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Tag: 2015

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department plans to ensure that data is collected on stateless children so that such children can be taken into account in measuring progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has played a key role in creating a set of Global Goals that are universal and inclusive; underpinned by a commitment to leave no one behind. Goal 17 target 18 concerns the need for high-quality, timely and reliable disaggregated data. It will be essential to have this data to ensure we leave no one behind, including data on stateless children. DFID is currently undertaking a bilateral aid review to address priorities for this parliament and this will address how we will support better data to ensure the Prime Ministers Leave No One Behind promise is delivered.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16399, what discussions he has had with the Accelerated Access Review team on biosimilars medicines; and whether he has been given assurance that the final report will make specific recommendations on their use.

    George Freeman

    In accordance with the terms of reference the Accelerated Access Review is not excluding any particular type or class of medicine, but is creating a framework through which to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative health technologies including biosimilar medicines where appropriate.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland of 18 November 2015, Official Report, what steps her Department is taking to support military veterans who served in Northern Ireland in 1972.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government accepts that we have a duty of care to all current and former members of the Armed Forces, and the MoD pay for independent legal advice when both current and former members of the Armed Forces face prosecution in matters related to their service.

    The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the relationship between the nation, the government and the armed forces recognising that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the armed forces and their families, and it establishes how they should expect to be treated.

    In Northern Ireland, there is a bespoke aftercare package in place to support former members of the UDR and R IRISH (Home Service), their dependents and widows. This consists of welfare teams spread across Northern Ireland which offers vocational resettlement training, medical support, and a UDR/ R IRISH benevolent fund. In August 2015, the MoD agreed that the UDR & R IRISH (HS) Aftercare Service should continue to exist and be funded since circumstances leading to its inception have not markedly changed, need is still evident and demand is being effectively met. However, in line with other defence restructuring, it has been decided that eventually it should become owned by the MoD’s main veterans’ support organisation, known as Veterans UK.

    This is in addition to the services available to all veterans; including Veterans UK (in particular the Veterans Welfare Service which has welfare representatives based across the UK); Service and ex-Service charities such as the Army Benevolent Fund – the Soldiers charity, SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity and Combat Stress.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the proportion of people in London who will be able to afford to (a) rent and (b) buy a home in 2016.

    Brandon Lewis

    My Department does not produce estimates on the proportion of people who will be able to afford to rent or to buy a home in London.

    The Spending Review doubled investment in housing to more than £20 billion over the next five years to support the largest housing programme by any Government since the 1970’s, including:

    • £4 billion for 135,000 Help to Buy: Shared Ownership homes, which will allow people to buy a share in their home and increase that equity over time;
    • £2.3 billion towards delivering 200,000 new Starter Homes, which will be available at 20 per cent discount to young first time buyers;
    • £1.6 billion for 100,000 affordable homes for rent;
    • £12 billion of additional housing investment to provide thousands more homes, including expanding Help to Buy in London where the scheme will increase equity loans up to 40% instead of the standard 20% to support thousands of aspiring homeowners in the capital.
  • Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward proposals to speed up the process for obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government takes transgender equality issues very seriously and has actively contributed towards the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s inquiry into transgender equality. There are no current plans to review the Gender Recognition Act, however the Government will consider the recommendations of the inquiry once they become available.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department has provided to support trades union and workers’ rights in Guatemala in each of the last five years.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our support to trade unions and workers’ rights in Guatemala over the past five years has included direct approaches to the Guatemalan government, meetings between British officials and trade union representatives and approaches to the International Labour Organisation, through the European Union.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of participants in (a) the Mandatory Intervention Regime, (b) Community Work Placements and (c) Daily Work Search Review under the Help to Work scheme have been sanctioned since April 2014.

    Priti Patel

    Information on how many participants in Mandatory Intervention Regime and Daily Work Search Review, who have been sanctioned since April 2014, is not available

    The number of Community Work Placements individuals with an adverse benefit sanction applied due to Failure to Participate in the Community Work Placement is 7,880 (between April 2014 and June 2015). This represents 15% of the total number of individuals referred to Community Work Placements in this time period.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps the Crown Prosecution Service has taken to improve the conviction rate for rape and domestic violence.

    Robert Buckland

    The CPS has taken a number of steps to improve the conviction rate for rape and domestic violence cases. These include refocusing resources to strengthen Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Units, extensive training on rape for prosecutors, an update of the domestic abuse legal guidance and closer working with the police in rape cases including the provision of early investigative advice.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the reasons are for the time taken to upgrade air defence radars at RRH Benbecula and RRH Buchan to the TPS-77 radar standard.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Type 92 radar has undergone extensive modifications to the signal processing equipment to bring the radar to TPS-77 standard. This complex work required the manufacture and replacement of safety-critical components and extensive testing, whilst also maintaining operational capability, which has necessitated the deployment of an additional radar whilst the Type 92 was being upgraded – all of which has been carefully managed by the Ministry of Defence and delivered to time and within cost.

  • Alex Chalk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Chalk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is making preparations to plan for widespread resistance to known antibiotics.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has already made comprehensive plans to address the threat of antibiotic resistance through the UK Five Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 – 2018

    The UK Strategy, which was published in September 2013, sets out our overarching goal to slow the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. It focusses activities around three strategic aims, namely, to improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance; to conserve and steward the effectiveness of existing treatments; and to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies. The strategy is based on the principle of “One Health”, tackling the problem of resistance in humans, animals and the environment.

    Globally, the UK has led efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance. For example, we have taken the lead in the development and adoption, in May 2015, of a new World Health Organization (WHO) Resolution on antimicrobial resistance. We are now working towards agreement for a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance at the United Nations General Assembly in 2016.