The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether it is her Department’s policy to send only departmental development experts to oversee development projects overseas.
Justine Greening
DFID sends a variety of developmental experts to oversee projects overseas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the role of police and crime commissioners in the commissioning of probation services within their force areas; and if he will make a statement.
Jeremy Wright
The Offender Management Act 2007 places the responsibility for the provision of Probation Services on the Secretary of State for Justice. Under the Act, the Secretary of State may make contractual or other arrangements with any other person for the making of the probation provision. The process of commissioning probation services will be informed by engagement with co-commissioning partners including, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Local Authorities. Contracts will be responsive to changing demands and priorities at local and national levels.
During the Transforming Rehabilitation Programme, we have undertaken extensive engagement at a national and local level with PCCs and Local Authorities. As part of this process, we have established a national PCC Reference Group and a Local Authority Reference Group which have proved to be useful forums to engage with those PCCs and Local Authorities which are most interested in our reforms and enabled them to scrutinise the commissioning and delivery of the Programme. PCCs and Local Authorities, together with other key local stakeholders have also been able to provide structured advice on what works locally via the creation of competition local advisory panels.
No organisations are prohibited from bidding in the competition. However, to bid successfully to own and run Community Rehabilitation Companies, they will need to meet the criteria we set, which will include the ability to take on the necessary financial risk under our proposed payment by results mechanism.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many black and minority ethnic personnel have served in each regiment of the Army in each of the last 10 years.
Anna Soubry
The number of black and minority ethnic personnel serving in each Regiment of the Army in each of the last 10 years is detailed in the tables below:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on the reopening of the Keswick to Penrith railway line.
Stephen Hammond
In the last two years the Department for Transport has received four letters on the matter. The Department for Transport is aware of an on-going campaign led by a group called CKP Railways to re-open the Penrith to Keswick line. As any re-opening would primarily address local rather than strategic transport needs, it would be for Cumbria County Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership to determine whether the re-opening of the line is a priority and secure funding from locally allocated funds, such as the Local Growth Fund. We have received no indication that this scheme is a priority for the Council.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s report entitled Hope for More: Improving access to lung transplantation and care for people with cystic fibrosis, what assessment he has made of the donor lung utilisation rate for transplantation; and what measures he has identified as having the greatest potential to increase such utilisation.
Jane Ellison
Currently donated lungs are allocated to the designated cardiothoracic transplant centres on a zonal basis. However, the Cardiothoracic Organs Advisory Group (CTAG) have recently reviewed the allocation policy and have recommended that the size of the allocation zones be adjusted to help ensure equity of access. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have therefore confirmed that for cardiothoracic organs, the zones will be reviewed in August 2014 to coincide with changes in liver allocation zones and from August 2015, heart and lung zones will be disaggregated and the zones reviewed separately.
CTAG have also recommended that NHSBT reviews the consequences of introducing two levels of priority for listing for lung transplants – urgent and routine, and suggest a national allocation scheme for urgent listed patients, and zonal allocation for routine listed patients.
Any proposed change would need to be validated by NHSBT, who will review the criteria for urgent listing and the statistical modelling of the potential impact of such a system. NHSBT will continue to work closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to improve outcomes for patients requiring lung transplants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tony Cunningham on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons legal aid funding in relation to the case of the constituent of the hon. Member for Workington, Gary Tomlinson, Claim Number OWH0080, Cert number JBIRQK61BB77/A/E/1, was withdrawn.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The receipt of legal aid is considered to be personal data and the Department has obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998 which would prevent it from disclosing this type of information. Furthermore, the Legal Aid Agency is further prohibited by statute from disclosing information relating to the provision of legal aid in individual cases (under section 34 of the LASPO Act 2012, section 20 of the Access to Justice Act 1999, and before this under section 38 of the Legal Aid Act 1988).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kwasi Kwarteng on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what rights prisoners in HM Prison High Down Sutton have to association and exercise; and whether he has received representations that prisoners at that prison are being permitted less than half an hour to exercise per day.
Jeremy Wright
Prisoners at High Down have the same access to exercise and association as in all prisons in England and Wales. The details are set out in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 58/2011 Physical Education for Prisoners. In addition, prisoners are entitled to association time outside of their cells that may include forms of exercise.
We have no record of any formal representations made by prisoners at HMP Highdown on the lack of opportunity to exercise
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of song birds in the UK.
George Eustice
The UK has designated 615 sites as Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, and 270 sites as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive to provide protection to our most vulnerable and threatened wild birds.
Agri-environment schemes are the principal means of improving habitat for farmland songbirds, assisting farmers to provide additional habitat and food on their farms for birds and other wildlife. The Government also supports the Campaign for the Farmed Environment to provide better habitats for farmland birds.
The Government has provided £7.5 million to establish twelve Nature Improvement Areas. These are intended to benefit birds by improving existing habitat, creating new habitat and improving connectivity between habitats.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what Government-funded education and support on alcohol consumption during pregnancy is available to pregnant women.
Jane Ellison
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s 2008 guideline includes recommendations for doctors and midwives on the advice they should give to pregnant women about drinking alcohol.
This advice is complemented by Government funded information provided through the Start4Life Information Service for Parents, Start4Life and NHS Choices websites.
The Government funds the Start4Life Information Service for Parents service, which provides pregnant women/new mothers and their partners with comprehensive advice on staying healthy in pregnancy, preparing for birth and looking after their baby, and includes advice on risks of drinking before conception and during pregnancy.
The Information Service for Parents is a digital service which provides National Health Service and other quality assured advice, including on alcohol consumption via regular text and email updates. Since launching on 18 May 2012, 339,277 new parents have signed up to the service (as of 1 June 2014).
The Government is also committed to improving the labelling of alcoholic drinks, including a warning for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive.
As part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, alcohol retailers and producers have a responsibility to help raise this awareness and committed to putting an agreed warning or a pregnancy warning logo on 80% of labels on bottles and cans by the end of 2013. An independent market survey is underway to measure compliance.
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, how much of his Department’s partnership funding framework has been spent on property level protection schemes to date.
Dan Rogerson
Property Level Protection describes a suite of measures used in places where other solutions are either not cost effective or not practical. The amount allocated to schemes since the partnership funding approach was launched in 2012 is £2.43M. This consists of £2.08M in Grant in Aid from the Government, and contributions of £0.35M from partners.