Tag: 2016

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to deter young people from committing cyber crime.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy (2013) sets out our approach to deterring people from becoming involved in serious and organised crime, including cyber crime.

    In March 2015, the Home Office published additional guidance to support local partners to understand pathways into serious and organised crime and put in place Prevent interventions for individuals at risk. The Home Office works closely with law enforcement, in particular the National Crime Agency (NCA) , to understand the drivers behind young people committing cyber crime.

    Working to the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, the NCA aims to prevent young people from becoming involved in cybercrime in the first place, moving deeper into cyber crime and/or reoffending. The NCA works with both domestic and international partners to raise awareness of what activity is illegal, what are the consequences and the many positive career pathways available for those with technical cyber skillsets.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria his Department plans to use in determining which council houses will be deemed to be higher value for the purposes of implementing the provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 relating to the sale of such houses.

    Brandon Lewis

    Under the Housing and Planning Act, local authorities have a duty to consider selling vacant higher value housing and must, if the Secretary of State has made a determination under the Act, make a payment to government in respect of their higher value vacant housing. The definition of ‘higher value housing’ will be set out in regulations made under section 69(8) to (10) of the Act, and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list the UK delegates who attended the UN General Assembly meetings on refugees and migrants that took place on 19 and 20 September 2016.

    Alok Sharma

    On 19 September, the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) attended the UN Summit Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. She also participated in President Obama’s Leaders’ Summit on Refugees on 20 September. The Secretary of State for International Development, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) also attended both of these meetings. Senior officials from Number 10, the Department for International Development, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided support to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State during these events.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times personnel from UK Reaper Squadrons 39 and 13 have used the red card system in 2015 in joint operations.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made on devolution deals for non-metropolitan areas.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is determined to rebalance the economy and empower local government through the devolution of powers away from Whitehall. We have already agreed seven ground-breaking devolution deals with areas ranging from Liverpool to Cornwall.

    The Government is progressing devolution discussions with non-metropolitan areas that submitted devolution proposals in September 2015. We are at an advanced stage in negotiations with a number of non-metropolitan areas and expect to be able to announce further deals in the near future.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what commercial sensitivity applies to section 106 (staff using handheld tablets) and section 28.1 (movement of staff) of the agreement between NXET Trains Limited and his Department of 15 July 2014 regarding the Essex Thameside franchise.

    Claire Perry

    The provisions mentioned have been redacted at the request of either the Director General for Rail or the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

  • Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact assessment they made of the introduction of CQUIN scheme BI1 Improving HCV Treatment Pathways through ODNs, and whether they will publish a copy of that assessment.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence specifically requires Operational Delivery Networks to prioritise hepatitis C patients on the basis of clinical need, as part of a progressive rollout of treatments over the next five years and the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme (CQUIN) enables and ensures this take place. There is no separate assessment of impact. NHS England recognises that there is a very significant improvement in inequalities as a result of roll-out treatment for hepatitis C.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37536, on Govia Thameslink Railway Reforms Standards, what the predefined contractual change referred to in that Answer is; and what changes have been made to the cancellation and train operating company Minute Delay benchmarks.

    Claire Perry

    When competing for the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise the Department for Transport gave all bidders certain assumptions to use in relation to the train services to be provided until December 2015 and informed them where it would be a Change to the Franchise Agreement if the actual position was different. As a result of the Change, the benchmarks were reviewed.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the rollout of the new submarines for the replacement Trident programme does not disrupt the Government’s commitment to having a constant at-sea deterrent.

    Harriett Baldwin

    As set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we are taking steps to manage the defence nuclear enterprise and ensure the Successor submarines are delivered to time and budget. As part of this, we have established a new Director-General Nuclear to act as single and accountable focal point within the Ministry of Defence for all aspects of the defence nuclear enterprise. We are also establishing a new submarine delivery body for the procurement and in-service support of all nuclear submarines, including the Successor submarines. We have deliberately moved away from a traditional single ‘Main Gate’ approach, to a staged investment approach with multiple control points. This will enable us to better regulate and control programme funding and delivery.

    The rollout of the Successor submarines supports the programme to maintain a Continuous at Sea Deterrent.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when and by whom the decision was taken to give heroin to heroin addicts in line with his Department’s policy set out on page 31 of Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published by his predecessor in March 2016.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The prescribing of injectable opioids, such as methadone or diamorphine (pharmaceutical heroin) as substitutes for illicit heroin, as outlined in the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published in March by the then Home Secretary, has been an option for many years but since the late 1960s, prescribing of diamorphine for the management of addiction has been restricted to licensed addiction specialists.

    The decision to prescribe injectable diamorphine for the treatment of dependence is a clinical matter, for a clinician to take in conjunction with the patient. Advice to guide these decisions is contained in Chapter 5 and Annex 8 of the 2007 UK Guidelines on the Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence. The guidelines advise that:

    – “injectable opioid treatment may be suitable for a small minority of patients who have failed in optimised oral treatment.”;

    – “clinicians providing injectable opioid treatment should encourage patients not to regard it as a lifelong treatment option and should regularly review their patients and the continuing necessity for this unusual and expensive treatment”; and

    – The use of diamorphine “alone does not constitute drug treatment…it should be seen as on element or pathway within wider packages of planned and integrated drug treatment”.

    The guidelines are currently being reviewed by an Expert Working Group, to take into account developments in the evidence base. In July 2016, the Expert Working Group published their draft update for consultation. The consultation has closed and the responses are being considered by the Expert Working Group.

    Diamorphine is licensed as a medicine by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Clinicians wishing to legally prescribe it for the treatment of dependence need to obtain a licence for that purpose from the Home Office and to comply with all other legislation relevant to the safe management, use and supply of medicines which are controlled drugs.