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  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made on the creation of a new role for a part-time neuromuscular psychologist at the Colman Centre in Norwich.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England advises that the post of neuromuscular psychologist is a specialised service, for which NHS England is the responsible commissioner.

    We understand that Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust has yet to submit a business case to NHS England for the post.

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will bring forward proposals to require all owners and managers of care homes to give a copy of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 to care workers on appointment.

    Ben Gummer

    There are no plans to require care homes owners and managers to give a copy of Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 to all new employees.

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. It monitors, inspects and regulates services against fundamental standards of quality and safety below which care should never fall.

    One of the fundamental standards covers good governance and requires that a provider seeks and acts on feedback from relevant persons, including staff, for the purpose of continually evaluating and improving such services. A further fundamental standard requires that employees receive appropriate support, training and professional development.

    One of the areas the CQC inspections consider is how the service demonstrates good management and leadership. The CQC Key Lines of Enquiry state that a provider should have policies in place to investigate whistleblowing concerns and that any investigations are thorough, questioning and objective. The service should also record and learn from these investigations so such incidents are less likely to happen again.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the number of mixed race stem cell donors; what discussions he has had with the Anthony Nolan Trust and others on diversifying stem cell registries; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and the Anthony Nolan Trust, ensure that all patients regardless of ethnicity can gain maximum benefit from the United Kingdom’s registry of volunteer bone marrow donors and from its inventory of altruistically-donated cord blood.

    In March 2015 the Department gave £3 million of funding to NHSBT and the Anthony Nolan Trust to continue their work saving and improving lives through stem cell and cord blood donation. Part of this funding will support the collection of an additional 3,000 Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) adult donors.

    The provision of cord blood stem cells remains an important part of the overall strategy and this year will see a continued expansion of the cord blood bank with a target that 40% samples are collected from the BAME community.

    The Department continues to support the work of the National BAME Transplant Alliance that helps to coordinate the work of BAME organisations working to promote all forms of donation including bone marrow stem cells.

    The Department is currently working with Anthony Nolan and NHSBT to consider possible future funding in the light of the spending review and set against other spending priorities.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help people with cancer who are also suffering from depression.

    Jane Ellison

    The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015, with the mental health issues often experienced by those with cancer highlighted. A cross-system cancer transformation board, chaired by the National Health Service National Cancer Director, Cally Palmer, is being established to oversee the implementation of the taskforce recommendations.

    As part of our approach to support people living with and beyond cancer, we announced in September that, by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. These recovery packages, developed in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer, including elements such as physical activity programmes, psychological support and practical advice about returning to work.

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of reports by independent monitoring groups of civilians casualties caused by British air strikes in Syria; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    All UK airstrikes in Iraq and Syria are assessed post-strike using the best available imagery, intelligence and other sources of information to assess the impact of the strike on the target and affected area. This assessment, coupled with pre-strike checks provides the evidence base to support the statement that in the hundreds of airstrikes conducted by the RAF to date in Iraq and, more recently Syria, we have found no evidence of civilian casualties arising from UK airstrikes.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 18 December 2015 to Question 19717, which were the 28 communities in Syria supported by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Conflict Stability And Security Fund is supporting communities in opposition held areas located in the north west and south west of Syria. A specific list of these communities is not published for reasons of security (it could put civilians in those areas at risk). More information on the work being taken forward can be found at http://www.project-tamkeen.org/category/news-from-the-programme/

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to publish written guidlines for British drone strikes.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Unmanned drones are no different from any other weapon system and subject to the same legal and other frameworks. We have no plans to publish any guidelines. I refer the hon. Member to the evidence provided by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 16 December 2015 to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

  • 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 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on the reported arrest of Pu Zhiqiang.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    As the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, explained in her written answer of 30 December, we are deeply concerned by the conviction of Pu Zhiqiang, which raised serious issues about due process and transparency and justice in China. We have continued to raise his case with the Chinese authorities. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), re-iterated our concerns with the Chinese government during his visit to China on 5 January. My Right Honourable Friend once again underlined our disappointment at the treatment of diplomats and journalists outside Pu’s trial.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the US administration on the effect on UK citizens seeking to enter the US of recent changes to the US visa waiver programme affecting people who have previously visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan or hold dual citizenship of those countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    US Congress passed legislation making changes to the US visa waiver programme on 18 December. We had been in close and regular contact with the US administration, as well as members of Congress, while the bill was under consideration but ultimately this was a decision for them. Since then, officials at our Embassy in Washington have been in contact with the US administration as they consider the bill’s implementation, to ensure British travellers understand the impact of the changes, and avoid disruption to their travel plans. As ever, we will keep our Travel Advice under review.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of what the primary sources of finance for Daesh are; and what steps the Government is taking to disrupt those sources.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Daesh has two main sources of funding. About 40% comes from extorting communities living in territory it controls; and around 40% from selling oil. It also gets a small amount of funding from selling looted antiquities and donations from individuals in the region and around the world.

    Tackling Daesh financing is a key element of our comprehensive strategy. This involves military action, enforcement of sanctions and engagement with international partners.

    The RAF carried out 15% of the airstrikes in the Global Coalition’s recent offensive targeting Daesh oil facilities. Since this offensive began, the Coalition has destroyed 25% of the Daesh daily oil production capability, which equates to approximately 10% of their total income.

    The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international legal regime to cut off support for Daesh, including UN and EU sanctions against Daesh. This regime is underpinned by UN Security Council Resolutions 2178, 2199, 1267 and 2253. We are expanding existing work with regional partners to ensure implementation of these sanctions and hamper Daesh’s ability to trade outside the formal financial system, and to stop smuggling.