Tag: 2016

  • Paul Maynard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Paul Maynard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, who the Government plans to send as its representative to the discussions on research and development of pharmaceuticals at the World Health Organisation meeting in March 2016.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    As outlined in the response to PQ (House of Commons written), Hansard ref 27784; the meeting at the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been postponed to May 2016 and arrangements about the meeting are at an early stage. DFID officials are in discussion with WHO senior managers about UK representation at the meeting.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that members of HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff with protected characteristics will not be required to end their employment due to the closure of the court at which they work.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Following the closure announcement HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) began a period of staff consultation which includes discussions between all those affected and their management teams. Management teams will support staff in identifying suitable redeployment options taking into account their individual needs.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2016 to Question 31789, how many people were (a) newly diagnosed and (b) already diagnosed as suffering from inflammatory bowel disease in each year since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    The two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine whereas Crohn’s disease affects the whole of the digestive system. Data relating to the total number of people newly and already diagnosed with IBD in each year since 2010 is not collected.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance indicates that ulcerative colitis has an incidence in the United Kingdom of approximately 10 per 100,000 people annually, and a prevalence of approximately 240 per 100,000. This amounts to around 146,000 people in the UK with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. In addition to this, there are currently at least 115,000 people in the UK with Crohn’s disease.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of embryonic stem cell research for the development of treatments for patients.

    George Freeman

    Treatments based on the use of stem cells including those obtained by embryos must be demonstrated to be both safe and effective before they can receive authorisation.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Rwanda about the visit to that country by Omar al Bashir, President of Sudan, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Rwanda is not a State party to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is important that fugitives from international justice do not enjoy impunity and we note the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1593) has urged all States to cooperate fully with the ICC and its Prosecutor with regards to the situation in Darfur. We continue to follow closely developments in the ICC, including the level of States’ cooperation with the Court, and will consider further measures as appropriate.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has carried out a (a) policy equality statement, (b) equality impact assessment or (c) any equality monitoring on its contracts with Compass to provide accommodation to asylum seekers since those contracts were signed in 2012.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office is currently considering any equality impacts as part of the wider considerations as to whether to extend the asylum support and accommodation contracts for the period from 2017-19.

    The Home Office takes its equality duty seriously and engages regularly with Non-Governmental Organisations and its contractors to ensure that support and accommodation for asylum seekers meets the needs of individual service users.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 14 December (HL4086), whether their next Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report in April 2016 will contain an assessment of the effectiveness and outputs of project funding on human rights and democracy in their priority countries in the most recent full year; and if so, whether it will be subject to independent audit.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The 2015 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report will include references to project funding on human rights and democracy in priority countries where appropriate. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office funding, including human rights and democracy project funding, is subject to robust monitoring and evaluation, and like all government spending is subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees how many people are employed by the House of Lords on zero-hours contracts.

    Lord Laming

    The House of Lords does not employ any staff on zero-hours contracts on an exclusive basis. It employs 21 staff on zero-hours contracts in the Catering and Retail Services department, primarily for banqueting events. These are roles where staffing demands vary significantly week to week and are often unpredictable. The House also employs 23 freelance Hansard reporters.

    Zero-hours staff employed by the House of Lords are free to turn down shifts offered by the House. They have equivalent employment rights to full-time staff including pension and holiday pay entitlements, which are better than those of most agency staff. All staff in the House of Lords, including those on these contracts, are paid at least the London Living Wage.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the implications for border security arrangements of recent gangland-related murders in the Irish Republic.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    There are long-established and effective working relationships between the police and intelligence agencies of the UK and Ireland to mitigate threats in both countries. The UK Government takes protecting our border security very seriously and there is a high level of co-operation and on-going work with the Irish Government strengthening the external border of the Common Travel Area.

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Dartford Crossing has closed in the last 12 months; and what the cause of each closure was.

    Andrew Jones

    The Dartford Crossing consists of two bored tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

    There has been only one planned closure in the last 12 months where the crossing has been fully closed i.e. both the bridge and the tunnels. This was for overnight works on 15 August 2015 for the removal and installation of new gantries for the Dartcharge project.

    There have also been 81 occasions when either the bridge or one of the tunnel bores have been closed for planned construction or maintenance works. These works were carried out overnight when traffic flows are such that they can be accommodated by the remaining open elements of the crossing. The 81 occasions comprise 4 bridge closures, 42 west bore closures and 35 east bore closures.

    There have been 9 unplanned bridge closures; twice for high wind and 7 for broken down vehicles, collisions and police-led incidents.

    There have been 5 unplanned closures of the west tunnel; 4 traffic incidents and once to repair a road defect.

    There have been 12 unplanned closures of the east tunnel; 10 times for traffic incidents (4 broken down vehicles, 5 collisions and one diesel spill) and twice for road repairs.