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Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding mechanisms they use to disburse funding for sexual and reproductive health and family planning in fragile and conflict-affected states.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK aid strategy has committed that, from 2016, we spend 50% of our support in fragile states and regions. This will include our work on family planning and broader sexual and reproductive health and rights. In such settings, DFID uses multilateral mechanisms, for example United Nations Population Fund, and our bilateral programmes to disburse funding for sexual and reproductive health services. In addition the UK has made a commitment that in humanitarian crises, DFID calls for proposals will require that the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to be considered.

    DFID spent approximately £605m on sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health in fragile and conflict affected states and their neighbours in 2014; £606m in 2013 and £526m in 2012. This was approximately 6% of DFID ODA in 2012 and 2013 and 7% in 2012.

    In 2015/16 our support to UNFPA totalled £112.5m and included work in fragile and conflict-affected states and humanitarian settings, including in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen. In Syria, for example, DFID will be providing £18.5 million through UNFPA over three years to 2018. This is in addition to the UK’s previous support to Syria, which has helped tackle gender-based violence and enabled access to reproductive health services for more than 260,000 girls and women.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask NHS England to publish the (a) work completed by, (b) current work programme of and (c) future topics that are due to be considered by the Clinical Reference Group on Interventional Radiology.

    Jane Ellison

    It is for NHS England to determine what information it publishes in relation to the work of the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) and it has advised that the CRG work programmes will not be published. However, it has provided the following information on the work of the CRGs on interventional radiology and vascular disease respectively.

    The CRG on interventional radiology has, in conjunction with the hepatobiliary and cancer programmes, produced clinical policy on selective interventional radiotherapy (SIRT), and the commissioning through evaluation programmeon SIRT to collect further evidence on effectiveness.This work is continuing.

    The CRG’s current work programme is to support work across the medical and surgical CRGs where policy and service specifications include interventional radiological procedures.

    The role of CRGs across specialised imaging, interventional radiology and Positron emission tomography–computed tomography is being reviewed. Once this is agreed, the work programme for 2016/17 will be developed.

    NHS England has previously published a service specification and polices for vascular disease, which can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a04/

    It has also developed quality metrics.

    The CRG on vascular disease work programme for 2015/16 includes:

    – reviewing policies in line with changing practice;

    – revision of the service specification has been produced;

    – assessing specialised providers against the key quality indicators within the service specification; and

    – working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on technology appraisals relating to specialised vascular services.

    NHS England is currently working with stakeholders to identify potential areas to be included within the 2016/17 work programme for the CRG on vascular disease.

    “

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students were entered for (a) GCSE and (b) A levels in (i) Arabic, (ii) modern Greek, (iii) Japanese, (iv) Urdu, (v) Bengali, (vi) modern Hebrew, (vii) Punjabi, (viii) Polish, (ix) Dutch, (x) Persian, (xi) Turkish, (xii) Albanian, (xiii) Cantonese and (xiv) Mandarin in (A) total and (B) each region in (1) 2011, (2) 2012, (3) 2013, (4) 2014 and (5) 2015; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    It is not possible to identify pupils entered for Mandarin Chinese from data held by the Department. The Department does hold information on the number of entries into GCSE Chinese which includes Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese subjects, including Cantonese.

    There is no GCSE or A level qualification in Albanian.

    The table attached provides information on the number of GCSE and A level entries for the stated subjects in each region between 2010/11 and 2014/15. [1][2]

    [1] Coverage is for all state-funded schools (including academies and CTCs) in England.

    [2] Figure has been suppressed due to low numbers (1 or 2 pupils) or where secondary suppression has been applied.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his North Korean counterpart on the reported recent execution of Ri Yong-gil in that country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of reports of the execution of General Ri Yong-gil, the Chief of Staff of the Korean People’s Army, on Wednesday 10 February 2016. Due to the closed nature of the regime in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), we cannot verify the accuracy of these reports. The UK, working with the EU and Japan, has ensured that annual UN resolutions consistently call on the DPRK to end its use of the death penalty and adhere to international standards on judicial procedures. We also use our diplomatic relations to raise our concerns directly with North Korea officials in London and Pyongyang.

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

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which commercial organisations are permitted to promote or distribute their products or the products of other organisations in NHS maternity wards; what revenues accrue to the Government or the NHS from that activity; and what evidence there is that patients welcome such activity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    National Health Service trusts may negotiate locally with commercial organisations to distribute advice, information and ‘try before you buy’ samples that they think would be useful for pregnant women.

    Neither the Department nor NHS England centrally have any contracts with Bounty or influence over the contents of the packs nor does the Department benefit financially from such arrangements. We do not have any information about what contracts might exist between Bounty and individual NHS trusts.

    Although we are aware of Bounty distributing their packs on maternity wards, we have no evidence of whether or not this is welcomed by parents.

    Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) use the services of Bounty to help distribute Child Benefit claim packs to new mothers in NHS hospitals. The contract for this service is held by HMRC’s Print Vendor Provider, Williams Lea. Using the Bounty pack as one channel for distributing Child Benefit forms has proved efficient and cost effective. The Child Benefit form can also be obtained through other channels, notably the HMRC website.

    In 2012-13, HMRC paid £85,990.27 (excluding VAT) for Bounty to distribute a total of 857,939 English and Welsh language claim forms.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what resources his Department allocates to promoting and upholding freedom of religion or belief within the countries with which it works.

    Mr David Lidington

    Human Rights are part of the everyday work of all British diplomats. We work intensively on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) through the UN, the EU and the OSCE; and in individual countries, prioritising what works in local circumstances. In many parts of the world, we have supported projects through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. In the current financial year, we have allocated almost £900,000 to projects in this area.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) benefit sanctions, (b) work capability assessments and (c) other government welfare reforms on child poverty in (i) Glasgow and (ii) Scotland.

    Damian Hinds

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to question 905768 which was provided by Justin Tomlinson MP, the Minister for Disabled People at that time, which can be found at:

    https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-07-11/debates/1607114000024/WelfareReformEffectsOnPeopleWithDisabilitiesInScotland#contribution-1607114000168

    “

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 13 September (HL1532) stating that HMS Ocean had an expected in service life of 20 years and would be paid off at the end of 20 years’ service, what was the expected in service life of HMS Vanguard and HMS St Albans when designed, and at what age they are expected to be paid off.

    Earl Howe

    The Type 23 frigates entered service with an anticipated service life of 18 years for each ship. A Type 23 sustainment programme, comprising a series of long-term planned upgrades, aligned with routine maintenance, has permitted the service life of the class to be extended so that HMS St Albans, which entered service in 2001 has a current Out of Service Date of 2035.

    For HMS Vanguard, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to him on 7 December 2015 (Question HL4046). HMS Vanguard entered service in 1993 and is planned to remain in-service until the Successor submarines are introduced into service in the 2030s. I am withholding their respective planned Out of Service and In Service Dates as their disclosure would be prejudicial to national security.

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure weight-loss surgery is available to reduce the occurrence of (a) diabetes, (b) heart problems and (c) high blood pressure.

    Jane Ellison

    The commissioning responsibility for severe and complex obesity services will transfer from NHS England to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on 1 April 2016.Transferring commissioning to CCGs will offer more coherent commissioning of the whole obesity pathway and patients will continue to be able to access surgical services for this condition.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the financial effect of the provision of the Childcare Bill on primary schools with nursery provision.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Childcare Bill delivers the government’s election manifesto commitment to give families where parents are working an entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare for their three- and four-year olds. Alongside other providers, primary schools, including free schools and academies, will play an important role in the delivery of this new entitlement from September 2017.

    Getting the funding right is essential for successful delivery. Together with the funding announced at Summer Budget, we will be investing over £1 billion per year by 2019-20 to fund this manifesto pledge. The funding includes £300 million for a significant uplift to the rate paid for the two-, three- and four-year old entitlements. We are also investing at least £50 million of capital funding to create additional places in nurseries and estimate a further 4,000 places will be created through new Free Schools.

    The government acknowledges that not all schools will be able to offer the full 30 hours entitlement themselves. Where that is the case, partnerships between schools and other providers, such as childminders, will allow parents to access their entitlement through their school. Partnerships like this already exist, and we will be drawing out lessons learned and good practice from them in order to help others to establish their own partnerships for the delivery of the 30 hours entitlement.