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Tag: 2015

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to use its membership of the UN Security Council to facilitate diplomatic negotiations on the protection of 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 Security Council we have co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs, starvation as a method of warfare, and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating 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 is the second largest bilateral donor, providing over £1.1 billion to those most in need in Syria and neighbouring countries. This is our largest ever response to a crisis. The long term protection of civilians requires an end to the conflict in Syria and a political settlement based upon the principles of the Geneva Communiqué. We continue to pursue this objective, including through the new political process which began in Vienna on 30 October.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what powers they have to insist that recipients of British development aid should respect freedom of conscience and religion, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK attaches great importance to ensuring that people of all faiths can participate fully in society and live without fear of abuse or discrimination. DFID works closely with the FCO to raise concerns about freedom of religion with partner governments to ensure that all citizens can claim their rights. The UK’s development and humanitarian aid is not targeted at specific groups but at the poorest, regardless of race, religion, creed, or nationality.

    Before providing aid to a foreign government, DFID assesses the government’s commitment to four partnership principles, one of which concerns human rights. DFID provides aid to governments where we are satisfied that they share our commitments to reduce poverty and to respect human rights.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of how many additional GPs will be needed to supply the Battersea-Nine Elms development; and how many such GPs are planned to be provided.

    Alistair Burt

    We are advised by NHS England that it is working with its co-commissioning clinical commissioning groups to assess the requirements of the new development utilising the existing infrastructure and the requirements for an estimated population of in excess of 30,000 over a 10 year plus timeframe.

    We understand that new models of delivery of primary care services are being investigated with an estimate of around 15 additional general practitioners required to serve the final population numbers.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, for each local authority in the Yorkshire and Humber region, of whether the social care budget will meet future demand in the period between 2015 and 2020, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    No such assessment has been made. It is for local authorities to allocate funding to individual services from their overall budget. In recognition of increasing demand for social services, the Spending Review announced an ambitious plan to integrate health and social care across the country by 2020, and a £3.5 billion package to support local authorities with responsibility for adult social care to meet the needs of their local population. This includes giving councils the additional freedom to introduce a social care precept onto council tax bills, which local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber with responsibility for Adult Social Care services can choose to take up from 2016-17.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the General Medical Council on their revalidation programme.

    Ben Gummer

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health meets the General Medical Council regularly and has discussed their revalidation programme with them.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on high streets of ending small business rate relief.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Chancellor announced at the Autumn Statement that the doubling of Small Business Rate Relief will continue for a further year and therefore apply for the whole of 2016-17. Approximately 600,000 properties are benefitting, with 400,000 paying no business rates at all.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been identified for resettlement in the UK as part of the vulnerable Syrian refugee resettlement programme since 20 September 2015.

    Richard Harrington

    UNHCR identifies and proposes Syrian refugees for the VPR scheme from among the whole of the registered refugee population in the region, over 4 million people. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities. Approximately 430,000 registered refugees meet UNHCR’s vulnerability criteria.

    We will not be giving a running commentary on how many people have been identified for resettlement in the UK. Not all referrals translate into arrivals for a variety of reasons. We therefore do not consider it would be appropriate to provide this figure.

    Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data on arrivals through the resettlement programme in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 26 November 2015 and will cover the period July-September 2015. These numbers will be updated each quarter.

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

    Lord Freyberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of eligible patients across England received access in (1) 2013, and (2) 2014, to the full range of NICE approved tumour genetic testing for (1) breast cancer in NHS tertiary centres, (2) breast cancer in NHS secondary centres, (3) colorectal cancer in tertiary centres, (4) colorectal cancer in secondary centres, (5) lung cancer in tertiary centres, (6) lung cancer in secondary centres, (7) melanoma in tertiary centres, and (8) melanoma in secondary centres.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All NHS England commissioned secondary and tertiary hospitals will be able to collect blood and/or tissue samples for the purpose of genetic testing, depending on the sampling technique required. The testing itself is however usually undertaken by commissioned genetic laboratories, which will typically serve a catchment area much greater than the hospital in which they are based. There will usually be recommended criteria in place to guide National Health Service referrals for genetic testing.

    In a small number of cases, usually for very rare conditions, a test may need to be sent away to a non commissioned laboratory, including some abroad and some falling within the private sector, to access expertise. Funding will, however, continue to be provided from NHS budgets.

    The United Kingdom is also leading the world by using cutting edge technology in the form of whole genome sequencing to transform healthcare and health research. The Prime Minister launched the 100,000 Genomes Project to bring the benefits of genome sequencing to NHS patients. The Project will sequence 100,000 whole human genomes of NHS patients with cancer or a rare disease by the end of 2017. Eleven Genomic Medicine Centres have been established across the country and are recruiting patients to this landmark project. Otherwise, NHS England does not hold data on private or self-funded care or testing commissioned from either NHS or third party laboratories.

    Information on the percentage of eligible patients who received access to genetic testing is not held by NHS England. Due to data protection requirements, detailed data on the reasons for referral for specific tests are not currently aggregated at national level.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what financial checks are carried out on prison officers and civilian staff in prisons after their initial employment period.

    Andrew Selous

    After their initial employment period, NOMS staff are subject to additional financial checks when their vetting is due to expire and they require a renewal of national security clearance at either SC or DV level.

    Separately all staff are expected to declare changes in their circumstances, which includes changes in their financial circumstances. Occasionally where there are underlying security concerns identified further checks may be undertaken.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what timetable he plans to abolish university maintenance grants, including the timetable for laying associated regulations.

    Joseph Johnson

    New students starting full-time courses from 1 August 2016 onwards who would otherwise have received a grant will qualify for an increased loan for living costs. The total living costs support available in 2016/17 under the new student support arrangements for eligible students on the lowest incomes is increasing by 10.3% when compared with 2015/16.

    The Government expects to lay amendments to the Student Support Regulations covering student support for 2016/17 shortly.