Tag: 2015

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 assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that Tamil political prisoners have been on hunger strike in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

We noted that on 17 November the hunger strike by Tamil detainees was temporarily suspended until 15 December. We regularly raise matters of concern with the Sri Lankan government, including the detention of prisoners without trial. Our policy is unchanged and we remain committed to working closely with the Sri Lankan government and international partners to support the implementation of the commitments made by Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in September, and in the UN Human Rights Council resolution of 1 October.

01/01/2023

Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been spent on flood defences in each year from 2010.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The amount of capital investment on flood defences in each year from 2010 is shown below:

Financial year	Capital investment on flood defence excluding the exceptional funding provided as a result of the 2013/14 floods (£m)	Exceptional funding provided as a result of the 2013/14 floods (£m)
2010/11	364.9
2011/12	260.7
2012/13	269.1
2013/14	295.3	25.0
2014/15	353.3	125.0

01/01/2023

Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reduce Islamist culture at HM Prison Whitemoor.

Andrew Selous

Any behaviour by those convicted of extremist crimes or who subscribe to an agenda which seeks to promote extremist views will be challenged and managed accordingly.

In order to ensure our current practice is as robust and effective as possible in dealing with such beliefs, the Justice Secretary has commissioned a review, supported by external expertise, of the overall approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and the youth justice system.

01/01/2023
Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to provide support for the Family Rights Group advice service when its current funding expires in March 2016.

Lord Nash

Following the spending review, the Department is considering future spending priorities right across the board, including those important grants we make to voluntary and community sector organisations. We will announce next steps on funding for 2016/17 and beyond in due course.

01/01/2023
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, if he will commission an independent five-year review of provision for diabetes.

Jane Ellison

There are no current plans to commission an independent five-year review of provision of diabetes. However, The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS: progress review, published by the National Audit Office on 21 October 2015, provides a review of the progress made by the National Health Service since 2012 on improving services and achieving better outcomes for people with diabetes:

https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/the-management-of-adult-diabetes-services-in-the-nhs-progress-review/

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01/01/2023
Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will require the Parole Board to take into account all the available evidence that individual prisoners serving long sentences have changed their attitudes and lifestyles while in prison.

Lord Faulks

It is not mandatory for a prisoner to complete specific courses or programmes before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board. The Parole Board is required to assess the prisoner’s overall risk of serious harm to the public and, in doing so, will consider a range of factors, including, where available, the prisoner’s response to specific offending behaviour programmes (OBPs).

The Parole Board already takes into account other indicators of reduced risk, including where the prisoner has engaged effectively with professional staff on a one to one basis or undertaken education, work and training. In addition, the Parole Board will consider the prisoner’s behaviour in custody, together with evidence drawn from the prisoner’s attitudes – for example, how well the prisoner handles stressful situations.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 9 January 2015 to Question 219449, what progress has been made in improving wheelchair services following the NHS England review.

Alistair Burt

Following the conclusion of its review NHS England has set up an improvement support programme working with 11 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to improve services for wheelchair users. The 11 CCGs are:

– North Yorkshire (NHS Harrogate and Rural District;

– NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby;

– NHS Scarborough and Ryedale;

– NHS Vale of York CCG;

– North West London (NHS West London);

– NHS Hounslow;

– NHS Ealing;

– NHS Central London;

– NHS Hammersmith and Fulham;

– NHS Barnet; and

– NHS Brent.

NHS Improving Quality is supporting the programme which will run from September 2015 to March 2016 and include creating guidance, evidence and material to share with other organisations and communities.

NHS England has also introduced a new national wheelchair dataset with the aim of providing information centrally on the volume, expenditure, access to, and patient experience about wheelchair services to enable transparency and benchmarking. From July 2015, data are being collected quarterly from CCGs.

01/01/2023
Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the level of take-up by (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized enterprises has been of the cyber essentials programme.

Mr Edward Vaizey

At the end of March 2016, 2,181 Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certificates had been issued, of which it is estimated 28% were awarded to micro, 28% to small, and 22% to medium-sized businesses.

01/01/2023
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 assistance her Department is providing to countries which have not yet developed a national eye care plan.

Grant Shapps

In 2013, the World Health Assembly approved the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment 2014-2019 – Towards Universal Eye Health. This is a roadmap for WHO Member States and international partners with the aim of achieving a measurable reduction of 25% of avoidable visual impairments by 2019. One of the three key objectives of the plan is the development and implementation of integrated national eye health policies, plans and programmes to enhance universal eye health. The UK has signed up to the plan and existing UK programmes on avoidable blindness are contributing to achieving its objectives.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 18122, (a) how many times and (b) on what grounds Palestinian academics have not been given permission to attend academic conferences in the UK in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Acquiring information on the number of times academics of Syrian nationality have been refused entry to attend an academic conference would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas and Immigration for the category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.

In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide information on the reasons for refusing entry to the UK.

All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

01/01/2023