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Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the ability of people living with HIV to experience continuity of HIV care across the numerous health services and providers that they access.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Health Service continues to offer world class Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) treatment services.

    In its role as the commissioner of specialised HIV care and treatment, NHS England has a service specification which emphasises the responsibility of commissioned providers to collaborate with other health, social care and third sector organisations as appropriate to help ensure the holistic needs of patients are met. This includes ensuring people living with HIV and other comorbidities have access and referral to appropriate services.

    The effectiveness of HIV treatment means that more people will live well with HIV in old age. As people living with HIV get older, they will require access to services for the other conditions they may experience. Good communication with their HIV provider is important and this is required in the service specification.

    In line with the Five Year Forward View, NHS England will continue to work closely with HIV organisations in order to inform its commissioning responsibilities with regard to specialised HIV care and treatment as well as ensuring primary and secondary health care services respond to the wider health needs of people living with HIV.

    The Government’s Improvement Framework for Sexual Health includes the ambition that “older people with diagnosed HIV can access the additional health and social care services they need”. A copy is attached.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had (a) with his international counterparts and (b) within international organisations on private sector marine vessels conducting armed anti-piracy operations in support of merchant shipping in international waters.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK Government has had no discussions with international counterparts on private sector marine vessels conducting deliberate operations against pirate vessels (i.e. ‘private navies’). The Government does however discuss the use of Vessel Based Armouries (VBAs) at the International Code of Conduct for Private security in Switzerland and with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). VBAs allow Private Maritime Security Companies to off-load and collect weapons from international waters before leaving and entering the High Risk Area for piracy. The UK Government only permits the use of armed guards on UK flagged vessels operating inside the East Africa/Indian Ocean ‘High Risk Area’ as defined by industry.

  • Stephen Pound – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Pound – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Pound on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will re-open the consultation on pharmacy dispensing models and displaying prices on medicines that closed on 17 May 2016 in order to allow respondents to take into account revised information on the safety profile of hub and spoke dispensing models.

    Alistair Burt

    The consultation on changes to medicines legislation including on ‘hub and spoke’ dispensing did not rely on any specific safety profile of hub and spoke dispensing. Instead, the consultation document specifically asked consultees to provide evidence on the issue. Nevertheless, the responses to the consultation have raised issues around removing the bar on ‘hub and spoke’ dispensing between retail pharmacies that are not part of the same business that the Department would like to explore in more detail with stakeholders’ representatives before progressing any legislation. It does not now envisage changes to the legislation on this issue commencing on 1 October 2016.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which (a) groups and (b) individuals his Department has invited to work with the Government on developing a strategy for carbon capture and storage in the UK.

    Jesse Norman

    The Department continues to engage with the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry, including with individual developers and the CCS Association as well as others such as the Committee on Climate Change, on the next steps on CCS in the UK. The Department also continues to host the CCS Development Forum, which brings government and the CCS industry together.

    In addition, BEIS officials are providing support to Lord Oxburgh’s CCS Advisory Group which will report to Government on their findings and recommendations on the future of CCS in the UK.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to raise the issue of stateless North Koreans with the government of China; and what steps they plan to take to aid stateless North Koreans in need if the government of China is unwilling to assist them.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of thirty North Koreans being sent back to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) after a period of detention in China.

    Despite claims by the DPRK authorities that forcibly repatriated refugees are well treated and reintegrated into DPRK society, reports suggest that they are often mistreated by the authorities.

    We will raise the issue of non-refoulement at the next UK-China Human rights Dialogue, scheduled to take place this month.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-01-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many evasion referrals were made to the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Evasion Referral Team in each year since 2012-13; and how many such referrals were adopted as working cases by HMRC’s (a) Criminal Investigation, (b) Specialist Investigation and (c) Local Compliance Fraud business unit in each such year.

    Mr David Gauke

    The figures requested are in the following table:

    Year

    Referrals made

    Adopted CI

    Adopted SI

    Adopted LC Fraud

    2012/13

    2888

    332

    122

    225

    2013/14

    3298

    387

    300

    217

    2014/15

    2749

    374

    146

    129

    The referrals are made by HMRC officers when they suspect or discover evasion. The process is designed to escalate this type of case to a specialist team for review. If the case is not adopted by one of these teams it is returned to the referring officer to continue the investigation.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid has been provided to (a) Bougainville and (b) Papua New Guinea in each of the last three years.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    UK official development assistance to Papua New Guinea in calendar years 2012, 2013 and 2014 (the most recent years for which full data is available) was £1.3 million, £1million and £1.1 million respectively. Disaggregated data for funding specifically to Bougainville is not available.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage more milk processors to comply with the voluntary code on milk contracts.

    George Eustice

    The dairy industry code of best practice on contractual arrangements was created in Great Britain in 2012 in response to concern about fluctuating milk prices. About 85% of producers have signed up to it. There is general acceptance that the code’s introduction has led to some improvement for milk producers.

    Ultimately, the code is voluntary and owned by the industry. However, this is something that I regularly discuss with the NFU and Dairy UK with a view to encouraging other, primarily smaller processors to sign up.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of UK firms was owed money for late payments in each of the last ten years.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department does not hold the information required to make an estimate of proportion of UK firms owed money for late payments in each of the last ten years. As late payment affects so many different types of business in different ways, no single survey gives a full picture of the impact of late payment on businesses. The three sources that we look to as an indicator of late payment are the SME finance monitor, the regular BACs survey and Experian’s late payment index. BACS data shows that small and medium businesses were owed a total of £26.8 billion as at June 2015, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.

    The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors. Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 995, what steps the Government is taking to support the (a) gathering and (b) preservation of evidence of crimes that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Evidence is being gathered and preserved by a range of state and non state actors for potential prosecutions. The UK is supporting a number of these efforts. In Syria, the UK is funding the work of NGOs who are gathering evidence of Human Rights violations committed across Syria, including by Daesh and the Asad regime. This is being done to the standards required for criminal prosecution against high level perpetrators in a domestic or international court. In Iraq, we are considering how the UK might best complement similar efforts already underway. Working with international partners, we are doing everything we can to assist in the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used by judicial bodies to make a judgement on this matter. It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost or destroyed.