Tag: 2015

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many meetings the Prime Minister has had with his European counterparts on the Green Paper on Safety and Tourism Accommodation Services COM (2014) 464.

    Tracey Crouch

    The DCMS is responsible for the safety of tourism accommodation. The Government responded to the Commission’s Green Paper consultation on theSafety of Tourism Accommodation Services which closed on 30 November 2014. Since I was appointed Tourism Minister in May 2015, I have met ABTA to discuss accommodation safety. I also raised this issue when I met my Greek counterpart on 4 Novemberand I will also be writing to the rest of my EU counterparts to raise awareness of the issue.

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

    Lord Lexden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the extent of homophobic bullying in schools.

    Lord Nash

    All forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, are completely unacceptable. In order to tackle homophobic bullying in schools we are providing £2 million this financial year to fund projects designed to build schools’ knowledge and capacity to prevent and tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

    While evidence points to a high level of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people being subjected to bullying, it also indicates that thanks to the efforts of teachers and charities it is falling. Research undertaken by Stonewall shows that homophobic bullying has reduced in recent years – 55% of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual secondary school pupils reported experiencing homophobic bullying at school in 2012, a drop from 65% in 2007 (Stonewall School Report, 2007 and 2012). The Stonewall Report of 2014 also indicated that homophobic bullying has fallen. The number of secondary school teachers who said their pupils are often or very often the victim of homophobic bullying had almost halved, from 25 per cent in 2009 to 13 per cent in 2014 (Stonewall Teacher Report, 2014 and 2009).

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households who have claimed universal credit have also applied for an alternative payment arrangement for their housing costs; and how many such applications have been successful.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

    The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

    “

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect HMS Ajax to be launched at Barrow.

    Earl Howe

    Boat 7, yet to be named, is expected to be launched in the 2020s.

  • Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Avebury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the 2014 report of the UK Stem Cell Strategy Oversight Committee on the future of unrelated donor stem cell transplantation in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government continues to take forward work to deliver the recommendations in the 2014 report. We remain committed to improving stem cell transplantation services and doing all we can to help those in need of a transplant to find a suitable donor.

    Since 2011, the Department has provided its delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and the Anthony Nolan, a total of £16 million in additional, new funding to improve stem cell transplantation services in the United Kingdom. A further £3 million investment was announced in March 2015.

    This funding has led to a tangible improvement in the availability of stem cells in the UK and the achievements include:

    – More UK patients received a stem cell transplant in 2014 than ever before;

    – Over 60% of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) patients are now able to find a well matched donor compared to only 40% in 2010;

    – A single unified bone marrow donor registry has been created streamlining the provision of stem cells and reducing the time to provide cells from adult donors;

    – The proportion of patients receiving cord blood from UK donors has significantly increased; and

    – An increase in UK patients receiving a transplant from 802 in 2010/11 to 1,060 in 1013/14. The increased use of UK-sourced stem cells has meant that more donors than ever are available to donate leading to a significant cost saving by reducing the need to import stem cells.

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

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to the risks posed by asbestos in schools and the safest ways to deal with those risks.

    Lord Nash

    The Government takes the risks posed by asbestos in schools extremely seriously.

    In March 2015, under the coalition government, the Department published a review of its policy on asbestos management in schools and the risks posed.

    The department is led in its consideration of asbestos risks and the safest way to deal with these by the expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). They advise that it is best to manage asbestos-containing materials in situ, reviewing their risk assessments by monitoring condition and likelihood of disturbance, and repairing or encapsulating as necessary. Removal may be needed where asbestos is damaged or when refurbishment work demands prior removal.

    The department continues to take steps to understand the risks posed by asbestos in schools even better. As a result of the review the department has committed to collect data from schools about how they manage their asbestos and also to exploring ways to improve the evidence on the risk posed by asbestos in schools. In addition, the Asbestos in Schools Steering Group advises the department on some of the particular issues schools face in managing their asbestos.

  • Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell-Savours on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis the accumulation of evidence obtained during the polygraph test of a given sex offender meets the threshold test of the repeat of criminal actions warranting the furtherance of a custodial sentence.

    Lord Faulks

    The purpose of the polygraph is to check the compliance of high risk sexual offenders with their licence conditions and to monitor the risk they present to the public. It is also used to improve the way in which the offender is managed during release on licence.

    An offender may be recalled if they fail to comply with the polygraph examination, attempt to ‘trick’ the test or if they disclose that they have failed to comply with their licence conditions.

    The legislation for imposing the polygraph test on sexual offenders is enshrined in the Offender Management Act 2007. Section 30 of the Act specifically prohibits evidence of any matter mentioned in the polygraph being used in any proceedings against a released person for an offence in a criminal court.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the overall cost was of the 2014–16 extension to the 2011–14 round of DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements.

    Baroness Verma

    The total cost of the 2014-16 extension to DFID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements was £240,000,074.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina about the refugee and migrant crisis in the Western Balkans, and what provisions are in place to offer (1) UK, and (2) EU, support to the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the event of an influx of refugees and migrants into that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are in contact with all governments of the region on the migration crisis. On 23 September, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), pledged a UK contribution of £308,078 to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s Sarajevo office for contingency planning. This was part of a wider pledge of £3.1 million of aid to international agencies to support Western Balkans countries affected by the migration crisis. On 1 November, the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), announced a further £5 million of humanitarian aid to the countries on the Eastern Mediterranean route. We are also contributing substantially through EU assistance programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The EU has provided €8.5 million of migration-related assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some of this has been spent on technical assistance for effectively managing migration and asylum. It has also been spent on supply of equipment and on the construction of a reception facility for migrants. The EU is due to spend a further €2 million to support BiH’s border police.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will have discussions with pub chains on training staff to identify people with suicidal tendencies in order to stop serving such people alcohol.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has no plans to undertake such discussions but as part of the continuing programme of work to support the government’s suicide prevention strategy, Public Health England has published guidance for local authorities to develop local suicide prevention action plans. The guidance suggests that local authorities establish a local suicide prevention group and work with relevant organisations in their area to co-ordinate activities to reduce suicide. Those groups can work with landlords and pub managers.