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  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department took into account the global growth potential of solar energy in making its decision to end Government support for the UK solar sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are currently consulting on revised rates under the Feed-in Tariff scheme, and our proposal includes tariffs that would continue to provide a reasonable rate of return for the best sited solar PV projects.

    We have additionally recently consulted on closing the Renewables Obligation to new solar PV projects of 5MW and below.

    In both cases, the tariffs under consultation and the Impact Assessments have been conducted including analysis of the global cost trajectory of solar panels, and other materials in the solar supply chain.

    The Impact Assessments for the FIT Review and RO Closure consultation can be found at:

    FIT Review Consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-a-review-of-the-feed-in-tariff-scheme;

    RO Consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv.

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  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with charities on respondents being required to tick boxes if they do wish to receive further communications; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Government is supporting all of therecommendations of the recent review by Sir Stuart Etherington following the high profile cases of poor charity fundraising practice earlier this year. In line with the review charities should have clear consent to contact donors andcurrent reliance on ‘opt out’ boxes hidden in the small print is not acceptable.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend building regulations to ensure that building extensions are fully accessible for people with disabilities.

    James Wharton

    Part M of the Building Regulations requires that extensions to buildings other than dwellings provide suitable independent access to an extension where reasonably practicable. These requirements do not apply to extensions to dwellings, however. We have no plans to amend the Regulations but will keep this under review.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of amputations caused by diabetes (a) nationally and (b) in Gloucestershire in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The attached table gives the number of finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of diabetes and a primary or secondary procedure of amputation for (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire based Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), for the years 2013-14 and 2014-15 provisional.

    NHS Gloucestershire CCG and its provider partners have established a Diabetes Footcare Group in order to further analyse local amputation rates and ensure that the appropriate service improvements are made to reduce unnecessary complications of diabetes-related vascular disease such as lower limb amputations.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will issue a response to EDM 373, Applying Results of Experiments on Animals to Humans.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government considers that the carefully regulated use of animals in scientific research remains a vital tool in improving the understanding of how biological systems work and in the development of safe new medicines, treatments and technologies.

    At the same time, the Government believes that animals should only be used when there is no practicable alternative and it actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), in particular through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs, and also through ongoing UK-led efforts to encourage greater global uptake of the 3Rs.

    Advances in biomedical science and technologies – including stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques – are all providing new opportunities to reduce reliance on the use of animals in research. As part of this, Innovate UK is awarding £4m this year to fund collaborative projects with industry to support the development and application of new non-animal technologies.

    EU and UK law requires safety testing on animals before human trials for new medicines can begin and animal research still plays an important role in providing vital safety information for potential new medicines.

    The Early Day Motion (EDM 373) rightly draws attention to the UK life science sector’s Concordat on openness in animal research which was launched last year, and provides new opportunities for transparency and debate in this area. www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/news/communications-media/concordat-annual-report-2015/.

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  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will issue a response to EDM 402, Use of Cages to Rear Birds for Shooting.

    George Eustice

    Recent Defra funded research into the use of cages for rearing gamebirds compared with more traditional pen systems found no difference in welfare between the two systems. The Government intends to review the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes next year. In the meantime, if anyone considers that the welfare of a gamebird is being compromised they should report it to the Animal & Plant Health Agency who have powers to investigate such claims.

  • David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden; and whether he has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she has taken to establish on a statutory basis an Implementation and Reconciliation Group as proposed in the Stormont House Agreement.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government intends to introduce the Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill to Parliament soon. This Bill will deliver on a number of key commitments in the Stormont House Agreement related to addressing the legacy of the Troubles. It will create the legislative framework for: the Historical Investigations Unit, the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval, and an Oral History Archive.

    Another of the key commitments in the Agreement is the establishment of the Implementation and Reconciliation Group (IRG). It is not currently envisaged that the IRG will be included in the Northern Ireland (Stormont House Agreement) Bill, but the UK Government stands ready to assist on matters related to the IRG if requested to do so by the Northern Ireland parties.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has asked Ofsted to inspect and report on how well schools are providing citizenship as part of the revised inspection framework with its focus on British Values, the Prevent duty and SMSC.

    Nick Gibb

    Individual subjects are not inspected by Ofsted inspectors. Ofsted do, however, look at factors that relate to citizenship, including Fundamental British Values (FBV) and Spiritual Moral Social Cultural (SMSC).

    Citizenship education is in the national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4 and helps young people to prepare to play a full part in society, informed by a sound understanding of what it means to be a responsible citizen. As a result of the national curriculum review, the government has revised the programmes of study in order to direct teaching towards the core knowledge and to give schools more scope to decide how to teach citizenship. Pupils also learn about democracy, government and how laws are made and upheld. Teaching should equip pupils to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh evidence, to debate, and to make reasoned arguments. It should also prepare them to take their place in society as responsible citizens.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that primary care records accurately record the number of (a) children and (b) adults with a diagnosis of autism.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations. Information on the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon in each of the last three years is not collected centrally.

    General practitioners (GPs) are required to keep adequate records of their attendance on, and treatment of, their patients and this should include details of autism where it is known. For this to work successfully locally services undertaking autism diagnosis should pass information back to the GP who has made the original referral. This is outlined in the recent Autism Statutory Guidance for local authorities and the NHS.