The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on whether the use of shellfish supplements increases life expectancy.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not hold any information on whether the use of shellfish supplements increases life expectancy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors were referred to the police for investigation for crimes relating to the Abortion Act 1967 in each of the last 10 years; and how many such referrals resulted in (a) charges and (b) convictions.
Jane Ellison
No registered medical practitioners have been convicted of a breach of abortion law and no prosecutions have been brought in the past ten years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Attorney General, whether the Serious Fraud Office has applied to HM Treasury for additional funding for its investigation into the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation.
Oliver Heald
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has a core budget to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute the most serious and complex cases of fraud, bribery and corruption and some exceptionally large cases will arise that require additional resources. However it is not in the public interest to specify in detail what resources the SFO intends to dedicate to each case.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Health Education England and (b) the Royal College of GPs on compulsory dermatological training for GPs since 4 December 2013.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. This mandate includes a commitment that HEE will ensure that general practitioner (GP) training produces GPs with the required competencies to practise in the new NHS. Consequently HEE will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.
The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body. It has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. Within the current GP curriculum, trainees are required to successfully complete training on care of people with skin problems.
Responsibility for the commission of dermatology services sits with NHS England. NHS England commissions specialised dermatology services for those patients requiring needing care from Highly Specialist Dermatology Centres (around 10% of sufferers). The level of provision of non-specialised dermatology services is decided by the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and it will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.
The Department has not held any specific discussions on compulsory dermatological training for GPs with HEE or the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) since 4 December 2013, nor have HEE or NHS England held discussions with RCGP on this matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the quality and content of advice published by independent abortion providers accords with that of his Department and the Royal colleges.
Jane Ellison
Medical practitioners carrying out terminations of pregnancy must comply with the Abortion Act 1967. Independent sector providers approved to perform abortions by the Secretary of State for Health must comply with the Required Standard Operating Procedures as a condition of approval.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-29.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, columns 305-6W, on electoral register, if the Electoral Commission will start to collect the number of visits that ERO’s staff make to individual non-responding households as part of their activities to maintain the electoral register.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that as part of its monitoring of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER) it will collect data from all EROs at key stages during the transition which will demonstrate the progress EROs are making in implementing IER in their local area. This will not, however, include detailed operational information that EROs will record and monitor locally about the specific interactions they have with individual electors, including the numbers of household visits made by their staff.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the situation for religious minorities in Burma.
Mr Hugo Swire
British officials regularly receive reports on a wide range of human rights issues, including the treatment of religious minorities in Burma. We share UN Special Rapporteur for Burma Tomas Ojea Quintana’s concerns, as noted in his final report to the UN Human Rights Council on 2 April 2014, that the Burmese government is “not fulfilling its international human rights obligation to tackle incitement to violence based on national, racial or religious hatred”. We are particularly concerned by the rise in anti-Muslim attacks and hate speech over the last two years, continued intercommunal tensions in Rakhine State and the plight of the Rohingya. I raised our wider concerns about the situation in Rakhine State with senior Burmese Ministers during their visit in January and Baroness Warsi discussed the situation with the Burmese Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, Dr Kan Zaw, during his visit to the UK in March. During my visit to Burma in January, I also met the Kachin Baptist Convention, the largest religious organisation in Kachin State. We continue to encourage religious tolerance and dialogue and call on the Burmese authorities and community leaders to help create a conducive environment for this to take place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to reorganise its funding model to ensure that it is encouraging service delivery for complex multiple needs, in line with an intregrated model of healthcare solutions.
Lynne Featherstone
DFID supports work to strengthen health systems and deliver health programmes, helping developing countries to assess and provide for the health needs of its people. This will enable countries to make sound decisions about the delivery of the promotion, prevention and treatment services that are needed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Corbyn on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what level of representation the UK will have at the humanitarian effects of nuclear weapons war conference being hosted by the Austrian government in December 2014.
Hugh Robertson
We have not received an invitation from Austria to this conference, and have therefore not yet made a decision on whether the UK will attend. I will update the House when a decision has been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have further to support the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic.
Baroness Warsi
The International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) has been crucial in protecting Central African Republic (CAR)’s citizens, and will continue to play a vital role ahead of the deployment of the UN Peacekeeping Operation in September 2014. The UK is providing a strategic communications expert to the African Union (AU) to support the efforts of MISCA, in January contributed £2 million to cover some of MISCA’s basic costs, and works closely with the AU more broadly to build its capacity. We will consider any further requests for support.