Tag: 2016

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21380, what recent information he has received from the Danish authorities in relation to the death of Stephen O’Malley; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The State Attorney in Denmark has reached a decision to reopen Mr O’Malley’s case. The local authorities will now begin their investigation and consular officials will remain in contact with them for further updates.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the role of personal independence payment assessment providers in the increase in processing time between the case referral to assessment provider to return from the assessment provider to the government office since July 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following a controlled start from July 2015, full Personal Independence Payment (PIP) roll-out commenced in October 2015, with an increase in the numbers of existing Disability Living Allowance claimants being asked to claim PIP.

    In addition and in order to improve the customer journey, the Department has made some changes to the way in which it monitors Assessment Provider performance. These changes mean that Providers now have more time in which to complete assessments and return reports to the Department and also gives them greater flexibility to obtain further evidence to support claims: this therefore allows more time for scheduling appointments that better suit claimants and Assessment Providers, increases accuracy in assessments and reports and ensures opportunities for paper based reviews are maximised thereby reducing the demand for face-to-face appointments. Although these changes may see slightly longer average clearance times, they remain within expected levels.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a judicial officer has not imposed a victims surcharge or any other fine following a request to do so in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    Courts are required to impose the victim surcharge on all offenders convicted of any offence, however those who receive an absolute discharge or a Hospital Order under the Mental Health Act 1983 are exempt from the surcharge.

    In respect of fines, the sentence imposed in a particular case is based on the details of the offence and the offender, within the maximum penalties set out in statute and with due consideration to sentencing guidelines. The court is obliged to follow any sentencing guidelines unless it is contrary to the interests of justice to do so. If a court imposes a sentence outside the range indicated in the guidelines, it must state its reasons for doing so.

  • 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, with reference to the article by Marta N. Shahbazi et al, entitled Self-organisation of the human embryo in the absence of material tissues, Nature Cell Biology (2016) and by Alessia Deglincerti et al, entitled Self-organisation of the in vitro attached human embryo, Nature 553, 251 to 254, of 12 May 2016, if he will instruct the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to require prolonged culture for up to 13 days or longer of any human embryos generated by (a) pronuclear transfer and (b) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer prior to clinical application of either of these techniques.

    Jane Ellison

    It will be for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, as the United Kingdom national regulatory body, to determine what evidence must be provided by clinics seeking a licence to provide mitochondrial donation treatment to patients, and any conditions that are to be placed on the licence.

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, prohibits the keeping or using of embryos for longer than 14 days or the appearance of the primitive streak, whichever is the earlier.

  • Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from interested parties about the recent EU deactivation specification as it applies to deactivated historical firearms as defined in the Policing and Crime Bill.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The EU Implementing Regulation 2015/2403 on deactivation standards which came into force on 8 April 2016 sets new technical specifications for deactivated weapons.

    Clause 114 of the Policing and Crime Bill creates a specific new offence to sell or gift a weapon that has not been deactivated to the new EU Deactivation Standard.

    We have received representations from a small number of interested parties who have been concerned that the EU specification is not as effective as the previous UK standards. In addition, we were contacted by members of re-enactment and living history societies wishing to travel to France with their firearms to participate in commemorative events linked to the D-Day landings and the Battle of the Somme.

    We have published guidance on the Regulation which includes requirements for additional measures for deactivated weapons brought into the UK. These measures, which go beyond the EU specification in a small number of areas, were introduced to align the requirements more closely with the previous UK standards. We have also worked with the UK Proof Houses to ensure that certification to the new standards is prioritised for re-enactors wishing to travel with their firearms.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 45252, whether he plans to routinely publish future reviews carried out by his Department on the deaths of social security claimants.

    Damian Hinds

    Internal Process Reviews are an internal continuous improvement tool and as such there are no plans to publish the reports. We are content to share any recommendations from these reports.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the responses to his Department’s consultation on the future of the BBC.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government’s BBC Charter Review Public Consultation closed in October. Over 190,000 people responded to the consultation – the second largest response to any Government consultation. We are in the process of reading and analysing all the responses, and will publish the results once this exercise is completed.

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

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many people in the UK have Lyme disease.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is not practical to eradicate Lyme disease in the United Kingdom through treatment of human cases, therefore no cost estimate has been made. The disease is endemic in much of the small mammal and bird population in the UK, and is spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks which have fed on these animals. The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbour ticks.

    The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded. Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.

    The Health Protection Research Unit of the University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) has funding from the National Institute of Health Research for research into Lyme disease, covering diagnostics and biomarkers and public awareness. PHE is working on clinically linked studies for diagnostics with the Czech Republic, as no single centre in the UK has sufficient patients for a suitable study; funding for this work is not yet in place. PHE undertakes limited studies on ticks and Lyme disease in the UK. The Research Councils fund some additional work on ticks and the environment.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with epilepsy are claiming employment and support allowance and personal independence payments.

    Priti Patel

    The number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants with epilepsy as their main disabling condition, as at August 2015, is 44,720.

    Information on the number of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment at 31 October 2015, by a range of conditions including epilepsy, has been published and can be found at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.

    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    “

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether people continue to have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE technology appraisals for use in the NHS if their doctor says they are clinically appropriate.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Yes. The NHS Constitution for England affirms, “You have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for use in the NHS, if your doctor says they are clinically appropriate for you”.