UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people diagnosed with motor neurone disease there have been in the UK in each of the last five years.

    Norman Lamb

    Data on the number of people diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) is not collected. However, it is estimated that there are about 5,000 people living with MND in the United Kingdom.

    Information regarding the number of people with MND who are using ‘eye gaze’ technology, a type of specialised augmentative and assistive communication aid, is not held centrally.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what public speeches the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families has made since taking up her post; and where those speeches are published.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Since starting as the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families in September 2013, Isabelle Trowler has spoken at a wide range of events. In particular she has made presentations to and engaged in discussion with more than 2,500 social workers to support and challenge the profession and spoke at the National Fostering Association conference on 13 May 2014. Isabelle’s presentations are not published.

    As the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families, Isabelle provides independent expert advice to Ministers on social work reform. She meets my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and other Ministers in the Department for Education frequently to discuss her ideas for social work reform and to provide policy advice.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings his Department had with the National Farmers’ Union in the six months before the start of the pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013; and whether he advised that union to operate a media blackout during the first phase of the culls.

    George Eustice

    Meetings were held with the National Farmers Union in the six months prior to the start of the pilot culls in 2013.

    There was no media blackout during the pilots. Defra and the National Farmers Union continued to make spokespeople available to talk to the media throughout the period in which culling was taking place.

    However, both the National Farmers Union and Defra were always clear that operational information that could compromise the effectiveness of the cull or the safety of those involved would not be disclosed during the operation.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he took to ensure that the foreign commercial vessels fishing in the waters of Ascension Island from 2010 to 2013 did not use slave labour.

    Mark Simmonds

    The Ascension Island government is legally responsible for administering the marine fishery in the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Fishing Zone centred on the Island.

    There as no condition placed in the licenses issued by the Ascension Island Government from 2010 to 2013 relating to slave labour. The primary responsibility for the setting and enforcement of standards on such matters lies with the flag state of each vessel.

    The Ascension Island Government paused the issuing of licences for commercial long-line fishing from 1 January 2014 in order to undertake a full review of the management of its fisheries with a view to a new structure to be put in place by 2015. Revised conditions for licences will form a part of that outcome.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what records his Department keeps of the monthly 2-star assessments of its risk registers.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Ministry of Defence makes extensive use of risk management tools and techniques across the different areas of departmental business. Risk registers are generally created, updated, and assessed as part of day-to-day management action; and the relevant records are kept at local level.

  • Eric Joyce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Eric Joyce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eric Joyce on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the UK armed forces would lose their jobs as a result of Scottish independence.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The UK Government is not planning for Scottish independence and neither is the Ministry of Defence. Existing members of the UK Armed Forces would still be part of the UK Armed Forces and, as far as the UK Government is concerned, would be able to continue to serve in them, subject to the usual requirements of service.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of early screenings for prostate cancer for men at risk.

    Jane Ellison

    The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) Scientific Reference Group (SRG) keeps the evidence on prostate cancer screening under review, and has not yet seen compelling evidence that screening should be offered to high risk groups.

    The PCRMP is in place to ensure that men over 50 without symptoms of prostate cancer can have a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test free on the national health service after careful consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the test and after a discussion with a general practitioner.

    The patient information sheets on PSA testing make it clear that the risk of prostate cancer is greater for men with a familial history of prostate cancer and black-African and black-Caribbean men.

    The National Cancer Action Team (NCAT) previously highlighted the increased risk of prostate cancer in black men through the ‘Cancer Does Not Discriminate’ campaign, including distributing over 200,000 health supplements and an editorial in The Voice newspaper.

    In 2011, the Department, NCAT, North East London Cancer Network and Prostate Cancer UK worked with NHS Newham and Barts Health Care Trust to pilot the Newham Prostate Health Drop-in Clinic at the Newham African-Caribbean Resource Centre. 322 men had a consultation at the clinic, 59 were referred to secondary care and nine new diagnoses of early stage prostate cancer were made.

    The learning gained from a formal evaluation of the pilot was shared widely with stakeholders within London and across England, including NHS England. The pilot won the in the 2013 Civil Service Diversity and Equality Award for Understanding and engaging with communities.

    The Department is represented on the multi-disciplinary PCRMP SRG and the Prostate Cancer Advisory Group, along with representatives from clinicians, professional bodies, academics, the voluntary sector and patient groups.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantees and (b) Help to Buy: Equity Loans have been taken out in (i) the North West, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) Pendle to date.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government publishes quarterly official statistics relating to the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. The first of these were published on 29 May 2014.

    This report, along with accompanying tables, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-march-2014

    The Government also publishes monthly statistics on the number of homes purchased with the support of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, by local authority in England. This data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics.

    “

  • Alison McGovern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alison McGovern – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to investigate allegations that employees of programmes in Bihar State funded by her Department are not receiving their salaries.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    DFID is aware of a contractual dispute between a contractor to the Government of Bihar and its sub-contractors. We have looked into this, and are clear that this is now a matter for the Government of Bihar.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many appeals were made by applicants for social care at the end of their life in the last two years; how many such appeals were successful; and what proportion of total appeals against decisions about social care such appeals represent.

    Norman Lamb

    Local authorities have a duty to assess the needs of any person for whom the authority may arrange social care and who may be in need of such care. They have a further duty to decide, having regard to the results of the assessment, what, if any, care and support they should provide to meet the individual’s needs. Where a local authority decides to arrange care and support it will carry out a financial assessment to decide what an individual can afford to contribute towards the cost. Appeals against decisions by local authorities are considered locally. Information about appeals is not collected centrally.

    In its 2011 report, the independent Palliative Care Funding Review recommended the provision of free social care at the end of life. A series of palliative care funding pilots were established to test the review’s recommendations, and these completed their work in March 2014. NHS England is currently analysing the financial data collected from the pilots. Once this analysis has been completed, a decision will be made on the issue of free social care at the end of life, taking into account this analysis and wider policy and financial considerations.