Blog

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to transfer responsibility for economic regulation and railway safety within the Channel Tunnel from the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission to the United Kingdom and French rail regulators; if so, by what date; and, if not, why not.

    Baroness Kramer

    The British and French Governments will move economic regulation of the Tunnel from the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and its French equivalent, and put in place a charging framework by 31 March 2015. We are working with the French Government and anticipate that those commitments will be resolved by March next year. There are no plans to transfer railway safety from IGC.

  • Lord Ashcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Ashcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ashcroft on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 23 June (WA 136), why they will not place in the Library of the House a document that is freely available to commercial investors.

    Baroness Northover

    The publication of the requested document is a matter for the TCI Government.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any change in the treatment of young people arrested in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the publication of the report of the independent commission headed by Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

    Baroness Warsi

    I refer my noble Lord to the reply I gave on 18 June 2014, Official Report, column WA69.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have offered any assistance to the government of Israel in finding the three youths who were recently kidnapped.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government had offered practical support to help find the kidnapped Israeli teenagers. Following discovery of their bodies, the Prime Minister, my right hon Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), expressed his deep sadness at this appalling and inexcusable act of terror.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase the uptake of novel oral anticoagulants in the management of atrial fibrillation.

    Earl Howe

    Decisions on the prescribing of medicines are a matter for clinicians in discussion with their patients.

    National Health Service commissioners are legally required by regulations to fund those anticoagulant treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE) in its technology appraisal guidance.

    The NICE Implementation Collaborative published a consensus statement on supporting the use of novel oral anticoagulants in non-valvular atrial fibrillation on 18 June 2014. This is available at:

    www.nice.org.uk/resource/CG180/pdf/c/cg180-atrial-fibrillation-nic-consensus-statement-on-the-use-of-noacs?id=gvyb3hjdqrcjtn6ytpwx3ydb64

    NICE published its updated clinical guideline on the management of atrial fibrillation on 25 June 2014 which recommends that novel oral anticoagulants should be offered where appropriate.

    The latest data from the Innovation Scorecard show that uptake of new anticoagulants across England is increasing. Further information is available at:

    www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13669

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline 180, what action they are taking to ensure appropriate risk stratification and uptake of anti-thrombotic therapy among patients with atrial fibrillation.

    Earl Howe

    NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve the care and management of people with atrial fibrillation (AF). It has published Our Ambition to Reduce Premature Mortality: A resource to support commissioners in setting a level of ambition, which identifies improved management of AF as a priority for reducing premature mortality. The resource can be found at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/sop/red-prem-mort/

    National Health Service Improving Quality’s Living Longer Lives programme includes promoting the use of a simple but effective audit tool called Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) which simplifies the process of identifying patients with AF who are not receiving the right treatment. NHS Improving Quality is currently collaborating with partner organisations, including charities, to support the nationwide roll-out of GRASP-AF.

    This work will be supported by the publication of an economic analysis commissioned by NHS Improving Quality using GRASP data which demonstrates both the current and potential impact of atrial fibrillation management on the number of AF related strokes.

    Discussions are also underway to consider whether opportunistic testing for atrial fibrillation (AF) should be encouraged nationally as part of the NHS Health Check programme.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

    Earl Howe

    NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve the care and management of people with atrial fibrillation (AF). It has published Our Ambition to Reduce Premature Mortality: A resource to support commissioners in setting a level of ambition, which identifies improved management of AF as a priority for reducing premature mortality. The resource can be found at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/sop/red-prem-mort/

    National Health Service Improving Quality’s Living Longer Lives programme includes promoting the use of a simple but effective audit tool called Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation (GRASP-AF) which simplifies the process of identifying patients with AF who are not receiving the right treatment. NHS Improving Quality is currently collaborating with partner organisations, including charities, to support the nationwide roll-out of GRASP-AF.

    This work will be supported by the publication of an economic analysis commissioned by NHS Improving Quality using GRASP data which demonstrates both the current and potential impact of atrial fibrillation management on the number of AF related strokes.

    Discussions are also underway to consider whether opportunistic testing for atrial fibrillation (AF) should be encouraged nationally as part of the NHS Health Check programme.

  • The Duke of Montrose – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The Duke of Montrose – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Duke of Montrose on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to report on the effect of the current badger culling trials on other wildlife and the general ecology in those areas.

    Lord De Mauley

    Defra has published the Food and Environment Research Agency’s evaluation of the potential consequences for wildlife of a badger control policy in England.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wildlife-of-a-badger-control-policy-in-england-evaluation-of-the-potential-consequences

    We are not planning any further work on this at the present time.

    “

  • Baroness Doocey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Baroness Doocey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions have taken place under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in each of the past five years.

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) holds figures of the number of offences charged under section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 that reached a first hearing in a magistrates’ court and data for the past three financial years is contained in the following table. No charges are recorded before financial year 2011/2012.

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    Coroners and Justice

    Act 2009 { 71(1)(a) & (3) }

    Knowingly hold another person

    in slavery / servitude

    10

    20

    3

    Coroners and Justice

    Act 2009 { 71(1)(b) & (3) }

    Knowingly require another

    person to perform forced /

    compulsory labour

    5

    0

    15

    CPS offence based data is not held by defendant or outcome so it is not possible to ascertain the number of individual prosecutions that concluded.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Baroness Doocey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2014-06-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions have been double flagged by the Crown Prosecution Service over the past three years using the flag for monitoring human trafficking and the flag for monitoring child abuse.

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness

    The Crown Prosecution Service identifies both human trafficking and child abuse cases by way of a database monitoring flag applied to the electronic case record.

    The number of defendants prosecuted who were flagged for human trafficking offences and where the child abuse flag was applied are outlined in the table below. During the past year there has been an increase in the numbers of such cases investigated by law enforcement agencies and referred to the CPS for prosecution.

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    9

    19

    59