Tag: 2016

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 25882, if he will list the (a) 27 categories of information held in the Asset Management data set, (b) 13 categories of information held in the Facilities Management data set and (c) four categories of information held under the Finance data set.

    George Freeman

    The information requested is contained in the accompanying table.

  • Graham Stringer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Graham Stringer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stringer on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the evidential basis for new guidelines on alcohol limits in respect of proposed metabolisation of alcohol by men and women.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government asked Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), to oversee a review of the alcohol guidelines, to ensure these are founded on the best science and so that the guidelines help people at all stages of life to make informed choices about their drinking.

    The Guidelines Development Group considered questions of individual variation, of which one issue is variations in the rates at which individuals metabolise alcohol. Their advice is clear that the weekly guideline is advice for the general population, which individuals need to consider in the light of their own individual characteristics.

    A “List of supporting evidence” on the consultation page (where all the documents, such as the reports and evidence papers are listed) can be downloaded at:

    https://app.box.com/s/wlludrmim3gd83r28c4oqb3upj68cqia

    “

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to maintain the statutory status of all the farm animal welfare codes.

    George Eustice

    The Government intends to retain statutory farm animal welfare codes.

  • Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the aim of the Government’s policy on the new soft drinks levy is to persuade manufacturers to stop selling the regular full sugar versions of their drinks products.

    Damian Hinds

    The aim of the soft drinks industry levy is to help tackle obesity by encouraging producers to reformulate their overall product mixes by reducing added sugar content, helping their customers to choose low-sugar and sugar-free brands, and by reducing the portion sizes for high sugar drinks.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that staff in her Department receive religious literacy training.

    James Brokenshire

    Civil Service Learning, the main training provider for the Home Office, has a broad range of diversity and inclusion learning opportunities which are available to all staff.

    Horizon (the Home Office intranet) hosts an information portal with resources to develop staff’s religious literacy.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop peer support networks for breastfeeding.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Public Health England (PHE) works with local services to create breastfeeding friendly communities, with midwives and health visitors to promote best practice, and, through our Start4Life social marketing programme, to provide parents with trusted National Health Service advice.

    PHE has developed an infant feeding commissioning resource in partnership with Unicef to support local authorities in the delivery of a comprehensive approach to the commissioning of services that protect, promote and support breastfeeding. PHE also shares innovative approaches for supporting breastfeeding.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) UK embassies, and (2) UK consular offices, have been closed since 6 May 2010, and where those closures took place.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has not closed any Embassies over this period. Operations were suspended in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli and Sana’a for security reasons. Tehran re-opened in August 2015.

    The FCO currently has 268 posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices – Consular Offices are not classed as posts) worldwide. Since 2010 we have opened nine posts: in Juba (South Sudan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), San Salvador (El Salvador), Seattle (USA), Vientiane (Laos), Mogadishu (Somalia), Port au Prince (Haiti), Asuncion (Paraguay) and Wuhan (China). We have also upgraded eight posts: in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Calgary (Canada), Monrovia (Liberia), Recife (Brazil), Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad (India).

    Since 2010, we have closed the following Consulates and Consular Offices in Europe and elsewhere:

    2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland

    2011: Three: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy; Consulate Florence, Italy

    2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Funchal, Portugal; Consular Office Oporto, Portugal

    2013: Four: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand; Consular Office, Thessaloniki, Greece; Consular Office, Andorra; Consular Office Willemstad, Curaçao

    2014: Two: Consular Offices in Cali and Cartagena, Colombia. The FCO also withdrew its Provincial Reconstruction Team from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan

    2015: Two: Consulate Chiang Mai, Thailand; Consular Office Bodrum, Turkey.

    The FCO downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:

    2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy

    2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain.

    Since 2010, we have developed new technology and new ways of working that has enabled us to deliver services differently in some areas. We now have three Consular Contact Centres that take calls from all consular customers, and are able to support around 80 per cent of those calling without further escalation to post, helping to ensure that Consular staff in-country are able to focus their time on those most in need of help. Some services have also been centralised, with customers able to access them by post, and increasingly through digital channels.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making Disclosure and Barring Service certificates portable and valid from organisation to organisation by the person concerned.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) offers an Update Service which can deliver savings in both time and costs. With the certificate holder’s permission, a potential employer or another person with a legitimate interest can check via a DBS online portal whether any new information has been recorded since the certificate was issued. Only if there has been a change is there any need for the individual to obtain a new certificate. This enables portability of certificates between organisations. It is only applicable where the certificate holder is moving within the same workforce – such as work with children or work with vulnerable adults. Where the person is moving between workforces a new certificate will be required, as there may be different factors affecting decisions about whether information is appropriate for disclosure.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which licensed sponsors are eligible to sponsor a Tier 2 (Minister of Religion) visa.

    James Brokenshire

    I will arrange for the list of current Tier 2 (Minister of Religion) licensed sponsors and the number of certificates of sponsorship they have assigned to migrants for each of the last five years to be placed in the House Library. This includes certificates assigned to migrants who are within the UK as well as overseas.

    Each of the sponsors listed have had to provide mandatory documentation to demonstrate that they are bona fide religious organisations, trading lawfully within the UK. This information is assessed and used to validate an application prior to the issuance of a sponsor licence. Visits may also be conducted at the premises of prospective sponsors, to ensure that an organisation is eligible, suitable and genuine. Those who fail to meet UKVI’s requirements will have their application refused.

    In cases where an application has already been granted, UKVI continues to monitor their compliance against the published guidance. Those sponsors who fail to adhere to their duties will have action taken again them; this includes but is not limited to the revocation of their licence.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Department for Transport on the proposal to develop a work plan to define the shipping industry’s fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the International Maritime Organisation meeting on 18 to 22 April 2016.

    James Duddridge

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with Department for Transport counterparts who lead for the UK at international negotiations to reduce emissions from the global aviation and shipping sectors. All countries agreed in Paris in December 2015 to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C. International negotiations on how the global shipping sector can contribute to this are at an early, technical stage.