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Tag: 2014

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) purpose and (b) cost of international travel undertaken for official purposes by (i) directors of Public Health England and (ii) members of its advisory board has been since 1 April 2012.

    Jane Ellison

    The purposes of Public Health England’s (PHE) international travel include:

    – to provide expert advice to international agencies such as the World Health Organization and to the Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom (UK);

    – to co-ordinate the global preparedness for serious health threats that might affect the UK;

    – to provide advice and support to other national public health agencies on public health incidents and initiatives to improve health;

    – to contribute to humanitarian responses; and

    – to present PHE contributions at international scientific conferences.

    The cost of international travel undertaken for official purposes is as follows:

    (i) Directors of PHE: £12,458.57

    (ii) Members of PHE’s Advisory Board since April 2013: £817.74

    International travel has been defined as the cost of transportation wholly outside the UK or tickets to/from a destination outside the UK.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were employed in the construction sector in (a) the UK, (b) the East Midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of urgent repairs to roads managed by the Highways Agency in (a) Huddersfield constituency, (b) Kirklees and (c) Yorkshire.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Highways Agency does not separately identify the cost of urgent repairs on its roads by constituency area. This type of expenditure forms part of a wider contracted service, which includes a number of other general maintenance activities.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what financial penalties have been levied against those running private prisons in each year since 2010-11.

    Jeremy Wright

    On the question of what financial penalties have been levied against those running private prisons in each year since 2010-11, I refer the Rt. Honourable Member to the response sent to him in November of 2013, under PQ 165769, which can be found on Hansard under the reference 4 Dec 2013 Column 705W.

    The data presented in table 1 below is based on total number of performance points accrued for the relevant periods. This does not take into account credit points awarded to Contractors and offset against total performance points for the period. Financial remedies are only applicable when performance point baseline targets are exceeded for the period.

    Please note, data relating to the 4th quarter of 2013/14 is pending approval and not available for release at this time. Data for the following prisons are also not available and awaiting verification and validation by the parties:

    • HMP Birmingham
    • HMP Doncaster
    • HMP Dovegate
    • HMP Forest Bank
    • HMP Oakwood
    • HMP Thameside

    This information will be available later in the year.

    It is important to note that performance points are essentially about operational efficiency, and at no point has public safety been at risk. There are no significant historical trends in the attached figures and it is fair to say that privately managed prisons achieve the majority of their contractual targets with proportionately low levels of performance points and financial remedies applied as a result. The data for each contract is closely monitored by MoJ staff and any emerging or sustained performance failures are discussed in detail with the relevant Contractor in order to rectify performance shortfalls as quickly as possible.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rosie Cooper – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward proposals to expand the boundaries of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government has already legislated to extend the Freedom of Information Act and brought more than 100 additional organisations within scope. We are currently considering ways in which the Act can be extended further to enhance transparency.

  • David Anderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Anderson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Islington of 2 September 2013, Official Report, columns 294-5W, on Israel, what recent steps he has taken to raise allegations of corporate complicity in human rights abuses and international law violations by G4S in Israeli prisons with G4S.

    Hugh Robertson

    International law does not impose direct obligations on corporations. However, the British Government encourages British companies to show respect for human rights in their operations in the UK and internationally. This is why in September 2013, we launched the UK Action Plan based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

    Through the Overseas Business Risk Service we provide online advice to raise awareness of the key security and political risks which British businesses may face when operating abroad, including in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

  • John Leech – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Leech – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Leech on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by NHS England to work on cancer policy at a national level in each of the last two years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested on staffing levels is not held centrally. Prior to 1 April 2013, staffing levels for both clinical networks, including cancer networks, and strategic health authorities, including staff working specifically in cancer networks, were a matter for local National Health Service organisations.

    NHS England does not employ people to work on disease-specific policy areas. It is structured according to five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework. Only National Clinical Directors (NCD) are employed to work on specific conditions. There is one NCD for cancer employed on a 0.4 full-time equivalent basis. It is likely that most directorates will have roles contributing to improved outcomes for people with, and at risk of cancer, but NHS England does not record staff time in a way which would make this quantifiable.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research he has commissioned on the effect of patients receiving urgent investigations and treatment following a transient ischaemic attack on reducing (a) the risk of future strokes and (b) the cost to the NHS of treating strokes; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Funding from the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has supported the EXPRESS (Early use of eXisting PREventive Strategies for Stroke) study led by the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. The aim of the study was to measure the effect of more rapid treatment after transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke in patients who were not admitted directly to hospital. Findings have been published in the journals Lancet and Lancet Neurology. These include findings on the effect of urgent treatment for TIA and minor stroke on early recurrent stroke, and on disability and hospital costs.

    An NIHR-funded project commissioned by the former Service Delivery and Organisation programme studied the optimum model of service delivery for TIA. A report of the study is available in the NIHR Journals Library at:

    www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/64505/FR-08-1504-112.pdf

    The study included consideration of the cost-effectiveness of different patterns of service provision for patients who have had a TIA.

  • James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    James Duddridge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Duddridge on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will instruct HM High Commissioner to Swaziland to raise the case of Mario Masuku and the Zakhele Remand Centre with the Swaziland government.

    Mark Simmonds

    We will continue to raise human rights concerns, such as Mr Masuku’s arrest and current detention with the Swazi authorities at senior levels. The UK has no permanent diplomatic presence in Swaziland. However, our High Commission in South Africa covers our relations with Swaziland and our officials visit Swaziland regularly.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the work done on the Kajaki Dam project in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Kandahar Helmand Power Project to enhance the electrical power output of the Kajaki Dam is not funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), but by the US Agency for International Development and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The MOD is therefore unable to provide a thorough estimate of costs. In 2008, the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade provided protection for the movement of a turbine to Kajaki. By the end of 2014, the project aims to deliver reliable, sustainable electricity to around two million people in Kandahar and Helmand, and to support the continued development of the regional South-East Power System (SEPS) power grid.