Tag: 2016

  • Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Whitty on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent reported comments from Sir Keith Burnett of the Council of Science and Technology, and Jennifer Baxter of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, whether they expect 60 per cent of the £24 billion estimated expenditure, and 60 per cent of jobs, on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project to go to British firms or workers.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Work to enable the British supply chain to compete for contracts means that we expect more than 60% of the project’s construction value will go to UK companies.

    The construction and operation of Hinkley Point C will create 25,000 employment opportunities with a peak workforce of 5,600 people and thousands more in the supply chain. At least 5,000 people from Somerset are expected to work directly on the project.

    The project aims to create 1,000 apprenticeships alongside £14 million of EDF Energy investment in education and training. When operating, 900 jobs and £40 million a year is expected to be delivered to the local economy for 60 years, through wages and supply contracts.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who sits on the Child Protection Task Force; and if she will publish dates and minutes of meetings of that body to date.

    Edward Timpson

    Membership of the Child Protection Implementation Taskforce can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-new-taskforce-to-transform-child-protection

    Information relating to the proceedings of recent meetings of Implementation Taskforces is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

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

    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 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 4 January (HL4800), what evidence they have that suggests that the complexity of choice in wound dressings for nurses and clinicians makes their clinical decisions more difficult and can lead to over-specification and variation in standards of care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The NHS Catalogue contained over 600,000 products, many of which had been not used in excess of the last 12 months or were seemingly duplicate items. Given the sheer volume of products, this creates the complexity faced by clinicians and nurses when determining the appropriate products to use, which directly makes their decisions more difficult.

    By undertaking the planned clinical rationalisation of the products available via NHS Supply Chain, the Department aims to reduce this complexity, removing unnecessary products, ensuring that those available to the National Health Service are of an appropriate specification in order to maintain high standards of patient care.

    The clinical rationalisation work is being undertaken by practising clinicians taking into account feedback from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other relevant programmes, such as ‘ Getting it Right First Time’.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of parents eligible for tax-free childcare who do not have access to the internet; and what plans he has to ensure all such families are not excluded from access to tax-free childcare due to lack of access to the internet.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government will publicise the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme in good time ahead of its introduction through a range of digital and print channels. HMRC will also work with the childcare industry and representative groups who interact regularly with parents to raise awareness of the scheme.

    HM Revenue and Customs is developing an online childcare calculator to help parents understand their eligibility for government childcare support. From early 2017, parents of the youngest children will be able to enter the scheme first, with all eligible parents brought in by the end of 2017. Parents will not be able to open childcare accounts prior to the launch of the scheme.

    TFC will be straightforward and quick to apply online for the vast majority of parents. We estimate that up to 9% of the families eligible for the scheme of that population may have issues with either accessing or using the internet. HM Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided, usually by telephone, so these families do not miss out on the support available.

    Tax-Free Childcare is part of the wider government childcare offer which will be worth over £6Bn per annum and together provide generous support to families on all levels of income.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on voting in favour of referring as genocide the acts committed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria to the International Criminal Court in the event of another member of the UN Security Council proposing such a referral.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    It is not possible for the UN Security Council to refer Daesh itself to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Any referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than by a specified organisation or set of actors.

    We would consider carefully any suggestion from another member of the Security Council to refer the situation in Iraq and Syria to the ICC.

    However, we judge that a referral to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time.

    When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked.

    We continue to discuss with partners on the UN Security Council further ways to ensure that the perpetrators of crimes committed in Syria and Iraq are held to account and face justice.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40017, on NHS: drugs, what the value is of the five contracts listed in that Answer.

    George Freeman

    We cannot provide the values of the contracts because it is possible that such information, if taken with other information already in the public domain, may make it possible to deduce the purchase prices of the products concerned. Suppliers will regard product pricing as commercially sensitive. The publication of commercially sensitive drugs pricing information is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the contractors concerned as well as those of the Department itself.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors have taken the Royal College of General Practitioners online awareness module on Lyme disease.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what anti-corruption measures were agreed at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, held on 4-5 October 2016; what steps she plans to take to ensure the effectiveness of such measures; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Helping Afghans to tackle corruption is a key priority for the UK’s engagement in Afghanistan, where we focus first and foremost on anti-corruption efforts that contribute to the building of a stable and self-reliant state. Anti-corruption was a key theme of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan. At the Conference, the Afghan government announced that the new Anti Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC) was operational. They also made a commitment that five revenue generating ministries will publicly report on implementation progress of their anti-corruption action plans in 2017.

    The UK and the rest of the international community will continue to press the Afghan government to deliver on these commitments to ensure that core government functions are transparent, accountable and consistent, and that violations are met with legal, timely and consistently applied sanctions.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of involvement of the British company G4S in running prisons in Israel.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While the British Government has not made an assessment of the level of involvement of G4S in the running of Israeli prisons, we have made clear in meetings with G4S our concerns about Israel’s conduct of the occupation. In April 2013, G4S publicly confirmed that they would not renew a number of security contracts in the West Bank ‘to ensure that G4S Israel business practices remain in line with our own business ethics policy’. These include the servicing of security equipment at Ofer Military Prison, at West Bank checkpoints and at a police station in the contentious E-1 area of the West Bank.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what financial assistance his Department has given to the Palestinian Authority in each of the last five years for which information is available.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    I have been asked to reply.

    The Department for International Development (DfID) provided £349 million in support of Palestinian development from 2011-15 and will provide a further £72 million in 2015-16, of which up to £25.5 million will be provided to the Palestinian Authority. This year, UK aid will support 36,000 children in primary education and support 270 enterprises to improve their annual sales or productivity.

    UK aid is helping the Palestinian Authority to develop strong institutions, deliver essential public services and improve security – building the foundations for a sovereign and viable Palestinian state living alongside Israel in peace and security. For a breakdown on how financial assistance in the Palestinian Territories is spent, information is published on DfID’s Development Tracker website at https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk.

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