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Tag: 2015

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the whereabouts of Sombath Somphone who disappeared in Laos in December 2012; and what representations his Department has made to the Laos government on Mr Somphone.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain very concerned as to the whereabouts of Mr Sombath Somphone. We regularly raise his disappearance with the Lao government. Laos underwent its second UN Universal Periodic Review under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council, earlier this year. The United Kingdom’s recommendation calling on the Lao government to conduct a thorough, transparent and impartial investigation into Mr Somphone’s disappearance was formally accepted by the Lao government. On 11 September, 1000 days since Mr Somphone’s disappearance, I wrote to the Lao Ambassador to the United Kingdom, to urge the Lao government to rapidly proceed with conducting an investigation. Next month, at the EU-Laos Human Rights Dialogue in Vientiane, the United Kingdom, along with our EU partners, will highlight the lack of progress in the investigation into Mr Somphone’s disappearance.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with Indian authorities on the abuse of young girls in rural areas.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We have been following recent reports of violence against women and girls in India and share the honourable gentleman’s concerns. The United Kingdom discusses a range of human rights matters with India, including women’s rights, both bilaterally and through the EU. We are committed to tackling violence against women and girls round the world, including in India.

    Through the Department for International Development, we are currently helping to implement India’s Domestic Violence Act and supporting initiatives to reduce violence against women, both in homes and in public spaces. Our High Commission also works closely with Indian civil society and non-governmental organisations, including through providing advice to lawyers and grassroots organisations who are directly supporting survivors of sexual violence, through the Indian criminal justice system.

    Although this is ultimately a matter for India’s police and courts, we are working productively with the Indian government and international partners on this important issue.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made in establishing a smaller number of specialist children’s heart units, as recommended by the Safe and sustainable review of children’s congenital heart services, published by the NHS in February 2011.

    Jane Ellison

    On 12 June 2013 my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in Parliament that the Safe and Sustainable review’s proposals for children’s congenital heart services could not go ahead in their current form. In July 2013, after discussions with key stakeholders, NHS England established a new congenital heart disease review, encompassing services for adults as well as children.

    The new review has now been completed and the board of NHS England has agreed its proposals. NHS England is now working on implementation of the proposals and commissioning services against the new requirements. This is being done in collaboration with provider trusts.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the ability of homeless people to access mental health services; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness report Addressing complex needs – improving services for vulnerable people (2015) highlighted the strong link between homelessness and poor mental health, and the high rates of mental health problems and substance misuse among the homeless population. Homeless people often have multiple health needs and the report showed how vulnerable people can become trapped in a cycle of homelessness because of their overlapping and complex problems.

    Fairer access to all health services – including for vulnerable groups like homeless people – is at the heart of the health inequalities duties in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

    Improving access to primary care services for homeless people and providing services in non-clinical environments can also help to enable homeless people to receive the services they need. This includes self-referral to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.

    We are sponsoring schemes that help local areas address these complex mental and physical health needs faced by homeless people and improve service access. These include the £8 million Help for Single Homeless programme, which includes projects to prevent rough sleeping, and help homeless young people with mental health issues, as well as the Department’s Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund and Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programmes. Public Health England is working with local authorities to help them understand better the mental health needs of homeless people.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies renewal applications for the 2015-16 academic year took longer than 18 weeks for a final decision to be made by the UK Visa and Immigration Service.

    James Brokenshire

    The proportion of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) renewal applications received between 1 September 2014 and 20 October 2015, where CAS may have been assigned for study during the academic year 2015-2016, which exceeded the service standard of 18 weeks was 60 out of a total of 2259 requests.

    The average time to process Confirmations of Acceptance for Studies renewal applications received between 1 September 2014 and 20 October 2015, where CAS may have been assigned for study during the academic year 2015-2016, was 32 days.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role the North East Combined Authority has in relation to the Northern Rail franchise.

    Andrew Jones

    When known as Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) (trading as NEXUS), the North East Combined Authority were one of five PTEs who are co-signatories of the current Northern Interim Franchise Agreement that commenced in 2014.

    The North East Combined Authority is one of the 29 authorities that make up Rail North Ltd. As part of the new franchise competition ‎they were involved in helping develop the Invitation To Tender for the next Northern Franchise, which is expected to begin in April 2016.

    Going forward the Secretary of State will sign the franchise agreement, but the management of the next Northern Franchise is being devolved to the Department for Transport and Rail North partnership.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that all Jobcentre Plus premises are fully accessible for people on the autism spectrum, in terms of both environment and staff awareness of autism; and what plans he has to evaluate the progress being made in achieving such accessibility.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We are committed to supporting all customers so that they are fully able to access our services, and will do this by assessing their individual needs and providing tailored support.

    We are continuing to progress the commitments detailed in the Think Autism Strategy and have undertaken a significant amount of work to improve our services for people with Autism/ Hidden Impairments. We are working with Autism Alliance UK to develop greater capacity when supporting people with autism; creating a more appropriate environment and supporting the identification of reasonable adjustment solutions.

    The Hidden Impairment Toolkit, which I have sponsored, is available to all DWP staff. This resource helps staff to better understand how to support people with autism and associated hidden impairment conditions. I have attached a copy of this for ease of reference.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many general practitioner practices that received funding to open at weekends and in the evening have cut back out-of-hours work due to (1) a lack of demand; and (2) a shortage of GPs; and by how much those practices have reduced their opening.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Schemes within the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund are trialling innovative and improved general practitioner access. This includes longer opening hours – such as evening and weekend hours – but also different ways of accessing services, for example telephone and video consultations and increased use of skill mix. £175 million (including £25 million sourced from the £1 billion Infrastructure Fund) has been invested in 57 schemes over two waves, meaning that over 18 million patients (a third of the country) will have benefitted from improved access and transformational change at local level by March 2016.

    The Wave One pilots have, in some cases, adjusted their approach. It is right for pilots to have done this to fit with what is found to work best for the local population.

    Of the 20 Wave One pilots that initially offered extended access:

    ‒ 12 pilots have maintained or increased their extended access from initial mobilisation;

    ‒ 5 pilots have reduced their extended access by an average of 6 hours per week per scheme; and

    ‒ robust data was not supplied in time for three pilots, so an assessment of extended access variation cannot be made at this time.

    Schemes noted that in order to meet local needs and preferences, they adjusted opening hours and redirected resources towards the end of the pilot, once the pattern of local demand was better understood. The reasons for reduction in extended access varied according to locality. They included lower than expected demand from patients, and clinical/non-clinical staff availability. Furthermore, after the process of due diligence, there was a difference for some pilots between bid contract and committed hours.

    Clinical commissioning groups are looking at the evidence from the pilots necessary to secure sustainable provision which has proved beneficial for patients, local services and the profession.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the government of the Republic of Ireland has borrowed from Her Majesty’s Government, and what are the arrangements for repayment.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid before Parliament on 15 October 2015 and is available in the Printed Paper Office

    This report shows the outstanding loan principal is £3,226,960,000, with repayments due in tranches from 15 April 2019, until 26 March 2021.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Syrian opposition fighters trained by British military personnel have defected or surrendered to Syrian Islamist groups.

    Earl Howe

    We have no evidence to suggest that any Syrian opposition fighters trained by British military personnel have defected to extremist Syrian Islamist groups. Some of the Syrian opposition fighters have been detained by extremist groups.