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Tag: 2015

  • 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 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has instructed Babcock to extend the time a nuclear powered submarine can be without electrical power from 20 minutes up to a maximum of three hours.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence regularly reviews nuclear related processes and procedures with industry partners and with regulators, which includes independent safety scrutiny. Safety remains our priority.

    I cannot comment on specific timescales for the restoration of Electrical Shore Supplies to nuclear powered submarines nor reports produced in connection with this, as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will take steps to investigate how the administrative governance of installation of renewable energy systems could be simplified.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The development of a renewable energy installation has, by its nature, a degree of complexity. This can cover topics as diverse as the securing of planning permission, the granting of electricity generation licences, access to grid and administration of renewable energy financial incentives. Responsibility for these resides with a number of different regulatory authorities each of which have already put in place detailed guidance for applicants.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has requested that the Chinese government discloses the number of executions taking place in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK is against the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and we are committed to encouraging its global abolition. China has recently renewed the number of crimes punishable by death from 55 to 46, but it is still believed to be the biggest implementer of the death penalty with numbers estimated in the low thousands.

    We continue to raise this issue with Chinese authorities and did so in detail during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April. We have not asked China to disclose the full number of executions but instead focus our lobbying on urging China to reduce its use and ratify relevant international treaties – such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A transparent legal system and reforms in the rule of law will go some way to helping China in this respect, and we will continue to encourage China to make positive developments in these areas.

  • Damian Collins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Damian Collins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Collins on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether contact was made between officials at the British Embassy in Brazil and the Brazilian government regarding the arrest of Ray Whelan in Rio de Janerio in July 2014; and whether the UK made any offers to assist the Brazilian authorities with their investigation into Mr Whelan.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro provided routine consular assistance to Mr Whelan following his arrest in July 2014. This included contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Civil Police to request information at the time of his arrest. The Consulate also requested routine prison visits for Mr Whelan’s family from the Prison Administration Secretary. National Crime Agency representatives in Brazil did discuss the case with the Brazilian authorities, but did not open an investigation.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS treatment options for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine whereas Crohn’s disease affects the whole of the digestive system.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance indicates that ulcerative colitis has an incidence in the United Kingdom of approximately 10 per 100,000 people annually, and a prevalence of approximately 240 per 100,000. This amounts to around 146,000 people in the UK with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. In addition to this, there are currently at least 115,000 people in the UK with Crohn’s disease.

    The Department does not hold information on diagnosis levels in Wales specifically; this is a matter for the devolved administration.

    NICE published Crohn’s Disease Management in Adults, Children and Young People in October 2012 and Ulcerative Colitis Management in Adults, Children and Young People in June 2013. These set out best practice in the management of these conditions.

    Treatment for both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is largely directed at symptom relief to improve quality of life, rather than cure. Management options include drug therapy, dietary and lifestyle advice and, in severe or chronic active disease, surgery. The aims of drug treatment are to reduce symptoms and maintain or improve quality of life.

  • Edward Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Edward Garnier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Garnier on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects provisions in the Private Security Industry Act 2001 on private investigators to come into force; which individuals and organisations she has held discussions with on these powers; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the private security industry and this includes private investigators.

    In July, the Government committed to a review (formerly triennial review) of the Security Industry Authority. That review may make further recommendations for legislative change which the Government will then consider.

    Home Office Ministers have regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues and others as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of his Department’s proposed policies on (a) secure colleges, (b) the prisoners’ book ban, (c) HMCTS privatisation and (d) Saudi prison contracts.

    Andrew Selous

    a) I refer the Honourable member to the answer given to question 6553 on 15 July 2015.

    b) The policy on books was implemented using existing resources.

    c) I refer the Honourable member to the answer given to 12150 on 6 November 2015.

    d) The cost of preparing the bid to provide a training needs analysis for the Saudi Arabian Prison Service was met from within the National Offender Management Service’s existing resources.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints by passengers were received by Network Rail in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014 and (f) 2015.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail was reclassified as an arm’s-length public sector body on 1 September 2014 and the collation of statistics of annual complaints received remains an operational matter for the company.

    Network Rail advises that its customer relationship management system focusses on providing solutions to a range of customer service requests, the majority of which are received from line-side residents rather than passengers. Network Rail’s system does not focus specifically on logging the annual number of passenger complaints.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Church of England following the letter sent to the Prime Minister by 86 bishops on 10 September about the Church providing funds to meet all additional costs of increasing the number of refugees taken into the United Kingdom; and what assessment they have made of the further support the Church of England can provide to meet the needs of refugees in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Bates

    On 10 September 2015 a letter signed by 37 Bishops was sent to the Prime Minister. This letter set out how the Church stands ready to play their part but also how they believe the country could resettle more than 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.

    The Home Office wants to involve the Church in the design and implementation of the longer term programme of work. We are happy to have meetings with representatives from the Church to discuss the issues raised in the Bishops letter. Some of these meetings have already taken place with more planned over the next few weeks.

  • Lord Soley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Soley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Soley on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to encourage the development of sustainable aviation fuels in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established a Transport Energy Task Force in September 2014 to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, including through the wider deployment of sustainable biofuel. The Task Force included input from representatives of the Sustainable Aviation group. The Task Force’s report was published in March 2015 by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. My hon Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, the Hon Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones) met with Task Force representatives, including Sustainable Aviation, in July.

    The Task Force recognised that sustainable biofuels have a valuable role in reducing carbon emissions from transport, particularly in sectors where there are limited alternatives such as aviation.

    We are assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). We aim to include proposals in a public consultation next year on amendments to the RTFO scheme.