The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to safeguard gas and electricity supplies in the event of a terrorist attack.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government takes the security of the energy sector very seriously and DECC works closely with industry and the relevant agencies in order to ensure a robust and proportionate security regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which refugee camps the 1,000 refugees who are to be brought to the UK by Christmas are coming.
Lord Bates
UNHCR identifies and proposes Syrian refugees for the VPR scheme from among the whole of the registered refugee population in the region, from Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities. This provides refugees with a more direct and safe route to the UK, rather than risking the hazardous journey to Europe which has tragically cost so many lives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s plans are for making progress on the UK’s renegotiation with the EU before the next EU summit.
Mr David Lidington
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), The Chancellor of the Excheque (Mr Osborne), my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton and I have continued to meet our counterparts to discuss the UK’s renegotiation since September and we will continue to do so. There will be a substantive discussion at the December European Council as planned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with negotiating parties in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement to ensure that the provisions relating to copyright, trade secrets and intellectual property do not harm freedom of expression.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is not a party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and as such we have not had discussions with negotiating parties on provisions relating
to copyright, trade secrets and intellectual property and their impact on freedom of expression.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account will be taken of NICE’s clinical guidelines on levels of patient access in setting the budgets devolved by NHS England to clinical commissioning groups for obesity surgery from April 2016.
George Freeman
NHS England would expect commissioners to take account of this guidance when commissioning services.
Any transfer of budget from NHS England to devolved areas will be on the basis of existing contractual activity.
Before the transfer of services, NHS England will complete a data capture exercise, working with providers through the specialised commissioning hubs, to collect the current activity level. This will provide the basis for the transfer of the budget. Governance sign off will then be agreed at NHS England Board level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to maintain the current level of skills funding for 16 to 18 year olds up to May 2020.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Decisions about how 16-19 institutions will be funded in the academic year 2016/17 and beyond will be subject to the outcome of the spending review, which will set the budget for education and other public spending for the coming years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to assure the public of 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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have refused to interview and assess some of the boat people who arrived at the British Sovereign base in Cyprus; whether they plan to deport them as individuals to Lebanon; and what assessment they have made of whether deporting those individuals to Lebanon would be an instance of refoulement.
Lord Bates
Under an existing agreement with the Republic of Cyprus, those who claim asylum will be processed by the Cypriot authorities on behalf of the Sovereign Base.
Those migrants who do not claim asylum and have no other basis on which to remain, face removal to their country of origin or Lebanon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the system for reporting cybercrime.
Mike Penning
Action Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, and takes reports on behalf of all police forces in England and Wales. In June, it was extended to cover Northern Ireland. Action Fraud was set up to improve reporting of what has traditionally been an under-reported crime type. Official figures support the decision to centralise reporting: in the year ending June 2015, recorded fraud offences more than trebled from 72,000 before the centralisation of reporting to over 230,000.
Action Fraud works in conjunction with the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB): as of April 2014 both are operated by the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, which means one organisation is responsible for the whole process of taking reports and analysing them. The NFIB analyses Action Fraud crime reports and attempts to match them with other crimes and identify viable lines of enquiry so that an intelligence package can be passed to the police force best able to launch an investigation (usually where the suspect is believed to be located).
Not all crimes recorded by Action Fraud and analysed by the NFIB will have viable investigative leads: fraudsters and cyber criminals may be based overseas or use false details. Nevertheless, in 2014/15, the number of crimes sent to police forces was almost 62,000. This was an increase of over 50% on 2013/14. The City of London Police are working with local forces to share expertise on how to investigate these types of crimes. City of London Police will be introducing a new IT system in May 2016, comprising of a new and much easier to use online reporting tool and a new data analytics platform within the NFIB. It will improve the identification of viable crimes to be passed to police forces, and the ability to provide improved victim service and care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of whether the UK has enough qualified IT specialists to meet the IT requirements of businesses in the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government is committed to addressing the rising demand for IT specialists and creating a strong digital skills talent pool. Action is being taken across education and training, from the introduction of the new school computing curriculum, to a range of new employer designed apprenticeship standards for digital roles, and the innovative digital degree apprenticeships that started in September.