Tag: 2015

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations the British High Commission in Colombo has received from (a) the Tamil National Alliance and (b) Tamil civil society groups on the treatment of Tamil political prisoners in Sri Lanka.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Officials from the British High Commission regularly meet with political and civil society groups, including the Tamil National Alliance, to discuss political issues in Sri Lanka. We will continue to monitor the situation of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act closely and to raise issues of ongoing concern with the Sri Lankan government.

  • Lord Haworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Haworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Haworth on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the acquisition of assets in the UK by Rakhat Aliyev, they will introduce unexplained wealth orders so that assets held by foreign public officials can be frozen pending criminal investigations.

    Lord Bates

    On 15 October 2015, the Government published the National Risk Assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing. The Government has committed to publishing an Action Plan, which will set out the work that we will undertake to improve the UK response to these crimes, and to fill the gaps identified in that Assessment. The Plan will include consideration of new powers to address the proceeds of grand corruption and other forms of illicit enrichment.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the (a) NFU and (b) other farming bodies on the effect of herbicides on reducing crop yields.

    George Eustice

    I have had regular meetings with the National Farmers Union (NFU) and other farming bodies where herbicide issues will have been discussed, but there have been no discussions about herbicides reducing crop yields.

  • FALSE – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    FALSE – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 7 December (HL Deb, col 1310), what assessment they have made of whether the statement that they never allow issues about our economic relationship to get in the way of upholding international law and international humanitarian law” is consistent with the remarks in June 2014 by the then Minister for Small Business

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As the first country to produce a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights we have advocated the view that the promotion of business and respect for human rights go hand in hand. We see these as mutually reinforcing. The degree of influence we have with a country, including on human rights issues, depends on many factors; as a general rule we have more influence with countries with whom we have a strong trade and investment relationship.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mandatory requirements are in place to ensure that care home staff are well trained.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall.

    The Fundamental Standards include a regulation on staffing which ensures that suitably qualified, competent, skilled persons must be deployed. This regulation also ensures that the person employed receives the appropriate training, professional development and have the opportunity to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform.

    CQC inspections ensure that providers are meeting these Fundamental Standards and have a wide range of enforcement powers if a provider fails to meet them.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    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 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 19 November (HL3436), whether doctors registered as temporary and occasional under the revised Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive will be subject to revalidation like other doctors licensed to practise medicine in the UK.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The General Medical Council (Licence to Practise and Revalidation) Regulations Order of Council 2012 provide for a registered medical practitioner visiting the United Kingdom from a relevant European state to be exempt from revalidation if providing medical services in the UK on a temporary and occasional basis, as defined in schedule 2A of the Medical Act 1983.

    Doctors registered to work in the UK on a temporary or occasional basis are expected to meet UK national standards of fitness to practise. To join the General Medical Council (GMC) register on a temporary or occasional basis, a European Economic Area doctor must provide proof that they are legally established in their home member state and evidence of their professional qualification as part of a declaration. To remain practising in the UK, this declaration must be renewed annually. The GMC has the power to challenge the individual if they do not consider that they are providing services on a temporary and occasional basis.

    Individual National Health Service organisations are responsible for ensuring that all their staff are fully qualified and have the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their role.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment of Senior Civil posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of using external agencies for the recruitment of Senior Civil Service posts in the last 5 financial years is set out in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Cost

    2010-11

    £161,706

    2011-12

    £32,028

    2012-13

    £102,390

    2013-14

    £70,347

    2014-15

    £20,300

    Total

    £386,771

    We predominantly use external recruitment firms for specialist roles where the necessary experience and expertise does not exist elsewhere in the Civil Service

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the time needed to devolve the adult skills budget; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    We expect to be able to fully devolve the adult education budget to local areas that have agreed devolution deals with Government and where readiness conditions (as set out in the devolution agreements) have been met during this parliament. This timetable will ensure other important work such as the further education area reviews can first be completed and implementation plans put into action.

  • Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to help reduce the incidence of avoidable blindness and low vision since 2010.

    Grant Shapps

    DFID has a number of programmes that directly and indirectly support the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness. Since 2010 DFID has supported: the control of river blindness; programmes that contribute to the elimination of blinding trachoma; the work of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust to tackle trachoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity across the Commonwealth; a Programme Partnership Arrangement with Sightsavers and several UK Aid Match schemes that provide a range of sight-restoring and sight-saving operations; and funding provided to UNICEF, the GAVI Alliance and the Measles and Rubella Initiative (MRI) that has helped provide, amongst other things, food fortification, Vitamin A supplementation and measles immunisation, which reduce the risk of blindness.

    Prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness requires a strong health system. Through its health systems strengthening, DFID is helping to ensure that eye treatment is available for all. The UK is providing significant support to developing and maintaining robust health systems to enable developing countries to address their health priorities.

  • Greg Knight – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the criteria are for authorising an average speed monitored stretch of non-motorway highway; what measures are in place to prevent an artificially low speed limit being implemented and then being made subject to an average speed limit camera check; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    It is up to the Highways Authority and the Police to decide whether to use cameras and how they wish to operate them. Guidance was issued in 2007 entitled “Use of speed and red-light camera for traffic enforcement: guidance on deployment, visibility and signing”.This can be viewed on GOV.UK. This guidance is not mandatory but on 20 October 2015 we wrote to local authorities drawing it to their attention.

    The Department issued revised guidance entitled “Setting local speed limits” in January 2013 aimed mainly at local traffic authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads. It has been designed to help explain to everyone why and how local speed limits are determined. This guidance was revised following full public consultation in Summer 2012 and is available online on GOV.UK.