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  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England and NICE on the cancer drugs fund consultation.

    George Freeman

    NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) consultation on draft proposals on the future of the Cancer Drugs Fund closed on 11 February 2016 and they are currently considering the feedback received. A consultation report will be published on NHS England’s website in due course.

    The Department has regular discussions with both NHS England and NICE on a wide range of issues including the future direction of the Fund.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Mental Health Taskforce’s report, The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, published in February 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government welcomes and accepts the recommendations from the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. The Taskforce estimates that the priority recommendations for the National Health Service set out in their report will cost an additional £1 billion annually by the year 2020/21: by the end of this Parliament we will make the Taskforce’s recommendations a reality.

    Investment in mental health rose to its highest ever level, an estimated £11.7 billion, in 2014/15. The £1 billion of additional investment announced by the Prime Minister last month will be in place by 2020/21 and builds on the £280 million per year of new funding for children and young people’s mental health announced last year. This funding will make an important contribution to plugging the gap and fulfilling the Taskforce’s recommendations, helping one million additional children, young people and adults to access high quality care by 2020/21.

    How new investment for NHS priority recommendations is identified and implemented will be for NHS England to determine as part of the planning and allocations process. We anticipate that the majority of commitments outlined in this report will be delivered through clinical commissioning groups.

    Further guidance will be issued shortly as part of the new Sustainability and Transformation Planning process: this will set expectations for how funding will be invested to deliver on the Taskforce recommendations for the NHS and how areas will be supported to deliver them over the following four years.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide additional funding to South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group for improvements and new facilities at Guisborough Primary Care Hospital.

    Alistair Burt

    We are making additional resources available to the National Health Service by backing the NHS Five Year Forward View with £10 billion a year real terms additional funding by 2020-21, compared to 2014-15, with £3.8 billion real terms growth in 2016-17.

    It is for the local NHS to determine how best to use the funds available to it to improve local services. In 2016-17, the South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group will receive £413.3 million – a cash increase of 3.05%.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Saudi Arabian government on tackling the spread of Daesh in the Middle East.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We regularly hold discussions with Saudi Arabia about the threat from Daesh. Saudi Arabia has been at the forefront of international efforts to defeat Daesh and was one of the first countries to participate in air strikes against Daesh in Syria. The King and the religious establishment continue clearly and publicly to condemn Daesh and its poisonous ideology, and to emphasise that Daesh do not in any way represent the teachings of Islamic faith.

    The Saudi Arabian Government is working to reduce the threat that religious extremists pose in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. It has a comprehensive set of laws in place to prevent terrorist financing, which it enforces vigorously. We welcome the recent announcement of the creation of the Islamic Military Coalition which, among other things, aims to help Islamic countries to counter the threat from terrorism. Regional and Arab countries are best placed to tackle extremism and confront Daesh on the ground.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on the detainment of Mohammed al-Qeeq in Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned about Mr Muhammed al Qiq’s case. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received written parliamentary questions from the other place about this case. We have also received a number of letters from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents, as well as letters and e-mails from Non-Governmental Organisations and members of the public.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart to request that he (a) take steps to protect trade unionists who have received death threats in the Valle del Cauca region and (b) establish who is responsible for those threats.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Whilst I cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country, I raised human rights concerns with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister during the UN General Assembly in September and again with the Colombian Ambassador in November. I continue to urge the Colombian authorities to ensure justice for all victims of the conflict and to thoroughly investigate threats.

    Our Embassy in Bogotá takes every opportunity to urge the Colombian Government to take further measures to prevent violence and threats against human rights defenders including trade unionists. Our Ambassador in Bogota recently raised concerns about human rights defenders with both Colombian Interior Minister and the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights. Furthermore, this year we are funding a Colombian NGO to develop protection measures for human rights defenders in rural areas. Our Embassy will continue to raise these issues in regular meetings with the Colombian government.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the frequency of rocket attacks from the West Bank into Israel in the last 12 months.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have not received reports of incidents of rocket fire from the West Bank into Israel . However, military groups in Gaza (including Hamas’ military wing), conduct test-firing of rockets into the Mediterranean on a regular basis. There have also been reports of rocket or mortar fire from Gaza towards Israel.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received from the Austrian government on a person suspected of rape in Linz, Austria, who is now resident in the UK.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not received any representations from the Austrian government on this alleged case.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Bangladesh.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We closely follow the human rights situation in Bangladesh. We welcome the Government of Bangladesh’s stated commitment to protecting human rights but where credible allegations of abuses are made, we are consistent in raising them with the Government. In particular we condemn all forms of violence and excessive use of force, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and attacks against secularists and religious minorities. We make clear our opposition to the death penalty. We are also clear that a vibrant civil society and a media that is free to discuss and debate freely are fundamental to building democracy and should be protected and preserved.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps the Government has taken to support the reopening of peace talks in Yemen and the establishment of a ceasefire.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We welcomed and fully supported the UN facilitated talks held in Switzerland in December 2015 and the commitment to engage in a new round of talks in the near future. We are working closely with the UN to encourage parties to engage in good faith without preconditions in future talks. We are encouraging all parties to reinstate a ceasefire at the next round of talks and are working closely with the UN to achieve this. This is being achieved through Ambassadorial and Ministerial engagement with the Yemeni government and the UN. I spoke to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (IOCA) at the start of February.