Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will instruct officials of his Department to continue to work with the manufacturers of Nivolumab on ensuring that patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer can access that drug through the NHS.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab (Opdivo) for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.

    As part of its appraisal, the NICE has considered a patient access scheme (PAS) proposal from the manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb which has been agreed by Ministers. Departmental officials are open to discussing any further proposals regarding the PAS with the company.

    The NICE currently expects to publish its final guidance in September 2016.

    In the absence of the NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the available evidence.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what his policy is on future UK participation in the EU cybersecurity strategy.

    Mr David Jones

    We are leaving the EU but co-operation on security, including on cyber security, with our European and global allies will be undiminished. We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide support to children’s hospices which extend their services for young adults.

    David Mowat

    The Department provided grant funding in 2013-16 to Together for Short Lives, the organisation supporting children’s hospices, to support the Transition Taskforce. The Taskforce provides guidance and training that supports good transitions locally between children’s and adult services for those with life-limiting conditions or needing palliative care.

    NHS England is continuing to prioritise funding for the children’s hospice grants programme at the current level. NHS England has been engaging with children’s hospices through Together for Short Lives prior to a consultation on the allocation method for the 2017-18 grant.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the situation in Madaya; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood that access will now be possible on a regular basis.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syria crisis. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US.

    On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach town of Madaya, and the besieged areas of Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived and more are planned. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoys.

    The UN and partners continue to do all they can on a daily basis to gain access to the 4.5 million Syrians in hard to reach and besieged areas. The UK supports UN agencies and its partners who are trying to secure such access and deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria

    A wide range of constraints on humanitarian access exist, including continued hostilities, onerous bureaucratic requirements, and attempts by parties to armed conflict to intentionally block access. In the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard to reach areas have been approved and delivered. That is why the UK played a critical role in co-sponsoring and lobbying for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid into Syria without the consent of the regime. It is vital we maintain the pressure on the regime to let aid convoys in and to provide sustained, permanent and safe humanitarian access.

    The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis, especially regarding jobs and education. We also hope the Conference will put pressure on the parties to the conflict by shining a spotlight on violations of international law and impediments to humanitarian access in Syria.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much funding the Government has allocated to the continued assessment of options for plutonium management in the financial years (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In Spending Review 2015, the Government committed £11bn net funding to NDA over five years (in addition to its forecast commercial income). Government is satisfied with the provision made in the NDA’s budget to continue to make meaningful progress on the plutonium disposition programme.

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health social workers have been employed in each year since 2009-10.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected centrally.

  • Stuart Blair Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart Blair Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Blair Donaldson on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many colleges and universities have had (a) sponsorship licences revoked and (b) faced other restrictions related to allegations of English Language Test fraud; and what steps she plans to take to reconsider those revocations and restrictions.

    Mike Penning

    This data is published on the following website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-data-february-2016

    As this is linked to ongoing litigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.

  • Marie Rimmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Marie Rimmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marie Rimmer on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to compensate local authorities for the potential loss of business rate revenue arising from measures announced in Budget 2016 following full devolution of business rates and abolition of the revenue support grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Our business rates tax cuts provide significant support to local businesses.

    The Small Business Rate Relief measure announced at the Budget which starts in 2017-18 will mean 600,000 of the smallest businesses will not have to pay business rates. We will compensate local authorities, in full, for the loss of income as a result of this measure, in the same way as we have done for every other reduction to business rates we have made since the introduction of the business rates retention scheme.

    We will move to 100% business rates retention by the end of the Parliament and will establish the scheme based on the amount of business rates available to authorities at the time, which will naturally take account of increases and reductions in business rates yields, including those resulting from measures announced at Budget 2016.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that its support for education in its target countries reaches (a) girls and (b) other marginalised groups.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Providing a good quality education for all children, especially girls and those who are most disadvantaged is a priority for the Department. The UK supported 11 million children in school between 2010 and 2015. We have again committed to support 11 million children in the poorest countries gain a decent education by 2020. The UK has specifically committed to support 6.5 million girls in school by 2020. Our flagship Girls Education Challenge is ensuring that up to 1 million marginalised girls, progress through school with improved learning outcomes. In July DFID will be hosting a Girls’ Education Forum to drive the implementation of Global Goal 4 for girls and agree actions for making faster progress on girls’ education.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they made of the risks to national security and to service personnel before publishing the names of soldiers and potential recruits online.

    Earl Howe

    The Armed Forces have a long history of publishing a nominal roll of serving officers, in the form of the ‘The Navy List’, ‘The Army List’ and the ‘The Air Force List’, generically known as the Armed Forces Lists.

    The Armed Forces Lists’ information was first published online in 2014, following requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and as part of our overall commitment to transparency. This information was judged to be releasable, having previously been published annually for over 200 years.

    In September 2015, the policy on the publication of the Armed Forces Lists was reviewed and a decision was made to significantly reduce the information published, limiting this to information on officers at one star rank (Brigadier and equivalents) and above, except in respect of the Royal Navy. Details of those officers commanding a warship would continue to be published through release of a suitable version of the ‘Fleet Bridge Card’, which provides information on the number of RN Senior officers in command of the Fleet, the Flotillas and the warships. This decision was informed by advice on security risks. The previous Service Lists published on the Gov.uk website have now been removed.

    Names of soldiers at Warrant Officer rank and below and potential recruits have never been published online in the Armed Forces Lists.