.
Alistair Burt
NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review Phase 1 report (November 2013) estimated that 20% of general practitioner (GP) consultations relate to minor ailments which could largely be dealt with by self-care and support from community pharmacies.
More recently, the NHS Alliance’s report, Making Time in General Practice (October 2015), found that around a sixth of patients covered by the study could potentially have been seen by someone else in the wider primary care team, such as clinical pharmacists, practice nurses or physician assistants, or by being supported to meet their own health needs.
On 16 November 2015, the GP Workforce 10 Point Plan partners announced the pilots taking part in its new scheme to fund, recruit and employ clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries as part of efforts to promote new ways of working, improve patient access and reduce GP workload. NHS England has more than doubled funding from £15 million to £31 million for its clinical pharmacists in general practice pilot, this will be shared between the 73 successful applications which cover 698 GP practices and include 403 clinical pharmacists.
The Department does not collate data nationally showing how many people who visit accident and emergency (A&E) departments could have been treated elsewhere. As part of the implementation stage of the urgent and emergency care review, NHS England is piloting the national ED (emergency department) pharmacy initiative. The pilot will show the potential for pharmacists to work alongside A&E staff as part of a joined-up, multidisciplinary workforce, to help ensure people with urgent care needs get the right advice in the right place, first time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to reduce net migration from Europe, other than seeking reform of provision of welfare for non-British EU citizens.
James Brokenshire
Free movement is an important principle of the EU but it is not an unqualified right and it must be grounded in the freedom to take up work in another Member State, to contribute to the economy and to integrate into society.
We have taken firm steps to restrict access to out of work benefits by EU jobseekers and we can remove them if they are not in a job within six months. We have removed access to Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for jobseekers and introduced a new test to check whether EU nationals who claim in-work benefits really have meaningful and effective employment here.
We have toughened the Habitual Residence Test, the gateway test which all migrants have to satisfy to access benefits, and we have introduced tougher checks for the payment of child benefit and child tax credit to EU nationals. To tackle abuse, we have introduced new powers so that EU nationals who don’t meet the requirements for residence are removed and banned from coming back for 12 months, unless they have a valid reason to be here (for example an immediate job start).
The Prime Minister set out in his speech on 10 November and in his letter to the President of the European Council the issues we are seeking to tackle through the EU reform negotiations to restore a sense of fairness to our immigration system and to reduce the current very high level of population flows from within the EU into the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many members of staff of Medway Secure Training College have (a) been suspended, (b) received an official warning and (c) been dismissed since 30 December 2015.
Andrew Selous
Since 30th December 2015, ten members of staff have been suspended, five have received an official warning and five have been dismissed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on presumed consent for organ donations in England.
Jane Ellison
There have been no such recent discussions although this subject has been discussed during debates on organ donation. Our efforts remain focussed on the delivery of the seven year United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy published by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) on 11 July 2013. We are taking specific action to encourage registration on the Organ Donor Register, to promote discussion within families about donation and to increase consent rates to organ donation, particularly raising awareness of donation in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population.
Organ donation rates are 62% and transplant rates some 44% higher than they were in 2008. This has been achieved mainly through a strengthening of the donation infrastructure, by increasing the number of specialist nurses and by improving retrieval arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish the memoranda of understanding between her Department and the Ministry of Defence on international humanitarian law.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID does not have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Defence on International Humanitarian Law.
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.