UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken in response to the provisional report of the Competition and Markets Authority’s findings on the energy market; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department responded to the CMA’s provisional findings on 31 July (copy attached).

    We are committed to implementing the final recommendations of the CMA and we currently expect their final report in April 2016.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the situation in Yemen, and of claims that deliberate attacks on the Doctors Without Borders hospital have taken place in that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of alleged airstrikes against a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Sa’ada and on an MSF unit in Taiz, which we take very seriously. We have emphasised the importance of full compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the coalition and they have assured us of their commitment to comply with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances and have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL. We welcome the recent public announcement by Saudi Arabia to establish a fact finding committee into the alleged airstrike on the MSF mobile clinic in Taiz. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law. We continue to urge all sides to the conflict to comply with International Humanitarian Law and to investigate incidents of alleged violations fully.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to use its position on the UN Security Council to facilitate diplomatic negotiations on protecting civilians in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the UN Security Council the UK has co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end to: indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs; starvation as a method of warfare; and obstruction of the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating UN Security Council Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK will use its seat on the UN Security Council to push proactively for a renewal of Resolution 2191.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to increase the number of Wellbeing Hubs nationally to help individuals with complex care requirements to access support locally for their individual requirements.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Where commissioned, wellbeing hubs can provide a range services including lifestyle advice, information about self-management courses and help to access local support, including social care. It is for the local National Health Service to decide whether to commission wellbeing hubs and which services should be offered in order to best meet the needs of local populations.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the number of counter-terrorism officials in the West Midlands; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    The level and distribution of counter-terrorism resources across the country is informed by advice from the police and security and intelligence agencies on assessments of what is needed to counter the threat. This is regularly kept under review. For security reasons we do not publish a breakdown of counter-terrorism resources by region.

    In the Spending Round 2013, specific funding for counter-terrorism policing was protected at £564.3 million for each of the years 2014-15 and 2015-16. We are also providing an additional £14.9 million in 2015-16 to the police to strengthen capabilities in response to the increased threat from terrorism.

    In the Summer Budget on 8 July, we committed to protecting overall counter-terrorism spending across the course of the next Spending Review Period. On 16 November we said we would go further. Through the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we will make new funding available for the security and intelligence agencies to provide for an additional 1,900 officers – an increase of 15% – to better respond to the threat we face from international terrorism, cyber-attacks and other global risks.

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

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to audit (1) NHS England, and (2) Clinical Commissioning Groups in England, on their expenditure on mental health services during this Parliament.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    As part of the mental health parity of esteem requirement for 2015-16, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were asked to plan for an increase in spend on mental health services at least in line with the increase in their overall funding allocation for the year, which set a higher bar than achieving a real terms increase in spending, though not all CCGs were able to achieve this target. 192 of the 209 CCGs achieved a real terms growth in mental health planned spend measured against the 1.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator for 2015-16.

    The list attached shows which CCGs have achieved real terms increases in spending on mental health in 2015-16.

    The final data for CCGs’ spending on mental health in 2015-16 will be submitted to NHS England by commissioners in May 2016, and it is anticipated NHS England may be in a position to provide final spend information by around the end of the first quarter of 2016-17.

    NHS England has not yet published CCG planning guidance for 2016-17. Consideration will be given to holding commissioners to account for spending on mental health.

    CCG and NHS England mental health spending information is now routinely collected as party of NHS England’s monthly financial reporting regime. Monthly financial reports by CCGs are scrutinised and quality assessed by NHS England’s regional teams. The monthly reports also form part of the CCG assurance process. NHS England is also in the process of setting up the financial plan assurance process for 2016-17, which will incorporate the review of planned spending on mental health services for future years.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend free bus travel for people with disabilities to include peak hours.

    Andrew Jones

    The statutory minimum bus travel concession scheme applies to off-peak travel when there is likely to be unused operational capacity on buses. Concessionary bus travel applies to bus journeys made between 9.30am and 11.00pm Monday to Friday and all day at weekends and on bank holidays. These times were set out in legislation in the Transport Act 2000. Whilst I appreciate that concessionary pass holders might wish to use buses before 9.30am, in the current economic climate there are no plans to extend the statutory scheme to include peak time travel.

    I would point out that the statutory minimum is indeed just that – a minimum. It remains very much open to each local authority to decide whether to offer its residents local concessions over and above the statutory minimum, including peak hour concessions.

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

    Lord Harrison – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 26 November (HL3958), what plans they have to ensure that podiatric services are available to diabetics who need them; and what criteria they are recommending that Clinical Commissioning Groups use to differentiate between those diabetics who will continue to require podiatric services and those who will not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Podiatry services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups working with local partners and based on the need of the local population, resources available and evidence based practice. Treatment decisions should always be made by doctors based on a patient’s individual clinical needs.

    Preventing diabetes and promoting the best possible care for people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government and is part of the 2016/17 Mandate to NHS England. Building on the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, the Department of Health and NHS England are exploring options for ensuring a sustained focus on improving the management and care of people with diabetes.

    The new National Diabetes Foot Care Audit, a module of the National Diabetes Audit, aims to establish the extent to which national guidelines on the management of diabetic foot disease are being met. The audit will provide local teams with the evidence needed to tackle any identified differences in practice which will lead to an overall improvement in management and outcomes for patients. Local and national level results will be available in March 2016. However, we do know that there has been an increase in the proportion of Trusts with multidisciplinary diabetic foot care teams, from around 60% in 2011 to over 70% in 2013.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what value of projects received guarantees through the UK Guarantees Scheme (a) in 2015 and (b) since that scheme’s launch.

    Greg Hands

    Since its launch in 2012 the UK Guarantees Scheme has approved £3.7bn of guarantees for projects, enabling £23bn of projects to commence. In 2015 the UK Guarantees Scheme has, to date, approved £2bn of guarantees.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s current CPI and RPI inflation rates.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    CPI inflation was 0.1 per cent in November 2015 and RPI inflation was 1.1 per cent. Low inflation is being driven by falling food and energy prices, and we continue to see a combination of low prices, rising pay packets and record high employment.