The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the freedom of Christian worship afforded to British citizens visiting Turkey.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
It is our understanding that British citizens are not hindered from Christian worship in Turkey. As stated in the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey released on 10 November, freedom of worship continues to be generally respected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the removal of bursaries for nurse training on the diversity of the workforce; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the evidence used in making that assessment.
Ben Gummer
The Department plans to issue a public consultation around the end of February 2016. An Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside the consultation document.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Knight of Weymouth on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 1 February (HL5090 and HL5091), whether they will now provide the direct link to that information, and why they did not provide that link in those answers.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England is currently finalising the service specification for a forthcoming procurement for genomic laboratory services. The issues around sharing outcome data are under broader consideration as part of the wider genomics programme.
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 Greg Knight on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the potholes on the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway between junctions 10 and 11 to be repaired and the carriageway resurfaced; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Jones
Highways England completed temporary surface repairs and filled nine potholes overnight on 30-31 March. They plan to carry out permanent surface repairs between junctions 10 and 11 in mid-May 2016. These will be hot patch repairs, which are just as effective as permanent resurfacing and are durable enough to last until the next resurfacing scheme.
Highways England inspects the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 twice weekly, with the latest safety inspection completed on Wednesday 13 April.
Highways England will continue to ensure that the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 remains safe and serviceable. This section is not due for resurfacing in the current Delivery Plan, due to the general condition being satisfactory.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential for the reintroduction of pine martens into areas of the UK that are infested with grey squirrels.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Forestry Commission is involved in the Vincent Wildlife Trust’s pine marten recovery project in mid and north Wales. The Forestry Commission in England is supporting a project in the Forest of Dean with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Forest Research and others to pursue a pine marten restoration project. This project includes studies into impacts of pine martens including on trees and other wildlife. Natural England is also working with the Trust to restore viable populations of pine martens to northern England.
The Forestry Commission is also working closely with one of the authors of the paper that identified the decline in grey squirrel populations in the Irish midlands, which may be associated with the abundance of pine martens. The work with the author and others will further explore the relationship between red squirrels, grey squirrels and pine martens in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will consider the proposal from contributors to the report entitled Ambition for Public Libraries in England 2016 to 2021 to redefine what constitutes a comprehensive and efficient service under the 1964 Public Libraries and Museums Act.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Responses to the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce’s Ambition consultation are being carefully considered and the Ambition document will be published in due course. There are no plans to amend the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964.
The 1964 Act does not seek to be overly prescriptive in defining comprehensive and efficient, and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how to provide a public library service to their local community, within available resources.
The ‘Libraries as a Statutory Service’ was published in December 2015 and contains information on the legislative framework for library services under the Act. This sets out the factors to which the Secretary of State gives consideration in response to complaints about whether a local authority is providing a comprehensive and efficient library service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what proportion of UK trade was with (a) Germany, (b) France, (c) Italy, (d) Spain, (e) Australia, (f) China, (g) Singapore, (h) US, (i) Canada and (j) other EU member states in each of the last five years.
Mark Garnier
The proportion of UK trade (exports and imports) with Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, the US and all EU member states in each of the last five years is given in the attached table. The estimates are based on data sourced from the latest Office for National Statistics’ Pink Book 2016 release.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the document Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, if he will publish his Department’s analysis that links reform of the welfare system to increasing the UK’s productivity.
Priti Patel
The Paper, Fixing the Foundations: creating a more prosperous economy focuses not on the link between welfare reforms and productivity but instead on how ‘a productive economy must make the most of its labour force and effectively mobilise people into jobs’.
The UK is making the most of its labour force and is mobilising people into jobs. The latest figures show that the employment rate rose this quarter to a new record high of 73.7%. There are now a record 31.2 million people in work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to discuss with the government of Egypt the risk of salt-water infiltration into the agricultural land of the Gaza Strip resulting from the newly-constructed anti-tunnel canal.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of the construction of the anti-tunnel canal and of reports of a potential risk of salt-water infiltration into agricultural land in the surrounding area. We will continue to monitor the situation.