Tag: 2015

Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proposals his Department has for further defence integration between the armed forces of EU member states; and whether defence integration will be included in the Government’s planned renegotiations of the terms of its membership of the EU.

Mr Julian Brazier

Her Majesty’s Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation;we believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Although we welcome closer co-operation between the armed forces of EU and NATO member states, this needs to be based on improving defence capabilities across Europe, not creating new institutions. We will not support measures which would undermine member states’ competence for their own military forces, or lead to competition and duplication with NATO

November 2, 2022
Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans for the next Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council to take place.

Grant Shapps

The next Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council will take place in London in the week beginning 30 November 2015.

November 2, 2022
George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of the ageing population on the costs of treating sight loss and eye health issues.

Alistair Burt

The Department has made no recent estimate of the number of people with sight loss, the likely number who will have sight loss in the future, or of the costs in treating sight loss and eye health issues.

Information on the number of patients who are blind or have sight loss is not collected centrally. However information is available on the number of people who are registered by local authorities as blind or partially sighted. At March 2014, the number of people on the register of blind people was 143,000 and on the register of partially sighted people 147,700.

Registration as blind or partially sighted is voluntary so the numbers registered are likely to be an underestimate of the total number of people living with sight loss. Research funded by the Royal National Institute of Blind People, published in 2009¹, estimated there were almost 2 million people in the United Kingdom living with sight loss and that this number would double to 4 million by 2050.

Information is collected centrally and published on NHS expenditure on `problems of vision’ across both primary and secondary care. In the latest year for which data has been published²for both primary and secondary care, 2012/13, primary care trust expenditure was £2.3 billion. The Department expects NHS England to commission services for eye health to meet any increased demand, as it would in any other area of healthcare. The ‘Five Year Forward View’³ sets out the vision for how services may be organised going forward.

¹ http://www.rnib.org.uk/sites/default/files/FSUK_Report.pdf

² http://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/

³ http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf

“

November 2, 2022
Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many transit visas her Department has issued to Syrian refugees since May 2015.

Richard Harrington

In Q2 2015 (April to June – the latest period for which figures are available) no transit visas have been issued to Syrian refugees.

November 2, 2022

Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of prison officers on detached duty was in each month since the introduction of the nationally co-ordinated detached duty scheme in October 2013.

Andrew Selous

Using centrally held financial records it is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to determine the costs of the nationally coordinated detached duty scheme.

Information on the average monthly provision of Band 3 to 5 prison officers received as part of the nationally coordinated detached duty scheme, since November 2013, are shown in the table below. November 2013 was the first full month of the nationally coordinated detached duty scheme.

Average provision of Band 3 to 5 Prison Officers on detached duty to public sector prisons in England & Wales, November 2013 – June 2015

Month	Equivalent Full Time Officers
Nov 2013	110
Dec 2013	210
Jan 2014	210
Feb 2014	160
Mar 2014	130
Apr 2014	210
May 2014	160
Jun 2014	170
Jul 2014	230
Aug 2014	240
Sep 2014	230
Oct 2014	240
Nov 2014	230
Dec 2014	240
Jan 2015	260
Feb 2015	230
Mar 2015	210
Apr 2015	190
May 2015	260
Jun 2015	270

All figures in the tables are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures. Values of 5 or fewer are denoted as ‘~’

November 2, 2022

Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-09-16.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to prevent discrimination against single people.

Caroline Dinenage

Certain provisions in the Equality Act 2010 – for example permitted exceptions from the age discrimination requirements for retail concessions to students and pensioners – are likely to be of particular benefit to single people.

Single status is not a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. In the provision of goods and services we believe there is a balance to be struck between the interests of single people and the commercial considerations of business. The government, therefore, has no plans to change the Equality Act 2010.

November 2, 2022
Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Randerson on 10 February (HL4487), concerning the state of human rights in the Republic of Ireland, what steps they have taken to ascertain that the government of the Republic of Ireland is and has been carrying out those sections of the Belfast Agreement to which it agreed in 1998.

Baroness Randerson

I have nothing to add to my previous answer of 10 February to the Noble Lord.

November 2, 2022
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to introduce a Strategic Clinical Network for musculoskeletal disorders, as recommended by the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance.

Earl Howe

NHS England’s National Clinical Director for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, Peter Kay, is currently working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA), to develop new MSK clinical networks across England.

The work ARMA has done to date has been very successful in capturing examples of best practice in MSK care across England, bringing together health professionals and commissioners and building a strong consensus on the way forward for models of care for MSK patients across the entire MSK community. Work is ongoing in this area and NHS England and ARMA are in dialogue about the nature of such support.

NHS England is undertaking a review of the role, purpose and function of the sub-regional infrastructure that it funds, which is focussed on supporting commissioners and providers to improve the quality of services including Strategic Clinical Networks (SCN), Clinical Senates and Academic Health Science Networks. The purpose of the review is to understand how the best value can be secured from the investment in these functions, in support of commissioners and providers in improving quality. This review is ongoing and is expected to reach its conclusions by the end of March.

Regarding plans to introduce MSK networks as part of the SCN programme, NHS England has made clear that as priorities change, or should the work of one of the initial SCNS conclude, it will identify new conditions or patient groups that would benefit from an SCN approach.

The provision of fracture liaison services (FLS) and falls services is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS England advises that it is aware that provision of good FLS is not uniform across the country and it continues to work with CCGs to support them to develop appropriate local FLS services. It also advises that the FLS model recommended by the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the National Osteoporosis society is recognised as best practice and is being promoted.

In addition to this, the guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Falls: assessment and prevention of falls in older people sets out best practice for clinicians on the management of patients aged 65 and over who are susceptible to falls.

November 2, 2022
Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the principles and prohibitions regarding eugenic practices in the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine form part of the constitutional traditions common to member states of the European Union.

Earl Howe

The United Kingdom has not signed or ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.

November 2, 2022
Margaret Curran – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2015-02-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Scottish Ministers on the sharing of Scottish NHS data with HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr David Gauke

Treasury ministers discuss a wide range of issues with their ministerial counterparts, including in the Scottish Government. In line with the practice followed by previous administrations, details of such discussions are not routinely disclosed.

November 2, 2022