Tag: 2015

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider imposing travel bans on, and freezing the assets of, senior figures in the Maldives who have been involved in the suspension of constitutional protections in that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) made clear in his statement on 4 November, we are deeply worried by recent developments in the Maldives. While we welcomed the lifting of the State of Emergency on 10 November, we now urge the government to fully uphold the commitments it has made – including as a member of the Commonwealth – to democracy and the rule of law. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we are carefully considering our next steps.

January 1, 2023
Oliver Colvile – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his timetable is for implementing the recommendations of the Keogh Review with regard to the safety and quality of laser eye surgery.

Alistair Burt

Providers of laser eye surgery are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as this is a regulated activity. All providers of regulated activities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 must be registered with the Care Quality Commission and meet the new fundamental standards of safety and quality that came into force on 1 April this year. The CQC has a range of enforcement actions that it can take if providers do not meet the fundamental standards.

Doctors performing laser eye surgery in the United Kingdom must also be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). All registered doctors are expected to be familiar with the GMC’s publication Good medical practice and supporting guidance, which describes what is expected of them. This document makes clear that medical doctors must recognise and work within the limits of their competence.

It has now been agreed that work to improve the delivery, safety and standards for patient information for laser eye surgery will be taken forward separately from the work to implement the Keogh Review, and that, as the professional body for setting the standards of practice for refractive procedures, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists will lead on this work.

January 1, 2023
Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are discussing with the government of Greece ways to secure better documentation of refugees and migrants in transit through that country; and whether they intend to support any application to the EU for funds for this purpose.

Lord Bates

The UK has provided significant support to Greece on migration and asylum, both bilaterally and through the EU Agencies that are supporting operations in particular in the Aegean. The Government has every intention of continuing to engage with, and assist, the Greek government in their efforts to re-establish effective systems and structures, not least to ensure the registration of all migrants upon arrival, including improving Greece’s capacity to absorb the EU funding that was allocated over the summer. Further EU support must be focused on helping Greece to take control of the situation and implement the measures they have agreed to.

January 1, 2023
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many representatives from (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales attended each meeting of the Community Engagement Forum to date.

Karen Bradley

In his speech on countering extremism on 20 July, the Prime MInister said that he wanted to hear directly from all those in our society who are tackling extremism. The Community Engagement Forum is one of the ways the Prime Minister plans to do this. The Forum provides a platform for people to share their experiences and learn from each other. Attendance varies from meeting to meeting to ensure Ministers can hear from a wide range of people.

To date, the Community Engagement Forum has met on 13 October 2015 and 19 November 2015. The attendees have been from a wide range of backgrounds and were representing interests at both a local and national level.

Further Forums are planned for 2016.

January 1, 2023
Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions a non-statutory public inquiry has been instigated into the death of a single individual under section 17A of the Coroners Act 1988 at a time when that individual had not been the subject of a full coroner’s inquest; who were those individuals; why they were referred for a public inquiry in each case; and on which dates they were referred.

Lord Faulks

A coroner’s inquest was not completed into the deaths of the following individuals:

Victoria Climbié, Robert Hamill, Dr David Kelly, Alexander Litvinenko, Baha Mousa, Zahid Mubarek, Rosemary Nelson and Azelle Rodney.

The only occasion when an inquest has been adjourned under section 17A of the Coroners Act 1988 because a non-statutory inquiry was to be held was following the death of Dr David Kelly. The Lord Chancellor established an inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death on 18 July 2003, the day that Dr Kelly’s body was found.

January 1, 2023
Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish his Department’s evaluation of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 Section 28 pilots; and whether he plans to roll out provision of Section 28.

Mike Penning

Pre-trial cross examination under Section 28 of the YJCEA 1999 was piloted in three Crown Court centres. Fieldwork for a process evaluation of the pilot has been completed. A report is being prepared for publication, subject to standard quality assurance checks. The decision on the roll out of Section 28 will be made in due course, following the results of the evaluation.

January 1, 2023
Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to raise awareness of mental health issues, to address the impact of stigma and discrimination on those affected, and to engage with local businesses to develop employment opportunities for those affected.

Lord Prior of Brampton

It is important that local authorities employ individuals who possess the necessary skills to engage effectively with those with mental health problems. Local authorities should make training opportunities available to all staff.

Mental health social workers empower individuals with mental illness and their families, carers, and communities to lead fulfilling, independent lives. On 1 September this year applications for a new fast track route into mental health social work careers opened for an intensive on-the-job programme called Think Ahead. The programme aims to attract promising students and graduates into mental health careers.

Health Education England, working with NHS England, aims to ensure that there are sufficient therapists and other staff with the right skills to support the identification of mental health issues.

Community mental health services, which include community mental health teams, crisis and home resolution teams, assertive outreach teams and early intervention in psychosis teams, all have a key role in supporting people with mental health problems either to avoid the need for in-patient care or to provide them with on-going support once in-patient treatment is no longer necessary.

From April 2016, the first set of mental health waiting time standards will be introduced which requires that 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis are treated with a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved package of care within two weeks of referral; 75% of adults referred to the national programme for psychological therapies will be treated within 6 weeks, and 95% within 18 weeks.

This is supported by an £80 million funding package for 2015-16 from NHS England’s budgets, breaking down as:

‒ £40 million recurrent funding to support delivery of the early intervention in psychosis (EIP) standard;

‒ £10 million to support delivery of the new psychological therapies standards; and

‒ £30 million to support liaison psychiatry in acute hospitals.

The Time to Change initiative is an ambitious national programme being delivered by leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems. The Department, the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief have all provided funding for the programme.The Department funded the campaign with over £16 million between 2011-12 and 2014-15 and is continuing to fund the programme with £2.5 million in 2015-16. Time to Change continues to work with people with experience of mental health problems to challenge attitudes and discrimination; run social marketing campaigns and work with local and regional partners on community-led activity. To date, more than 350 organisations across England have committed to tackling mental health stigma and discrimination in the workplace.

January 1, 2023
Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the criteria used for determining the points allocation given to a person receiving dialysis at home for the purpose of a personal independence payment allocation.

Justin Tomlinson

The PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments includes guidance on the assessment criteria and how they should be applied.

Activity 3 – ‘Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition’ (page 97) explains how to assess a person receiving dialysis at home. This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449043/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

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January 1, 2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to tackle cyber attacks originating in Russia and China.

Matthew Hancock

For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of cyber security attacks. The Government takes cyber security very seriously; from 2011 to 2016, we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme.We plan to almost double investment in cybersecurityto £1.9bn over the next five years.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what exemptions he plans to put in place to protect vulnerable households from restrictions to housing benefit in the social sector.

Justin Tomlinson

The existing exemptions that already apply to private rented sector tenants will be carefully considered prior to implementing the Local Housing Allowance cap for tenants living in the social rented sector.

It should be noted that the policy applies from April 2018, but only where new tenancies have been taken out or renewed after April 2016.

The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme will be available to Local Authorities to protect the vulnerable.

January 1, 2023