Tag: 2015

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average retirement age of female GPs has been in each year from 2000 to 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not held by the Department in the format requested.

    The average age at which a National Health Service pension is drawn for general practitioners is 62 for males and 61 for females. Pension scheme members must leave their employment in order to claim their pension. This can be done at any time after the age of 55.

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make available on the NHS cyber-knife technology to treat cancer and reduce time spent in hospital by cancer patients.

    Jane Ellison

    Cyber-knife technology is one of three treatment platforms that can be used to treat a number of cancers, together with some benign conditions. The treatment platforms deliver stereotactic radiotherapy, both to the body (stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy) which is commissioned for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and to the head (stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy) for a range of cancer indications covered by clinical commissioning policies which can be found at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-d/d05/

    It should be noted that NHS England commissions on the basis of clinical indication and not specifically for treatment platforms. The choice of treatment platform used is ultimately a decision made by trusts themselves.

    “

  • Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that adequate financial resources were allocated to investigations into cases of historical child sexual abuse in (a) the London Borough of Lambeth, (b) London and (c) England and Wales.

    Karen Bradley

    No case of child abuse is ‘historical’ for victims and survivors. They must live with the consequences of their abuse each and every day of their lives. The allocation of resources on investigations into cases of child sexual abuse, including abuse that has taken place in the past, is an operational matter for the police and law enforcement.

    We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat which means that police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners must have in place the capabilities they need to protect children from sexual abuse. In 2015/16 we provided an additional £10 million to the National Crime Agency for the creation of more specialist teams to tackle online child sexual exploitation. We have also made available £1.7 million to fund Operation Hydrant, which coordinates the handling of multiple historical child sexual abuse investigations specifically concerning institutions or persons of public prominence, and up to £1.5 million to support regional coordinators and analysts to oversee the implementation of the National Policing Plan for tackling Child Sexual Exploitation.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what access foreign security services have in the UK to CCTV cameras with facial recognition and biometric tracking capabilities.

    Mike Penning

    I have received no representations about the use of CCTV cameras with facial recognition and biometric tracking capabilities.

    The use of any CCTV system operating in a public place in England and Wales (whether or not any facial recognition or biometric tracking technology is being used) is subject to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, issued as guidance under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The police, as a relevant authority, are duty bound to have regard to the Code when performing their functions. Any use of such technology for covert investigative purposes by a public authority would be subject to the requirements of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and its related Code of Practice. Further, the use and disclosure of personal data, such as CCTV images, is generally governed by the Data Protection Act 1998.

    Information on the fields of data which any CCTV system operator may use to identify individuals of interest is not held centrally. Further, any person (including those not suspected of an offence) may make a subject access request to a police force in respect of personal information which is held about them (including CCTV images). In broad terms, pursuant to the Code of Practice on the Management of Police Information (MOPI) and accompanying guidance published by the College of Policing, this should trigger a review of whether or not to delete such material based on an assessment of danger to the public and its value for policing purposes.

    It is the longstanding policy of successive Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates have resigned from their positions in each of the last 24 months.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    It is not possible to provide the requested information at this time, as the central database on which the information is recorded is being replaced. I will write to the honourable member in due course.

  • Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Lincoln since his election; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to review the safety of roads and highways in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has not undertaken a review of safety of the roads of highways in the West Midlands as this is a matter for the local highway authorities and Highways England.

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who were subject to the benefit cap between May 2015 and August 2015 had been in receipt of working tax credit at any point during the 12 months prior to May 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Benefit cap statistics for the period to August 2015 have been pre-announced for publication on 5th November 2015, however the information you have requested cannot be provided due to disproportionate costs.

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

    John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by local authorities to tackle loneliness; and what support the Government has provided to local authorities for such work.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of loneliness in England or in Basildon and Billericay. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) demonstrated that loneliness has a very negative impact on health. Research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has shown it has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than obesity. Loneliness and social isolation is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, poor sleep and depression.

    The Government has not made an assessment of the steps the National Health Service and local authorities have taken to tackle loneliness. Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating. This includes examples of what NHS bodies and local authorities have done to tackle loneliness such as the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group Living Well programme and LinkAge supported by Bristol City Council.

    Prevention is core to the Government’s approach to people managing their health and care needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health set out in his speech to the Local Government Association on 1 July that we all have a responsibility at an individual, family, and community level to identify people with care needs such as loneliness and provide support and improve their wellbeing.

    Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.

    The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.

    We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Palestinian Authority on action to prevent terrorist attacks in Israel.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    I spoke to President Abbas on 9 October about the violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and urged him to do everything in his power to reduce tensions and restore calm. In recent weeks, Her Majesty’s Consul General in Jerusalem has also pressed several senior Palestinian figures on the need to de-escalate the current tension.

    I strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks. The effect that they are having on innocent civilians is appalling. I also strongly condemn all incitement to commit acts of violence by both sides.