Tag: 2016

  • Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Boateng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the report of the Harvard Global Health Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Independent Panel on Global Response to Ebola published in The Lancet online on 22 November 2015, with particular reference to the creation of a Global Health Committee of the UN Security Council.

    Baroness Verma

    The Ebola crisis demonstrated the need for reform of the international system of response to disease outbreaks, including reform of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Several independent groups have made important recommendations including the Harvard Global Health Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Independent Panel. The WHO Director General commissioned an independent Advisory Group on Reform of WHO’s work in Outbreaks and Emergencies with Health and Humanitarian Consequences. This group considered the Harvard and London School reports but did not include the creation of a Global Health Committee of the United Nations (UN) Security Council in the recommendations they have made to the WHO. Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) supports the Advisory Group recommendations which aim to equip and empower WHO to deliver more effectively in outbreak response and to fulfil its leadership and coordination role in humanitarian crises and to do so with independent oversight. HMG will assess a progress update on WHO’s implementation of these reforms at the World Health Assembly in May.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the consultation into mandatory reporting.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government will launch a full 12 week public consultation later this year.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-18.

    to ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ensure that the new Education Cannot Wait fund will focus on the most marginalised children, including girls and children with disabilities.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has played a leading role in the development of Education Cannot Wait – a fund for education in emergencies. A key focus for Education Cannot Wait will be on ensuring that marginalised children and young people are able to access a quality education. This includes refugees and internally displaced children, as well as children facing barriers to their education because of their gender, disability or other factors.

    This focus is reflected in the Fund’s indicative headline results, which commits to providing “Inclusive education [that] reaches the most marginalised children and young people in crises” with a target of “100% of supported education opportunities demonstrate increase in education for girls, disabled and those in remote locations”.

    The UK will continue to engage closely during Education Cannot Wait’s inception phase, to ensure that this commitment is fully reflected in its final design and results frameworks.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with other Commonwealth countries on sharing trade negotiating capabilities and resources.

    Alok Sharma

    We have been consulting, and will continue to consult, a broad range of stakeholders, including governments and businesses, on the implications of the referendum result for trade. We have been encouraged by the interest coming from a range of non-EU countries, including some of our closest allies. Across government, we are preparing options for our future trade policy for the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) to consider. We are also rapidly building civil service capacity and capability on trade.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Aliens’ Employment Act 1955 makes it a requirement that all UK based staff recruited to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK must be British nationals or dual nationals where one of those nationalities is British.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the contingency fund for the new generation of successor Trident submarines was based on a full quantitative risk assessment of the project.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we have set a contingency of £10 billion, which represents around 35% of the cost to completion. This is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects, such as the 2012 Olympics.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will exempt people from the extra three per cent stamp duty charge on second properties who have moved home because of flooding and are unable to sell their primary home within the 18 month eligibility period for a refund.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has consulted on the changes to ensure they are introduced in a fair way, and is now carefully analysing the consultation responses received. The final policy design will be confirmed at the Budget on 16 March 2016, before the new rules come into effect on 1 April this year.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the consumption of microplastics on human health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No such assessment has been made.

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

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will bring forward proposals for a national register of wills similar to that used in Spain.

    Dominic Raab

    This Department has no plans to create a national register of wills for England and Wales. Wills may be deposited for safekeeping with the Probate Service, part of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, on payment of the appropriate fee (currently £20). Various private sector bodies, including many legal practitioners, also offer registration and safekeeping services.

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

    Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that the NHS supply chain does not include products that are produced with forced labour or modern versions of slavery.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department has worked with its national contracting and logistics partner, NHS Supply Chain to develop a range of ethical procurement interventions that increase the scrutiny applied to suppliers, based on the risks presented.

    All suppliers contracted by NHS Supply Chain are required to adhere to the NHS Supply Chain – Supplier Code of Conduct. A copy of the Code of Conduct is attached.

    This code of conduct includes requirements for suppliers to work in line with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and makes specific reference to forced and compulsory labour. The Supplier Code of Conduct has been a contractual requirement of all Framework Agreements since 2009.

    For categories of products where the risk of labour standards abuses has been assessed as high, by the nature of the manufacturing processes, employment practices or location, NHS Supply Chain require all suppliers to implement a Labour Standards Assurance System to specified standards.

    NHS Supply Chain continually review the wider contract portfolio, and where appropriate, the Labour Standards Assurance System requirements will be applied to new contract areas.

    Contract terms will require suppliers to implement and improve their Labour Standards Assurance System, in line with stipulated milestones, during the life of the framework agreement.

    Suppliers are contractually required to evidence compliance by providing details of independent third party audits conducted on their Assurance System.

    Where suppliers do not meet the specified standard within the stipulated timescales, their contract will be suspended in the first instance, and then terminated if remediation actions are not undertaken in a suitably timely manner.

    NHS Supply Chain provides support for suppliers required to implement a labour standards assurance system with webinars that provide access to expert support and capability building material.

    In relation to the British Medical Association (BMA) report In Good Hands, all suppliers awarded on the current Framework Agreement for Examination and Sterile Surgical Gloves are subject to the NHS Supply Chain Code of Conduct and contractual requirements to operate a Labour Standards Assurance System.

    Since the framework agreement launched in December 2015, a webinar workshop has been held with all suppliers to explain the Labour Standards Assurance System and implications of the Modern Slavery Act.

    Of the manufacturers named in the BMA report, two are currently awarded under the NHS Supply Chain national framework agreement for medical gloves.

    In both cases the Department in conjunction with NHS Supply Chain has investigated the allegations thoroughly by working with specialist independent third party audit bodies, who have undertaken assessments at the identified facilities.

    Audit findings have not identified any specific cases of slavery or human trafficking, or any serious systemic abuses of worker or human rights, however, improvements in management procedures, communications and training were recommended to reduce the potential for abuses to arise.

    Both suppliers have acknowledged these findings and have agreed actions, as part of contractual remediation plans, to address these.