Tag: 2016

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the aerial bombing of the Heiban locality in the South Khordofan and Blue Nile regions on 1 May, what assessment they have made of whether the government of Sudan is now in breach of international humanitarian law.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The reported aerial bombardment of civilians in the Heiban locality of South Kordofan is appalling. Targeting of civilians would be a clear breach of International Humanitarian Law. We continue to make clear to the Government of Sudan that they have a responsibility to protect citizens, distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and uphold International Humanitarian Law.

    We consistently raise the importance of ending the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile directly with both the Government of Sudan and the Opposition; most recently, the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan raised this issue during his visit to Khartoum earlier this month. We continue to call on all sides to end the violence and believe that the Roadmap proposed by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel represents a viable way forward.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard the wellbeing of UK citizens engaged in UN operations in Juba, South Sudan.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is a strong supporter of the UN in South Sudan and we are working in the UN Security Council to ensure their peacekeeping mission UNMISS has the equipment and access it needs for its staff to be able to do their jobs safely and effectively. The FCO provided a flight, in the absence of commercial options, for British Nationals, including those working in the UN, who wanted to leave South Sudan on 14 July 2016.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to undertake a formal evaluation of the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    Nicola Blackwood

    NHS England’s standard operating procedures for the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs from July 2016 (including the new Cancer Drugs Fund) state that NHS England will keep the operational mechanisms of the new arrangements under continuous review. In addition, NHS England will look to undertake a more formal evaluation of the overall operation of the scheme, no later than autumn 2017.

    The standard operating procedures are available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cdf-sop.pdf

    “

  • 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 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of (a) Tornado and (b) Typhoon aircraft in the Sustainment Fleet are (i) undergoing planned maintenance, (ii) undergoing upgrade work and (iii) held in temporary storage.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is detailed in the attached table.

    The Forward Available Fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable. Short-term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other rectification or technical inspection work that can arise on a day-to-day basis. Dependent on the nature of the work, aircraft may be designated as requiring either ‘short-term maintenance’ or ‘short-term works’.

    The Sustainment Fleet numbers represent those aircraft in the Depth Fleet, which comprises aircraft which are undergoing planned depth maintenance or upgrade programmes.

    Decommissioning and disposal are part of the same process and are therefore grouped together.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on the public purse of the transfer of licence fee rates tax receipts to devolved city region authorities.

    Greg Hands

    No such assessment has been made.

  • Lord Renwick of Clifton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Renwick of Clifton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Renwick of Clifton on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether it is appropriate for Scottish MPs to vote on trading hours in other parts of the UK.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    MPs from all parts of the United Kingdom can vote on all legislation before the House of Commons. The introduction of English Votes for English Laws has given English MPs a greater say over matters affecting England only. However, clause 33 of the Enterprise Bill, which related to Sunday trading laws, included provisions that extended to Scotland meaning that Scottish MPs were rightly entitled to vote at every stage in the legislative process.

  • Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is a Crown body or a non-departmental public body; and what the planned budget for that office is for 2016-17.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is a statutory officer holder. He/she is supported by the employees of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland who are recruited directly by the Chief Electoral Officer under s.14A of the Electoral Law Act 1962.

    An initial resource budget (excluding depreciation) of £2,011,000 has been allocated to the Chief Electoral Officer. Further funding – both capital and resource – will be made available to support the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland transformation programme which includes the introduction of digital registration.

    The Chief Electoral Officer will also receive funding from the Consolidated Fund and the Northern Ireland Assembly to support the EU Referendum and Northern Ireland Assembly elections that are due to take place in 2016.

  • 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 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the outcome and cost effectiveness of the use of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infections.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance on faecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. NICE has recommended that the procedure is safe enough for use in the National Health Service, but no assessment of its cost effectiveness has been made by NICE.

    Data on the uptake by the NHS of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile is not collected centrally.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what level of support her Department has given to the Greek authorities to assist with processing refugees and identifying those who may qualify for relocation to the UK under the Dublin III arrangements for family reunion.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government continues to work with key EU Member States to ensure the Dublin Regulation family reunification process works effectively.

    The UK continues to offer support to Greece both bilaterally and through the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). In addition to our regular short-term deployments to support Dublin family transfers to the UK, the UK has offered 75 expert personnel to help with the processing and administration of migrants in reception centres, act as interpreters, provide medical support and bolster our existing team assisting the Commission to ensure effective and efficient co-ordination.

    We are working with partners to ensure that those who qualify for family reunification under the Dublin III arrangements are processed efficiently. Furthermore, we continue to work with partners and the Greek authorities to identify and transfer vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK where it is in their best interests, as set out in the Immigration Act 2016. This is not a simple task. We are working through the complex legal and safeguarding systems of other countries in order to ensure that any actions we take are always in the child’s best interest. We have recently seconded an expert to Greece, who is embedded within the relevant department to coordinate efforts on this initiative.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the drug used in HIV PrEP, Truvada to come off patent.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a new medicines evidence summary for Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in October 2016. According to this summary, Truvada, compound patents for tenofovir disoproxil and salts expires in July 2017, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate expires in July 2018. A supplementary protection certificate has also been granted in relation to Truvada which expires in February 2020.