Tag: 2015

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support he has given to commissioners in local government to attend the Commissioning Academy.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Government worked very closely with the Local Government Association to set up and develop the Commissioning Academy.

    Since June 2012, 527 delegates have attended Commissioning Academy programmes. Of these 392 have attended the central Commissioning Academy programmes, including 206 (52%) from 53 local authorities.

    A number of other programmes sit alongside the central programme under the Commissioning Academy umbrella. 78 have attended local programmes modelled on the central programme in Norfolk and Staffordshire, with participants drawn from local authorities and other public sector bodies in the local area. In addition, 8 councillors have attended a streamlined programme for local authority elected members.

    Feedback from participants has been consistently positive. Independent research by the Local Government Information Unit on the impact of the Academy found that 71.9% of survey respondents felt their involvement in the programme was already having a tangible impact and they were confident it would lead to a positive outcome for citizens.

    The Government continues to work with the sector to encourage even greater local authority take up of the programme.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current understanding of the Warnock Committee’s recommendations on the level of respect to be afforded to human embryos; whether they continue to adhere to those original principles; and how they and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority give effect to those principles in their policies.

    Earl Howe

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, which builds on the recommendations made in the July 1984 report of The Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology (the “Warnock Committee”), takes account of the special status of the human embryo because of its potential to develop into a human being.

    The Government and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) recognise the special status of embryos. This is reflected in the strict regulatory controls that continue to be applied to the use of embryos in treatment and research.

    The HFEA has advised that it requires all licensed centres to ‘have proper respect for the special status of the embryo when conducting licensed activities’. This is a principle which informs every part of its Code of Practice, which HFEA licensed centres are expected to adhere to. This can be found on the HFEA’s website at:

    http://www.hfea.gov.uk/184.html

    “

  • Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2015 to Question 222429, whether any of the RAF personnel in Afghanistan support RPAS operations.

    Mr Mark Francois

    No RAF personnel in Afghanistan are supporting Remotely Piloted Air Systems operations.

  • Baroness Byford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Byford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the earliest date on which farmers in England will be able to submit their applications for the basic payment scheme for 2015.

    Lord De Mauley

    For 2015 there will not be an application window in the traditional sense. Customers will start to build their Basic Payment Scheme application from the moment they register on the Rural Payment Service. As of 22 February, 49,642 businesses have registered.

    Since January, customers have been able to register, check and confirm personal, business and land details, and give permission for others to act on their behalf. Customers also update and amend their land information such as adding features and land cover. Customers will be able to confirm entitlements and eligibility from March 2015, and can complete and submit their claims from April until 15 May 2015.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Arab Partnership Participation Fund will be used to help improve border security in Tunisia.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In Financial Year 2015/16 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has widened the Arab Partnership Fund so that it will be possible to bid for funding for some rule of law projects in addition to those in the governance, participation and public voice areas. The funding bidding process for 2015/16 is currently underway and the final selection of projects will be determined by fair and open competition based on the relative merits of individual projects and the extent to which they support the delivery of the British Government’s policy in Tunisia. Government policy priorities in Tunisia include border security.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that consent and emotional safety in relationships are given enough emphasis with sexual and relationship education.

    Lord Nash

    Education has an important role to play in encouraging young people to build healthy relationships, and to identify those relationships which are unhealthy. The statutory sex and relationships education (SRE) guidance, which schools must have regard to when teaching SRE, makes clear that teaching should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour. This is particularly relevant to sexual consent and the guidance makes clear that all young people should understand how the law applies to sexual relationships.

    We have commissioned the PSHE Association to produce guidance for teachers on teaching about consent, which will be published shortly.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which organisations his Department consulted on the projects proposed by the Government’s submission to the European Commission’s Special Task Force on investment in the EU.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Treasury consulted with the Departments for Business Innovation and Skills; Communities and Local Government; Culture, Media and Sport; Energy and Climate Change; Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Transport; the Cabinet Office and the Devolved Administrations on the Government’s submission to European Commission’s Special Task Force. The approach to the projects list was agreed by the members of the European Affairs Committee.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to increase the number of GPs in North East Essex.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    There are now 36,294 full-time equivalent general practitioners (GPs) working and training in the National Health Service, an increase of 1,051 (3.0%) since September 2010 and a commitment to train and retain 5,000 additional GPs by 2020.

    NHS England has commissioned a project specifically for the Tendring area to review the current local workforce capacity and options to correct any deficiencies in GP workforce capacity.

    NHS England, Health Education England (HEE), the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the British Medical Association’s (BMA) GP committee are working together nationally to ensure that we have a skilled, trained and motivated workforce in general practice. In January, NHS England announced a further £10 million investment to expand the general practice workforce.

    HEE is also working with NHS England, the BMA and RCGP to standardise a funded scheme which allows GPs to return to United Kingdom general practice following a career break. We expect this to be launched nationally at the end of March 2015. 43 doctors have already completed this scheme.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the possible risk of Greek sovereign default and subsequent effects on the UK banking sector.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Treasury regularly monitors global economic developments and their impact on the UK as part of the normal process of policy development. The UK is one of the most open economies in the world through trade and financial channels, and we are not immune to developments in the global economy. The best way to insulate the UK economy from any such instability is to stick to our long term economic plan.

    The exposure of UK banks to Greece is small. Moreover the Bank of England’s recent stress tests showed that our banking sector is far stronger and better capitalised than before.

  • Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Durkan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the reasonable person test in defence for children from the Modern Slavery Bill.

    Karen Bradley

    The statutory defence is an important additional protection for victims of
    modern slavery who have been compelled to commit certain offences as a direct
    consequence of their slavery or trafficking situation. In addition, the Crown
    Prosecution Service will continue to use its discretion to not charge an
    offence or discontinue a prosecution which is not required, in the public
    interest.

    It is imperative that the defence protects child victims of modern slavery from
    being inappropriately criminalised whilst also avoiding providing complete
    immunity for the most serious categories of offending. The reasonable person
    test is an important safeguard in ensuring that the defence cannot be abused.

    The defence for child victims has been amended in the House of Lords to remove
    the requirement for compulsion and we have also tabled an amendment at Lord’s
    Report of the Modern Slavery Bill to the reasonable person test for child
    victims to make it easier for child victims to gain protection from the
    statutory defence. This amendment will remove the reference to the child having
    no realistic alternative to committing the offence and will mean that once the
    defence is raised, the prosecution would have to show beyond reasonable doubt
    that the child acted unreasonably in committing the offence.