The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2015-01-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many agents providing guidance through the Pension Wise scheme will be based in Scotland.
Mr David Gauke
Citizens Advice Scotland continue to work with HM Treasury to finalise the number of agents who will be providing coverage for the Pension Wise service across Scotland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 217185, tabled on 4 December 2014 by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East.
Brandon Lewis
Question 217185 was answered on 17 March 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential for misuse of the kinship carer system.
Mr Edward Timpson
Children live with kinship carers for a wide range of reasons: parental difficulties, mental or physical ill health, divorce or separation, imprisonment or bereavement. The circumstances and legal statuses of children and carers in these arrangements vary widely. There is not, therefore, a single “kinship carer system” and for this reason the Government has not given consideration to making an assessment of the potential for any general misuse of kinship care arrangements
In 2011, the Department for Education issued ‘Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’,[1] this guidance is clear that children and young people unable to live with their parents should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare, whether or not they are looked after.
[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-act-1989-family-and-friends-care
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Joan Ruddock on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether there will be a joint P5 statement on the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK attended the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons and made a statement afterwards. Not all the P5 Nuclear Weapons States attended; there are therefore no plans for a joint P5 statement on the Vienna Conference.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of 111 referrals to A&E departments in NHS hospitals in Sussex over the Christmas and New Year period in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.
Jane Ellison
The information is not available in the format requested.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national prisoners from each country were convicted of each offence type from September 2013 to September 2014.
Andrew Selous
International prisoner transfer arrangements may enable non-nationals to apply to transfer to their state of normal residence or to the state to which they have close ties. There is no requirement on a state to accept the transfer of a non-national resident. Since 2010, no such transfers have taken place to England and Wales. Prisoner transfer is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Minister in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.
The numbers of foreign national prisoners from each country convicted of each offence in the violence offence group from April 2013 to March 2014 are in the attached table 1.
The numbers of foreign national prisoners from each country, convicted of each offence type from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014 are at the attached table 2. Prison receptions data for April to June 2014 is not available by offence group due to problems with data quality. Figures for this period will be published in due course subject to the result of ongoing investigations. Prison receptions data for July to September 2014 is currently not available and is due to be published on 29 January 2015.
The number of foreign national offenders in our prisons has reduced since 2010, compared to that number doubling between 1997 – 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the Highways Agency was of the removal of graffiti from road signage and structures for which it has maintenance responsibility in the latest period for which figures are available.
Mr John Hayes
The Highways Agency does not separately identify the exact annual cost of removing graffiti from its road signs and structures as this activity forms part of a wider contracted service which includes a number of other general maintenance activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Framlingham on 2015-01-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to insist on the implementation of audit trails for all trees imported into the United Kingdom to enable them to be easily traced if necessary.
Lord De Mauley
The Government takes a risk-based approach to prioritise action on plant and tree pests and pathogens to improve resilience. We have produced, working with stakeholders from across industry, Non-Governmental Organisations, and the public, a prioritised plant health risk register of 750 known pests and diseases.
On that basis and where appropriate we have acted to introduce movement restrictions or requirements for importers to notify incoming consignments of particular species, for example for ash, oak, plane, sweet chestnut, pine and elm.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2015-01-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which United Kingdom-based or indigenous aid agencies and non-governmental organisations working to reduce poverty in India currently receive funding from the Department for International Development; and which will continue to receive funding from the Department for International Development after its official programme closes.
Baroness Northover
DFID’s financial grant aid to India will cease in 2015, as we move towards a new UK-India development partnership. After 2015, our partnership will be based on sharing skills and expertise, investing in private sector projects that benefit the poor whilst generating a return, and working together on global development issues. While current funding to NGO’s will end as individual projects come to a close over 2015/ 16, individual future projects involving Technical Assistance may find that NGO’s are the most appropriate partner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-01-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the quality and availability of tests for Lyme disease and related diseases in (1) the United Kingdom, (2) the rest of the European Union, and (3) North America.
Earl Howe
Public Health England (PHE) actively reviews test methodologies for Lyme disease based on peer reviewed reports and on evaluation of possible alternative test kits within the laboratory. As part of this work, staff from the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) have attended international conferences, including those organised by pressure groups proposing alternative testing systems to those used in state laboratories, and met with private and state laboratory service providers in Europe and the United States.
RIPL offers a telephone advice line to clinicians with problem cases, and also works with the patient charity Lyme Disease Action to address the needs of individual patients. RIPL also participates in a European external quality assessment programme, and cross-compares results with Raigmore Hospital in Scotland.
All diagnostic tests for infectious diseases are less sensitive in the very early stages of disease, and the results of a laboratory test have to be interpreted in this light and in conjunction with the patient’s presentation. Whilst the current tests are not perfect, none of the alternatives have yet proven superior to accepted methodologies. Any novel methods to test for Lyme disease are kept under review.