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  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the annual cost of Meningitis B to (a) the NHS and (b) social care.

    Jane Ellison

    The impact of meningococcal B disease to the National Health Service and social care were included as part of the estimated cost effectiveness analysis by Christensen et al. in their study published in the BMJ on 10 October 2014, ‘Re-evaluating cost effectiveness of universal meningitis vaccination (Bexsero) in England: modelling study’ (BMJ 2014; 349: g5725).

  • Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to page 77 of the British Council’s Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14, what the value is of each tangible fixed asset worth more than £250,000.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The net book value of the British Council’s tangible fixed assets as at 31 March 2014 was £165,850,000. Individual valuations per asset cannot be provided as this information is commercially sensitive.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the total value of contracts his Department has with private sector providers was in each of the last five years for which records are available.

    Mr David Lidington

    Between January 2010 and January 2015 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has let the following contracts over £10,000 with private sector providers in each calendar year.

    2010 £ 263.0m

    2011 £ 84.6m

    2012 £ 103.2m

    2013 £ 263.7m

    2014 £ 102.5m

    2015 £ 3.7m

    Since authority to enter into contracts is devolved to directorates in the UK and our network of posts, we cannot provide data for contracts under £10,000 without incurring disproportionate cost.

  • Menzies Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Menzies Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Menzies Campbell on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Malaysia on the conviction on 9 February 2015 of Anwar Ibrahim; when he next plans to visit that country; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I visited Malaysia from 25-26 February and met the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, YB Dato’ Hamzah Zainudin, as well as a number of other Malaysian Ministers. I repeated the points made in my statement of 10 February, the day the judgement of Anwar Ibrahim was announced, in which I made clear my concern at the Malaysian Federal Court’s decision to uphold his conviction for sodomy. I also met Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, Vice President of opposition party PKR, during my visit.

    I have previously raised my concerns about the case with the Malaysian High Commissioner, on 4 December. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), also raised this issue when he met Malaysia’s Foreign Minister on 9 December. Officials from our High Commission in Malaysia have discussed the matter with Malaysian ministers and officials on several occasions, and officials from the High Commission observed the trial alongside other local diplomatic missions.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Israeli government on the construction of settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK’s position on Israeli settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace and take us further away from a two state solution. I made a statement on 30 January, urging the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to publish new tenders for 450 settlement units in the West Bank. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to lobby repeatedly against settlement activity with a range of Israeli contacts.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on introducing a resolution condemning Bahrain’s human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK remains actively engaged with the United Nations Human Rights Council on Bahrain and we will continue to work closely with other member states and to align ourselves with statements which accurately reflect the situation on the ground. The UK is playing a key role in implementing reforms in Bahrain.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent conversations he has had with his international counterparts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with US Secretary of State John Kerry on 21 February. I spoke to Arab League Secretary General Nabil El Araby on 18 February about the need for swift disbursement of pledges made by donors at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-02-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We strongly supported US Secretary of State John Kerry’s tireless efforts to deliver a final status deal in 2014. We were disappointed that the parties proved unable to make more progress. Our priority remains the achievement of a two-state solution. We continue to believe that the best way to achieve this is through negotiations and hope that it will be possible to resume the process after the Israeli elections.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report Research spend in the UK, published by the Stroke Association on 3 December 2014, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The report published by the Stroke Association compares research spend in four disease areas (stroke, cancer, coronary heart disease and dementia) by governmental organisations and charities.

    The usual practice of the two main public funders of health research – the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) – is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics or disease areas: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available.

    NIHR expenditure on research on stroke, cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) (including coronary heart disease) and dementia is shown in the following table.

    £ million

    2009/10

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    Stroke

    20.2

    20.9

    20.4

    26.1

    26.3

    Cancer

    101.5

    100.9

    104.1

    133.2

    129.9

    CVD

    31.6

    31.0

    34.1

    42.7

    46.3

    Dementia

    12.6

    18.3

    24.9

    24.4

    26.8

    Through its training and career development programmes, the NIHR supports clinicians at all stages of their career: integrated clinical and academic training; doctoral training; postdoctoral training; and more senior awards. The prestigious NIHR Senior Investigator award provides an additional incentive for the country’s most outstanding clinical researchers. These programmes make a major contribution to the building and developing of research capacity in stroke and other disease areas.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department holds on long term outcomes for children who stammer.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Ensuring the most appropriate treatment for a child with a stammer is a decision for the judgement of the clinician, drawing on their professional training, their ongoing professional development, and the advice provided by the relevant professional body.

    The quality of care would be monitored by the provider, through clinical audit and other performance assurance, and by the relevant regulator of the provider (such as the Care Quality Commission), and the professional regulator (such as the Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates speech and language therapists).

    Information is not collected centrally on long-term outcomes for children who stammer.