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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the real-term expenditure on local authority-brokered social care in each of the last five years for which information is available.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Based on existing data, the last five years of adult social care spend (including transfers from the National Health Service) in real terms (2014-15 prices) are as follows:

    2010-11 £17.19 billion

    2011-12 £16.35 billion

    2012-13 £15.89 billion

    2013-14 £15.72 billion

    2014-15 £15.51 billion

    This information is based upon Department for Communities and Local Government budget data.

    The real terms figures (2014-15 prices) for gross spend on children and young people’s services (including capital expenditure from revenue), calculated from the Department for Education section 251 data returns, are:

    2010-11 £9.92 billion

    2011-12 £9.12 billion

    2012-13 £9.20 billion

    2013-14 £9.12 billion

    2014-15 data will be available later in this financial year.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what non-military steps he is taking to prevent Daesh from selling oil; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent Daesh raising capital to finance their activities by other means.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We hold regular bilateral and multilateral discussions on Daesh funding, including within the Global Coalition’s Counter ISIL Finance Group, which is co-chaired by the US, Saudi Arabia and Italy. Daesh has three main sources of funding: extortion from communities living in territory under its control; selling oil and antiquities; and donations from individuals. The UK has led efforts to create and enforce an international sanctions regime to cut off financial support for Daesh and other terrorist groups. We work with allies, particularly in the region, to ensure sanctions are enforced and that measures are being taken to stop the Daesh trade in oil and hydrocarbon products. Examples of this work include training local customs officials in the region to prevent oil smuggling. We are also focused on ensuring that individuals involved in brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime have been or will be sanctioned by the EU.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the role of women researchers in the global agriculture sector.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government is committed to developing a strong, diverse research community. The Research Councils and National Academies share this commitment.

    Government is working with its partner organisations to promote equality across all research disciplines and has established a Diversity Steering Group to guide this work.

    To improve the diversity of research fellowship awards, the National Academies are working to encourage more applications from under-represented groups and to guard against discrimination in the selection process. Government has also commissioned the Research Councils to develop an action plan to improve the diversity of grant applications and peer-review rates.

    As an international example, Government and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have jointly funded four research programmes involving collaborative projects between UK researchers and partners in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

    All programmes have included research capacity building in developing countries and have had an increasing focus on integrating gender into agricultural research.

    The most recent programme, Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) includes a studentship programme and of the twelve PhD students who have been appointed, eight are women.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the change in the publication date of the Mental Health Taskforce report to January 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    The independent Mental Health Taskforce has committed to delivering a costed five year mental health strategy for the NHS. Following the important announcement in the Spending Review that the Government is investing an additional £600m in mental health during this period, in line with the priorities identified in the strategy, the Taskforce is now finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be ready for publication by NHS England in the New Year.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the contribution international students studying in the UK make to British soft power overseas; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The presence of international students in the UK, and UK students going overseas, helps build relationships and understanding which have life-long effects. There is no limit on the number of bona fide overseas students able to study in the UK, and the UK is the second most popular destination for international students after the USA.

    The wider benefit to the UK of international students was considered in a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills research paper which highlighted the value of alumni becoming informal ambassadors for the UK, with the benefits increasing as they become more influential in their home country. Research by the British Council suggests that the average level of trust in the UK is 16% higher amongst those who had participated in cultural relations activities such as education.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many representatives from the criminal justice system are on the Mental Health Taskforce; and what areas of that sector each represents.

    Alistair Burt

    Membership of NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce is drawn from the Department of Health and its arms-length bodies which hold critical responsibilities related to the planning and delivery of care. It also includes representatives from the third sector, providers and professional bodies.

    Senior representatives from other NHS England work programmes may be invited to advise, participate in decision making or contribute resources where there is a common purpose or objective. Kate Davies OBE, Director for Direct Commissioning of Health & Justice Services, NHS England has contributed to the work of the Task force.

    Further details about the organisations represented on the Taskforce can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/10/mh-tor-fin.pdf

    In recognition of the critical interdependencies with a wide range of services outside the health and care system, the Taskforce was asked to consider the enabling actions required from the wider system, including criminal justice.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will discuss with the government of Turkey measures to slow the rate at which refugees and migrants leave Turkey, and the feasibility of their having European interviews before they leave that country.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has strong bilateral relations with Turkey and regularly discusses a number of issues, including migration. The Government recently announced that the UK will resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament – this will include a number from Turkey. The Government supports Turkey’s efforts to manage the flow of illegal migration, and maintain an effective border between Turkey and the EU. Turkey is responsible for refugees on its territory and EU Member States are responsible for interviewing and deciding asylum claims lodged on their territories. There are no plans to create a mechanism to allow asylum interviews to be conducted in Turkey on behalf of EU countries.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle online fraud.

    Mike Penning

    The Government takes fraud including online fraud incredibly seriously. That is why we established the Economic Crime Command and the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency to tackle the most sophisticated international cybercriminals and fraudsters. We have also made significant investment in Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, both operated by City of London Police, to improve our intelligence on fraud and provide a better disruption response.

    We are also investing in regional and local police capabilities to tackle fraud. This includes, establishing cyber teams at a regional level to support the National Crime Agency and local forces in more complex digital investigations, training police officers and staff in how to identify and secure evidence on digital devices, and launching a network of police officers to offer advice on cybercrime and fraud to individuals and businesses across the country.

    Furthermore, as the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9billion. Many successful frauds and cybercrimes could be prevented. Through the most recent phase of our Cyber Streetwise campaign, we are helping to educate the public and businesses on the importance of adopting simple security measures, such as installing security software and stronger passwords.

    Industry also has a role to play in fraud and cyber crime prevention. That is why we are working with the banking sector and law enforcement agencies to more effectively disrupt fraudsters and protect victims. This work will be a key part of the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which the Government intends to publish next year.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce mandatory training on disability awareness for bus drivers, and if so, when.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We do not plan to mandate disability awareness training for bus drivers at this time. Disability Awareness Training remains available to all drivers as part of the periodic Certificate of Professional Competence training syllabus and the industry has reported that virtually all drivers have now undertaken the training.

  • Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and (b) Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hearing centres are projected to close in (i) London and (ii) the UK in the next five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are currently no plans to close any First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum hearing centres.