The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the use of the financials service messaging platform Symphony.
Harriett Baldwin
The Chancellor has had no communications with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in regards to the messaging platform Symphony
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which the level of student debt affects the outcome of students’ applications for a mortgage.
Joseph Johnson
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Mortgage Market Review, introduced in April 2014, requires mortgage lenders to assess individuals’ ability to repay their loans. The Council for Mortgage Lenders has advised that individuals who have a student loan and are earning over the relevant repayment threshold may have higher committed expenditures and lower net incomes and this could mean they are unable to borrow as much as an equivalent individual who is not repaying a student loan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the information that a person has been arrested and bailed and subsequently released without charge by the Police is required to be provided to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS); how long such information is required to remain on that individual’s DBS records; and for how long the DBS is required to disclose that information to enquirers.
Karen Bradley
A chief police officer should only provide such information to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for inclusion in an enhanced criminal record certificate where they believe it is relevant to the purpose of the certificate and, in their opinion, it ought to be included.
The DBS does not maintain a record itself for disclosure purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has for the UK to participate in the revised European School Milk Scheme due to be implemented from August 2017.
George Eustice
If the European Parliament formally endorses the proposal for a revised School Milk Scheme in Plenary on 8 March 2016, it is likely to enter into force in spring 2016 and apply in schools from August 2017. We will use this period to consider the new requirements and consult with interested parties. Decisions about the scheme can be made at regional or national level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-03-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase awareness of co-morbidities associated with living with HIV in the long term.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Health Service continues to offer world class Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment services.
In its role as the commissioner of specialised HIV care and treatment, NHS England has a service specification which emphasises the responsibility of commissioned providers to collaborate with other health, social care and third sector organisations as appropriate to help ensure the holistic needs of patients are met. This includes ensuring people living with HIV and other comorbidities have access and referral to appropriate services.
The effectiveness of HIV treatment means that more people will live well with HIV in old age. As people living with HIV get older, they will require access to services for the other conditions they may experience. Good communication with their HIV provider is important and this is required in the service specification.
In line with the Five Year Forward View, NHS England will continue to work closely with HIV organisations in order to inform its commissioning responsibilities with regard to specialised HIV care and treatment as well as ensuring primary and secondary health care services respond to the wider health needs of people living with HIV.
The Government’s Improvement Framework for Sexual Health includes the ambition that “older people with diagnosed HIV can access the additional health and social care services they need”. A copy is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had (a) with his international counterparts and (b) within international organisations on piracy affecting merchant shipping in international waters.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK plays a leading role in international efforts to suppress piracy affecting merchant shipping. UK officials helped ensure the mandate of Operation Atalanta, the EU’s counter piracy naval mission, was extended until 2018. The UK is also co-chair of the working group on capacity building of the [UN] Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
We also support west and central African states to develop their maritime strategies and improve their ability to secure their territorial waters, using a combination of military expertise, development assistance and diplomatic support.
In South East Asia, the UK is a member of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against ships in Asia (ReCAAP) and has helped improve information sharing and enhanced cooperation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of whether the NHS Constitution’s commitment to provide a comprehensive service available to all, irrespective of gender, is consistent with a policy of not providing an HPV vaccination programme for boys.
Jane Ellison
The NHS Constitution’s principle of a comprehensive service, available to all, does not mean that boys are automatically eligible to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination because eligibility for the programme is based on expert advice. The Government is advised on immunisation matters by the independent expert committee, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which provides evidence-based advice.
The NHS Constitution states that people have the right to receive the vaccinations that the JCVI recommends that they should receive under an NHS-provided national immunisation programme. The JCVI has not yet recommended the introduction of an HPV vaccination programme for boys. It is currently considering this issue and its advice is expected in 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions Ministers in (a) his Department and (b) the Department for Energy and Climate Change before its merger with his Department have had with industry representatives on the future trajectory of the carbon price floor in 2016.
Mr Nick Hurd
The Department has a wide number of conversations with industry representatives on a number of issues surrounding wholesale electricity, markets and decarbonisation, which includes the carbon price floor. However, policy responsibility for its future trajectory lies with HM Treasury.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the direct costs of the British Embassy in Pyongyang, broken down into (1) locally employed staff, (2) estate expenditure, (3) security, (4) vehicle costs, (5) travel, (6) subsistence and (7) allowances; and what is the cost of Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded activities broken down by individual projects in North Korea for 2016.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The total budget allocation for the British Embassy in Pyongyang this financial year is £203,627, which is used to cover a variety of costs including the estate, local travel, fuel and vehicle maintenance and local staff wages. For operational and security reasons we do not disclose the precise breakdown of the costs of maintaining certain posts. The bilateral programme fund budget for the British Embassy Pyongyang this financial year is approximately £235,000, which includes £200,000 for the British Council English Language Programme, £9,456 for a project to support disabled people in South Hamgyong and North Pyongan province, and £16,691 to provide a secure supply of drinking water to a remote North Korean community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so in what specific ways, they are sponsoring or encouraging research in forensic linguistics with a view to extending its use in the criminal justice system and the immigration services.
Lord Bates
A forensic linguistic process, known as “language analysis”, has been used by the Home Office for immigration purposes for over ten years. The capability is provided by two private suppliers, who were contracted following a competitive tender in 2014.
Language analysis is used to assist in identifying an individual’s true place of origin where it is in doubt, and to deter individuals from making fraudulent asylum claims based on false claims of origin for actual or perceived benefit. It is just one of the tools employed to help confirm an individual’s nationality.