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  • Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons interviewed by police, but not charged, have had their names released on the decision of a senior police officer because of the threat to life, detection of further crime, or because of public interest or confidence, in the last period for which figures are available.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office does not hold this information. However, the decision to release names and/or details of suspects in a criminal investigation are decisions for the police, which are guided in making such decisions by the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Guidance on ‘Relationships with the media’.

    A key principle of the guidance is that the police have a duty to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of information (including personal data) which must be balanced against the duty to be open and transparent whenever possible.

    There are clearly great risks in naming suspects and the guidance makes clear that decisions should only be made on a case-by-case basis, and that the police should not release the names of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime unless they have clearly identified circumstances to justify disclosure.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the recent findings of Antibiotic Research UK about the possibility of a significant surge in winter antibiotic prescriptions; and what assessment they have made of whether government action is required.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The findings of Antibiotic Research UK are consistent with the data included in the most recent report on English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance published on the 16 November 2015. In the winter of 2014 there was a 16.7% increase in antibiotic prescribing in general practice compared to the summer months.

    Public Health England is working to implement the UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and as part of this work our surveillance teams are monitoring the seasonality of antibiotic prescribing. It is unclear currently, whether the rise of prescribing in winter months is due solely to the increase in infections or whether some prescribing is inappropriate.

    In response to increased usage of antibiotics in winter months, public facing campaigns such as Stay Well This Winter, run by NHS England, take place to increase public awareness of inappropriate prescribing amongst other seasonal concerns.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent comments by European Council President Donald Tusk that Russian military action in Syria is increasing the number of refugees to Europe; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the US-led coalition’s military action on the number of Syrian refugees.

    Baroness Verma

    We continue to closely monitor the humanitarian impact of Russian airstrikes in Syria. We are particularly concerned at UN reports that Russian-backed regime offensives have caused the displacement of at least 140,000 people in Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib governorates since 5 October. We are currently not aware that the flow of refugees has increased as a result of Russian military action. However with displacement on such a scale we cannot rule out that it will have an impact on refugee flows.

    Unlike the Assad regime and its allies, who are bombing indiscriminately, Coalition military efforts in both Iraq and Syria are specifically designed to minimise civilian casualties in line with International Humanitarian Law.

    We continue to call upon all parties to the conflict to uphold International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make further changes to the FCO travel advice for France following the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We will continue to keep the travel advice for France under close review given the evolving security situation in France. We encourage anyone planning on travelling to France to subscribe to travel advice e-mail alerts.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken, and what action they plan to take, to put pressure on Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to cut off financing for terrorist organisations.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We work with regional and international partners, including all Gulf States, to tackle the threat posed by terrorist organisations, including by working to counter terrorist financing. We urge all international partners to implement UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2161 (on Al Qaida sanctions), UNSCR 2199 (on countering Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) finance) and UNSCR 1373 (on threats to international peace and security), and work to further combat the financing of ISIL through the Counter-ISIL Finance Working Group (Saudi Arabia is the Chair, Kuwait and Qatar are active members).

    The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) is the global standard setter for anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing. Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia are members of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (the regional grouping of FATF) which conducts mutual evaluations of its members to assess compliance with the international standard. A FATF report on terrorist financing published on 16 November 2015 noted that since 2010, Saudi Arabia had achieved the highest number of terrorist financing convictions out of the 33 jurisdictions who had achieved a conviction.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the viability of (1) the care home sector, and (2) the private home care provider sector, in the light of local government expenditure restraint and the implementation of the National Living Wage.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.

    As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.

    Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the additional anticipated receipts for HM Treasury as a result of the implementation of the National Living Wage in each year from 2016 to 2020.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As set out in Table B.3 of their July 2015 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budgetary Responsibility estimate that, in 2016-17, the National Living Wage will leave receipts broadly unchanged. In 2017-18 and 2018-19, income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) receipts are projected to stay constant but the overall impact of the policy on the public finances is forecast to reduce public sector net borrowing by £0.1bn. In 2019-0 and 2020-21, the policy is expected to increase income tax and NICs receipts by £0.1bn and reduce public sector net borrowing by £0.2bn.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, FCO, Tobias Ellwood MP on 20 July (HC6867), what assessment they have made of the legality of coalition airstrikes in Yemen, and to what extent that assessment differs from those produced by Human Rights Watch.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK supports the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition military intervention in Yemen, which came at the request of legitimate President Hadi to the UN Security Council, the Gulf Co-operation Council, and the Arab League for support by ‘all means and measures to protect Yemen and deter Houthi aggression’. We are aware of reports, including from Human Rights Watch, of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law by the Coalition. We have received repeated assurances from the Saudi Arabian-led coalition that they are complying with International Humanitarian Law and we continue to engage with them on those assurances. The Saudi Arabian authorities have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to be open and transparent in this. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law and international human rights law.

  • Baroness Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Hayman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayman on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the World Health Organisation’s designation of Sierra Leone as free from Ebola, they plan to support the resumption of direct flights from the UK to that country.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Given the improved situation in Sierra Leone, the resumption of direct flights is currently being reviewed by the Government. Subject to the outcome of this review, we are prepared to process the appropriate permissions for flights to begin.

  • Baroness Greengross – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Greengross – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what cost was incurred by the NHS due to days lost through the sickness of healthcare workers in each year between 2009 and 2014.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The number of days lost through the sickness of healthcare workers between 2009 and 2014 were:

    England

    Full Time Equivalent Days Lost to Sickness Absence (includes non-working days)

    Full Time Equivalent Days Available (includes non-working days)

    Sickness Absence Rate

    2009-10

    16,745,315

    380,199,666

    4.40%

    2010-11

    15,947,054

    383,278,845

    4.16%

    2011-12

    15,555,507

    377,908,880

    4.12%

    2012-13

    15,947,518

    376,187,354

    4.24%

    2013-14

    15,385,468

    378,691,376

    4.06%

    2014-15

    16,423,722

    386,388,483

    4.25%

    Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre

    The Government does not record the cost incurred by the National Health Service due to days lost through the sickness of healthcare workers.

    Employers are responsible for reducing the days lost through sickness of their staff. The Department supports the NHS by commissioning NHS Employers to provide trusts with advice, guidance and good practice on improving NHS staff health and wellbeing which is available on an online only resource at:

    www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/retain-and-improve/staff-experience/health-work-and-wellbeing/protecting-staff-and-preventing-ill-health/supporting-line-managers/managers-guide-on-supporting-workplace-mental-health/supporting-staff-who-are-experiencing-mental-health-problems

    NHS Employers is also working with NHS England and Public Health England on a £5 million initiative to improve NHS staff health announced in its Five Year Forward View. A copy of the ‘A healthy NHS workforce’ announcement is attached.

    “