Tag: 2016

Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assistance his Department is providing to protect the wildlife and habitats of Gough Island from invasive non-native species; and what support his Department plans to give to Tristan da Cunha Council’s proposal to eradicate those species.

David Evennett

The Government is aware of the threat to the seabirds of Gough Island posed by invasive mice and plants. Research and scoping work has concluded that it should be possible to eradicate both the mice and the invasive groundcover which present the two main threats to the island’s biodiversity. Together with colleagues across government, we are currently reviewing the options for addressing the problem and the necessary action to ensure the protection of these rare and endangered species and to protect the World Heritage Site status of Gough Island.

01/01/2023
Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the emergency services can be contacted in areas where mobile phone service is poor or non-existent.

Matt Hancock

Improving mobile connectivity across the UK, including in rural and hard to reach areas, is a priority for the Government and the December 2014 landmark agreement with industry guarantees that each mobile network operator will provide voice and SMS text coverage to 90% of the UK’s landmass by end 2017. Additionally, Telefonica has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98% of UK premises, also by end 2017. Taken together these obligations will cut complete not spots by two thirds, resulting in 98% of the UK landmass with mobile coverage.

This coverage would be available to all mobile phone users for emergency 999 calls as the Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service requires that a caller from a mobile phone is able to roam onto another mobile network to make an emergency call if they have no signal from their own provider.

Furthermore, the Government recognises the importance of public call boxes as a means of calling the emergency services. Ofcom requires that there is a period of consultation before a public call box is removed and that one of the factors to be considered by the relevant public body is the potential importance of the call box to contact the emergency services.

01/01/2023

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which stakeholders were invited to the first meeting of the new Strategic Oversight Board.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The invitee list for the first Strategic Oversight Board meeting which took place on 18 November 2015 is below:

Name	Organisation
Professor the Lord Ara Darzi of Denham (Chair)	Imperial College London
Andrew Morris	Farr Institute
Anna Beckett	Care Quality Commission
Arvind Madan	Primary Care
Bethan George	Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group
Cynthia Clark	Patients 4 Data
Dame Sally Davies	Department of Health
Dawn Monaghan	Information Commissioner’s Office
Dr Aisling Burnand	Association of Medical Research Charities
Dr Ben Goldacre	Bad Science
Dr Grant Ingrams	British Medical Association
Dr Janet Valentine	Clinical Practice Research Datalink
Dr Mike Knapton	British Heart Foundation
Eve Roodhouse	Health and Social Care Information Centre
Gary Leeming	Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network
Gerard Crofton-Martin	Healthwatch England
Jeremy Taylor	National Voices
John Newton	Public Health England
Katherine Rake	Healthwatch England
Katie Farrington	Office of National Data Guardian
Lisa Harrod-Rothwell	NHS England
Louise Wood	Association of Medical Research Charities
Neil Stutchbury	Monitor
Nicola Perrin	Wellcome Trust
Paul Bate	Care Quality Commission
Prof John Appleby	The Kings Fund
Prof Nigel Mathers	Royal College of General Practitioners
Prof Simon Wessley	Royal College of Psychiatrists
Prof Sue Bailey	Royal College of Psychiatrists
Ronan O’Connor	NHS England
Ros Roughton	NHS England
Sarah Schofield	West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group
Sir Bruce Keogh	NHS England
Sir Cyril Chantler	UCL Partners
Steven Black	Monitor

01/01/2023

Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether Daesh are committing genocide in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The situation is desperate for many communities within Syria and Iraq. We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against Christians, Mandeans, Yezidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Syria and Iraq who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.

It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations of International Humanitarian Law and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That’s why the UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of more than 65 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.

01/01/2023
Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure (a) people who have not received payments from the Basic Payment Scheme for 2015 will receive those payments by the end of March 2016 and (b) all claimants of that scheme will receive information on how payments have been calculated.

George Eustice

The Rural Payments Agency is working to pay the remainder of farmers their Basic Payment Scheme claims as promptly as possible and is aiming to make almost all payments by the end of March. The Secretary of State and I have regular conversations with the CEO of the agency about progress. The agency has been communicating with farmers who have not yet received their payments. Going forward the agency will keep them updated about the likely timing of their payment until they are paid.

The Rural Payments Agency will support every payment with a paper explanatory claim statement and guidance on how payments have been calculated. These statements started to be issued in February and will continue to go out throughout March.

01/01/2023
Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Boeing Poseidon P-8s acquired by the UK will be compatible with the MQ-4 Triton UAV.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 April 2016 to Question 33058 to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock).

01/01/2023
Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the pensions of people enrolled in pooled local government pension schemes are safeguarded in the event of a failed infrastructure project that received investment from that fund.

Mr Marcus Jones

Local government pension scheme benefits are set out in statute and are not linked to the investment performance of funds. However, those responsible for investment decisions should have regard to the need to achieve an appropriate balance between risk and return and act in the best interests of scheme members and local taxpayers.

01/01/2023
Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37187, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) improve the provision of care for patients with and (b) increase funding for research into lung diseases other than chronic pulmonary disease, asthma and lung cancer.

Jane Ellison

To help the National Health Service understand what a good quality service looks like, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence publishes quality standards which define best practice within the topic area. It has recently published quality standards on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (January 2015) and pneumonia (January 2016).

The National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including any lung disease. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

01/01/2023
Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to implement the measures in the Skills Plan.

Robert Halfon

The Post-16 Skills Plan sets out our plans to radically reform technical education provision and the wider skills system in England to ensure they match the best in the world, tackling long-standing issues which have harmed our nation’s productivity and international competitiveness. We are committed to taking forward this ambitious programme in full, implementing the reforms in a lasting and coherent way.

We have already started work to identify pathfinder technical education routes; design the new functions within an expanded Institute for Apprenticeships; map the occupations within each route to identify what technical qualifications should be included within their scope; design the employer panels that will develop new standards where required; and develop ‘transition year’ arrangements for young people not ready to progress into mainstream technical or academic provision at 16, or later if their education has been delayed. In addition, we are continuing to implement those reforms which are already in train, such as the programme of locally led area reviews of post-16 provision.

Later in the autumn, we will publish an implementation plan, setting out in greater detail how we will deliver the Post-16 Skills Plan and how we will engage with key stakeholders, including colleges and employers, on the ongoing design and delivery of our proposals.

01/01/2023
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for the proliferation of nuclear weapons of the underground test of a nuclear device by North Korea on 6 January.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK strongly condemns the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and international norms. This provocation endangers regional and international security. We are currently working with other UN Security Council members on further measures in a new Resolution, while continuing to urge the rigorous implementation of sanctions by the international community.

01/01/2023