Tag: 2016

  • Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Willis of Knaresborough – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to make a decision about commencing recruitment of nursing students onto nursing associate programmes of study.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    In May 2016, the Government confirmed proposals to introduce a new nursing support role, a nursing associate. Health Education England (HEE) are in the process of establishing test sites to educate and train the new nursing associates, which will be confirmed in the autumn. Once the test sites are confirmed with health and care employers, HEE will recruit at least 1,000 nursing associates into training by the end of 2016.

    A draft Higher Degree Level Nurse Apprenticeship Standard has been submitted to the Department for Education for approval by the Nurse Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group. Trailblazer Group members are from a wide variety of health and care employers. Once the standard is approved, the Trailblazer Group will commence work on the associated assessment plan which will ensure employers and training providers are geared up to support the apprenticeship when it is ready to deliver.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the number and extent of civilian casualties incurred in the conflict in predominately Kurdish areas of Turkey.

    Mr David Lidington

    The ongoing violence in the predominantly Kurdish areas of south east Turkey is extremely concerning. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill members of the Turkish police service and security forces in violent terrorist attacks. The Turkish Government has responded by striking PKK targets in Turkey and Northern Iraq. They have also launched large-scale security operations involving curfews in some towns and cities in order to clear them of suspected terrorists.

    We are aware of reports of civilian casualties in the region, and a worsening humanitarian situation in certain areas in south east Turkey. The Turkish Government have said that 48 civilians lost their lives in clashes between 23 July and 23 December 2015. They also said that 93,000 people have fled their homes. We also understand that there have been investigations launched against elected officials and politicians. Any such investigations should be undertaken transparently and fully respect the rule of law.

    We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the PKK, whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. Our thoughts are with the victims of these attacks, and the civilians who have been caught up in the violence. As in any conflict, civilian casualties should be avoided and human rights need to be fully protected. We have been clear, in public and private, that PKK violence must end and we support a return to the peace process, in the interests of Turkey and the region. We stand ready to help in any way we can.

    We continue to monitor the situation closely. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge and our Ambassador to Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights, avoid civilian casualties and return to the peace process. I raised these issues with my Turkish counterpart the last time we met in August 2015.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK civilian personnel not formally deployed to an operational theatre visited such a theatre in the most recent year for which figures are available; and in what capacity those personnel carried out those visits.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Henry Bellingham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Henry Bellingham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Bellingham on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the salaries were of the five highest-paid people at the Environment Agency in the last financial year.

    Rory Stewart

    The salaries of the five highest paid people at the Environment Agency in the last financial year, 2014 to 2015, were published in our annual report and accounts and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/442886/LIT_10133.pdf

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  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 30 December 2015 (HL4261) and 2 February (HL5328), how the US and Canada have succeeded in having political prisoners in Iran freed while dual UK national Kamal Foroughi remains incarcerated.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We welcome the release of US and Canadian prisoners held in Iran. Iran has not changed its policy of not recognising dual nationality. However we continue to raise our own consular cases, including Mr Foroughi, with the Iranians at the highest levels and to urge for their release, including during Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif’s recent visit to London.

  • John Stevenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Stevenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reasons the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association has not been invited to meetings of the litter strategy advisory group.

    Rory Stewart

    We welcome all views on how the problem of litter, including that caused by cigarettes can be tackled. As such, Defra will consult with a wide range of stakeholders to inform the development of its policies, and does so in line with the government’s Consultation Principles and other obligations.

    The Litter Strategy Advisory Group currently has over 20 members, which include representatives from, among others, local government, the packaging industry and organisations with expertise in running national campaigns to address the problem of litter. Without making the Group too large, which could reduce its effectiveness; the Group’s membership strikes a balance between different interests but still allows for effective discussion.

    We recognise that a desire to see littering reduced extends beyond just the organisations represented on the Group, and we intend to seek input from a wider base that this, with the Group being only one way that views and contributions on litter prevention can be fed in.

  • Adam Holloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Adam Holloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Holloway on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37232, what assessment his Department made of the potential vehicular capacity of the two long tunnel options for the Lower Thames Crossing connected either (a) through junctions 2 and 30 on the M25 or (b) by direct connection to the motorway beyond the junctions.

    Andrew Jones

    Both the long tunnel options between Darenth and South Ockenden would have a nominal capacity of approximately 8,000 vehicles per hour. In the morning peak hour at the year of opening in 2025, the (a) shorter tunnel option through junctions 2 and 30 on the M25 would have an initial forecast usage of 5,600 vehicles per hour and for (b) 3,400 for the longer beyond junction tunnel option.

  • 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 percentage of Official Development Assistance was allocated to sexual and reproductive health and family planning in fragile and conflict-affected states in the last year for which figures are available.

    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.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the risk factors for chest, heart and stroke illness.

    Jane Ellison

    Responsibility for raising such public awareness in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government. In England, Public Health England (PHE) runs a range of national social marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of certain life-threatening illnesses and to therefore improve rates of early diagnosis. These campaigns include the Be Clear on Cancer, Act FAST and a regional pilot on breathlessness as a symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure, raising awareness on lung cancer and heart and lung disease.

    PHE also runs a tobacco marketing programme with a range of activity that highlights the health harms of smoking, including demonstrating the link between smoking and cancer, and heart and lung disease. As well as encouraging smokers to make quit attempts the activity signposts to proven National Health Service tools/service to help them. These programmes have been shown to have a positive impact on reducing adult smoking prevalence.

    PHE works closely with the Department and NHS England to ensure that health care professionals are also targeted with campaign information to encourage earlier diagnoses and referrals.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve teaching in schools on the risks of drug and alcohol abuse.

    Edward Timpson

    Effective drug and alcohol education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe.

    Drugs education is a statutory part of the new national curriculum for science. Under the national curriculum pupils are taught about the effects of recreational drugs, including substance and alcohol misuse, on behaviour, health and life processes. Teaching in this area can be further strengthened through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.

    To improve the teaching of drugs and alcohol abuse, schools can access expert advice from the mentor-ADEPIS organisation on delivering effective alcohol and drug education in the classroom. The information can be found here: http://mentor-adepis.org

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