UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

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

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to monitor carefully the ongoing security situation in Tripoli and across Libya. We are deeply concerned at the attacks in and around Tripoli International Airport, and condemn actions which put lives in danger whether in the East or West of the country.

    We support the Libyan Government’s call for a ceasefire and urgent dialogue. Violence and the threat of violence are unacceptable, and should not be used to pursue political goals. The situation in which armed groups operate outside government control, and without respect for either Libyan or international law, threatens the stability of the state and Libyan people’s aspirations for a secure and prosperous future.

    Our travel advice remains current, and is updated as necessary to reflect the situation on the ground.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Department checks for duplicate supplier payments as part of the business as usual processes within the finance team. As part of the internal process checks the Department has identified the value of duplicate supplier payments since 2010 as £1,287,260.31.

    The proportion of such payments the Department has recovered following these internal checks in each of the last two financial years is as follows:

    (i) Payments for 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 – £325,456.94 – of which 100% has been recovered based on the internal processes.

    (ii) Payments for 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 – £282,198.56 – of which 100% has been recovered based on the internal processes.

    For completeness, in the financial year 2010-11 the value of such payments was £510,599.10 of which 99.7% was recovered, and in financial year 2011-12 the value of such payments was £169,005.71 of which 98.6% was recovered.

    Further investigations are taking place into duplicate payments made as part of a Spend Recovery Audit that the Department has commissioned externally and we will seek to recover any further duplicates identified as part of this exercise.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on (a) the current waiting time following referral for a first appointment at Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic (GIC), (b) how many people are currently receiving treatment at that clinic and how long the average wait is between appointments; what assessment his Department has made of how many patients Charing Cross GIC can treat in a year according to best practice guidelines and within existing resources; what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of NHS England on the steps necessary to increase provision of services for trans people; and if he will make a statement.

    Norman Lamb

    We are advised by NHS England that there are currently seven gender identity clinics (GICs) in England and three providers of gender reassignment surgery. The nearest GIC to Brighton and Hove is located in London. These GIC clinics have considerable experience of delivering this highly specialised service and are able to accept referrals from all over the United Kingdom. At present there are no plans to undertake a procurement exercise to increase the number of providers.

    NHS England report that waiting times for pre-surgical assessment at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust one of the three NHS England commissioned providers of gender surgery are currently running at around 12 months, compared to 10 months in 2013-14. The increase in waiting times is due to the increase in demand for the service nationally that has seen referrals increase from 195 in 2011-12 to 300 in 2013-14.

    Individual patient waits vary according to the needs of the patient. Currently, the average wait for surgery is just under a year from the point at which funding is confirmed.

    Information from the website of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust shows that there are currently 279 patients approved for this surgery and that it carried out 178 male to female gender reassignment operations in 2013-14.

    Following a change in staffing, Imperial appointed a new gender reassignment surgeon who will start performing gender reassignment surgeries in September 2014. As a temporary measure, the trust is referring a small number of patients who have waited longer than others to a private provider under a sub-contracting arrangement with that provider, Imperial retain responsibility for managing all patient pathways.

    Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has published an update of the position on its website, which can be viewed at the following link:

    www.imperial.nhs.uk/aboutus/news/news_044629

    The trust is also sending this information directly to patients.

    These issues have not been the subject of discussions between Ministers and the Chief Executive of NHS England.

  • Jonathan Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jonathan Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Evans on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many regulated procedures conducted in Wales under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 involved (a) mice, (b) rats, (c) guinea pigs, (d) hamsters, (e) rabbits, (f) horses and other equids, (g) sheep, (h) pigs, (i) birds, (j) amphibians, (k) reptiles, (l) fish, (m) cats, (n) dogs, (o) New World primates and (p) Old World primates in 2013; and how many such procedures involved (i) genetically modified animals and (ii) animals with harmful genetic defects.

    Norman Baker

    During 2013 in Wales, regarding the number of regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA):
    (a) 36,010 involved mice, of which:
    (i) 18,886 involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) 7,206 involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (b) 3,345 involved rats, of which:
    (i) 10 involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (c) 24 involved guinea pigs, of which:
    (i) none involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (d) none involved hamsters
    (e) 3 involved rabbits, of which:
    (i) none involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (f) none involved horses and other equids
    (g) 396 involved sheep, of which:
    (i) none involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (h) none involved pigs
    (i) 643 involved birds, of which
    (i) none involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (j) 165 involved amphibians, of which
    (i) 9 involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (k) none involved reptiles
    (l) 11,927 involved fish, of which:
    (i) none involved genetically-modified animals
    (ii) none involved animals with a harmful genetic defect
    (m) none involved cats
    (n) none involved dogs
    (o) none involved new world primates
    (p) none involved old world primates

    During 2013 in Wales, regarding the proportion of regulated procedures under ASPA in different types of designated establishment:
    (a) 2.8% (1,462) were performed in public health laboratories
    (b) 96.7% (50,826) were performed in universities and medical schools
    (c) none were performed in NHS hospitals
    (d) none were performed in Government Departments
    (e) none were performed in other public bodies
    (f) none were performed in non-profit making organisations
    (g) 0.5% (251) were performed in commercial organisations

    During 2013 in Wales, regarding the proportion of regulated procedures under ASPA:
    (a) all (52,539) were carried out for fundamental and applied studies other than toxicity.
    (b) none were carried out for toxicity tests or other safety and efficacy evaluation.

    In 2013 in Wales, regarding the number of animals used in regulated procedures under ASPA:
    (a) 18,707 genetically modified animals were used
    (b) 7,206 animals with a harmful genetic defect were used

    During 2013 in Wales, 59.3% (31,202) of regulated procedures under ASPA were undertaken without anaesthesia.

    During 2013 in Wales, 51,576 animals were used in regulated procedures under ASPA.

    During 2013 in Wales, 52,539 regulated procedures under ASPA were conducted

  • Mike Wood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mike Wood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process the civilian police must follow when attempting to arrest, summons or charge a serving member of the armed forces in connection with indictable offences.

    Mike Penning

    If a member of the UK Armed Forces is arrested and detained in police custody for a recordable offence, the custody sergeant is responsible for notifying the circumstances of arrest, detention and offence to the relevant service authorities.

    Civilian criminal courts and service tribunals have concurrent jurisdiction to deal with accused persons who are subject to military law. The decision on which jurisdiction prosecutes a person subject to military law is a matter of consultation between all police agencies involved in the investigation in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and Service Prosecutions Authority.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by her Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

    Lynne Featherstone

    Duplicate payments to suppliers are shown in the table below.

    Value

    Financial Year

    £ 3,721,960.01

    2010/11

    £ 720,052.49

    2011/12

    £ 1,105,217.80

    2012/13

    £ 5,352,323.62

    2013/14

    The proportion of duplicate payments recovered over the last 4 years is 98.74%.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Public Accounts Commission

    Ben Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Public Accounts Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission, how many employees of the National Audit Office, broken down by grade, have remained at the same grade since 2010 and in that period received pay rises.

    Sir Edward Leigh

    The following table sets out the number of National Audit Office (NAO) staff who have remained at that grade since 2010 and received a pay rise.

    Grade

    Number

    Band 1

    Band 2

    Band 3

    Admin Officer (Audit)

    Executive Officer (Audit)

    Audit Technician

    Analyst

    Senior Analyst

    Audit Principal

    Audit Manager

    Director

    Director General

    Executive Leader

    Chief Operating Officer

    7

    29

    33

    1

    1

    3

    6

    21

    116

    86

    28

    1

    2

    1

    Total

    335
  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the value is of duplicate supplier payments identified by his Department since 2010; and what proportion of such payments have since been recovered in each of the last two financial years.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Wales Office has identified no duplicate payments since 2010.

  • Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mike Weatherley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weatherley on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that cyber criminals who steal online items in video games with a real-world monetary value received the same sentences as criminals who steal real-world items of the same monetary value.

    Mike Penning

    Those who commit theft or fraud on-line can be prosecuted for those offences and face severe maximum sentences. Sentencing for individual cases is a matter for the courts. The independent Sentencing Council issue guidelines to ensure consistency in sentencing.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total value of payouts to armed forces veterans and their families under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as a result of service in Afghanistan has been in each year since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    It is not possible to provide the value of payouts made to Armed Forces veterans and their families under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme as a result of service in Afghanistan as the information is not held in a format that would enable us to easily answer the question and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The AFPS is primarily an occupational pension scheme, the Pensions Computer system does not identify the conflicts in which Service Personnel have served.