UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has plans to encourage the planting of trees to enhance the visual amenity of farmland.

    Rory Stewart

    This Government is committed to planting 11 million trees over the course of this Parliament, creating 24,711 acres of new woodland. This will be delivered by £31m per year of new Rural Development Programme funding that will be spent on forestry. £13m will be spent on woodland management and £18m on new planting. Farmers and landowners will be eligible to apply for the scheme.

  • Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Birt – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 9 March (HL5261), whether they have considered setting an explicit target for private-sector and financial corporation debt, and if not, why not.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As mentioned in the answer of 9 March, the Government does not set a specific target for private sector debt. However, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established as a policy committee of the Bank of England, is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks which arise from beyond the core banking sector (such as private sector debt). The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.

    For example, the countercyclical buffer is a macroprudential instrument which is designed to protect the banking sector from periods of excess aggregate credit growth that can contribute to system-wide risk. The countercyclical buffer rate in the UK is currently set at 0%, and is reviewed on a quarterly basis.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by (a) his Department and (b) the Burmese government to prevent sexual violence in conflict in Burma.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Sexual violence in conflict remains a significant problem in Burma and we are focused on practical action to tackle it. There have been some signs of improvement since the Burmese government endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, at the London Global Summit in June 2014, but we continue to press for more.

    During my visit to Burma in July 2015, I pressed the Burmese government at senior ministerial level on the issue and launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. The UK was also instrumental in facilitating the visit to Burma this summer of the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt. We continue to push the agenda in international fora, including through UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, which we co-sponsor. At Burma’s 6 November Universal Periodic Review at the UN in Geneva, ending sexual violence and improving the rights of women and girls was a focus of our recommendations.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further steps they plan to take to improve the diet of pregnant women and new mothers.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Parents receive health and lifestyle advice, including advice on diet, weight control and physical activity, from their health visitor as part of the Healthy Child Programme.

    For parents, the Government provides online advice on maternal nutrition via the NHS Choices website and the Start4Life website.

    The Your Pregnancy and Baby guide on NHS Choices includes information about a healthy diet in pregnancy. Start4Life produce a range of information booklets with advice for parents, including Healthy Habits for Baby and You which provides information and advice on eating healthily and exercise in pregnancy.

    The Government’s statutory Healthy Start scheme aims to provide a nutritional safety net to the most nutritionally vulnerable pregnant women, new mothers and children under four years old in low income families. The scheme provides vouchers for basic healthy foods (milk, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables) and infant formula milk. This encourages healthy eating the scheme covers approximately half a million pregnant women, new mothers, and children under four years old in low income families throughout the United Kingdom.

    We currently have no plans to extend the current dietary advice given to pregnant women and new mothers.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people who will have age-related macular degeneration by 2050.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no estimate of the number of people likely to have age-related macular degeneration in 2050.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shipley on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the net change in the number of homes in the UK for social rent between May 2015 and May 2020.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    My Department does not publish forecasts of net additions.

  • John Healey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Healey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure improved outcomes for patients who undergo stem cell transplantation in the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The number of patients receiving potentially life-saving stem cell transplants in the United Kingdom continues to increase. The availability of suitably matched donors is a key factor in determining the outcome of stem cell transplantation. The Government has invested £16 million to improve stem cell transplantation services in the UK since 2010 with a further £3 million funding available for the current financial year. This funding has seen more efficient service delivery though the creation of a single unified bone marrow donor registry, more UK patients receiving a stem cell transplant (increasing from 802 in 2010/11 to 1060 in 2013/14) and over 60% of Black, Asian and minority ethnic patients finding a well matched donor compared to only 40% in 2010.

    Further improvements include NHS Blood and Transplant introducing next generation sequencing technology that is quicker and more accurate in matching donor and patient and delivering improved clinical outcomes. Research is an important part of improving patient outcomes and the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Trials Network supports clinical trials on the development of novel treatment for patients with blood cancer.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the relationship will be between the new Institute for Apprentices and the industry-led body that will administer the Apprenticeships Levy.

    Nick Boles

    It is our intention that the independent Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will be established by April 2017. The Institute will approve apprenticeship standards and safeguard apprenticeship quality.

    The body will not be responsible for the operational functions associated with funding of apprenticeships and the administration of the levy. These will be fulfilled by the Government’s operational agencies.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Royal College of Nursing on the treatment of prostate cancer by high doses of radiotherapy on the first 20 days of that treatment.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no discussions with the Royal College of Nursing on this matter.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the practice of HM Revenue & Customs is to deal with illegal fuel seized by that body.

    Damian Hinds

    Illegal fuel seized by HMRC is rendered into burning oil by contractors who are approved waste oil recyclers.