Tag: 2016

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many hotel bookings were made for (a) ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department during the negotiation processes for local authority devolution deals in each of the last three years.

    Mr Mark Francois

    Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in this department undertake a variety of visits to support the delivery of Government’s devolution and local growth objectives and other departmental business. We do not hold figures for the number of hotel bookings made specifically to support the negotiation of devolution deals.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policy of the recent UN Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict and its Annex which lists the Saudi-led Coalition as committing grave violations against children in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June, which includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools. We consider all these reports very carefully. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter. A political solution remains the best way to bring this conflict and the suffering of the Yemeni people to an end. The UK Government remains fully committed to this endeavour.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to review progress towards commitments made at the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit in London; and what the timetable is for further periodic reviews of that progress.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government remains committed to tackling corruption in all its forms. The new administration is currently considering the approach and the governance structures that will oversee this work. Such details will be confirmed in due course. In the meantime, departments are working to progress the anti-corruption agenda, including work that was set out at the London Anti-Corruption Summit on May 12.

  • 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 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Chinese counterpart and (b) officials from Tibet on human rights in Tibet.

    Alok Sharma

    ​We do have concerns about human rights and freedoms in Tibet. I raised our concerns about the Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk and Tibetan Blogger Druklo (aka Shokjang) with the Chinese Ambassador, in writing, on 1 August 2016. In that letter I also pressed him to allow UK diplomats to visit the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

    Neither I, nor my officials, have been able to have recent discussions with officials from the Tibetan Autonomous Region. However my officials have had discussions with non-government organisations on the situation in Tibet.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential role of technology in reducing aseptic pharmaceutical medication error.

    George Freeman

    Where appropriate, automation has a role to play in ensuring consistent output from aseptic compounding and increased production capacity. It may also provide additional protection against microbiological contamination by use of ‘closed systems’ of manufacture.

    Licensed specials manufacturers may consider automation as an appropriate solution for their product range and capacity. In these cases, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency inspections assess whether the process design, validation, personnel, training and procedures relating to the automated system comply with the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the independent power and propulsion system performance review of the Type 45 Destroyer of March 2011.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    A copy of the report entitled ‘Type 45 Destroyer – Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review’, redacted in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any national guidance has been issued relating to the use of opt in letters sent by health trusts to patients on mental health service waiting lists.

    Alistair Burt

    Guidance on the use of opt-in letters for patients who are asked to opt-in to adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services is published in “Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Waiting Times Guidance and FAQ’s”. This guidance can be found at the following link:

    http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/iapt-wait-times-guid.pdf

    “

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-03-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the proposed 36 month stamp duty grace period for people transitioning from one property to another will apply retrospectively.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government appreciates that there may be circumstances where an individual sells a property which was a main residence and then experiences a delay before purchasing a new main residence. Where an individual is replacing a main residence, the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax should not apply to the purchase of a new main residence within 36 months of the disposal of a previous main residence.

    In addition to this, the 36 month time period will commence from 25 November 2015 for those who had sold a previous main residence prior to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, in order to provide additional transitional support.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much support work by (a) value and (b) numbers of jobs has been undertaken by UK employees on UK Government defence contracts placed with US defence contractors in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not currently collate information on how much production or support work is undertaken in the UK or US on UK defence contracts, either by value or number of jobs. A comprehensive breakdown of which MOD contracts placed over the last five years are with UK or US suppliers is also not held centrally.

    The MOD routinely publishes statistics on contracts it places on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index. This includes an overall estimate of MOD expenditure for work undertaken in the UK and lists all organisations with which we have spent £5 million or more in the financial year. These statistics include expenditure with US companies.

    The MOD does not collate information centrally on the value of production work undertaken in the UK on contracts placed by the US Department of Defense.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Iranian counterpart on the protection of Iranian human rights activists in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We repeatedly call on the Iranian Government to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians and will continue to do so. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently raised the issue with Foreign Minister Zarif when they met on 17 May.