Tag: 2016

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether members of the public will have a right to attend Sustainability and Transformation Plan board meetings.

    George Freeman

    We have made clear that the on-going engagement of patients and the public is part of good planning. However the Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are not statutory boards. Rather they are meetings attended by representatives of the wider health system, and are not required to meet in public as are formal boards.

    The local, statutory architecture for health and care remains. As such, the local governance for STPs will ultimately be through individual organisations. Public access to Board meetings of their local organisations will be unchanged.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 28220, which areas have locally determined arrangements for issuing iodine tablets in the event of a radiation emergency involving an operational nuclear reactor; to which nuclear reactors those arrangements are linked in (a) the UK, (b) other countries and (c) areas that have a pre-disposition to households in the detailed planning area; what other arrangements his Department has in place for issuing iodine tablets in areas that do not have pre-distribution to households; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    Locally determined arrangements for issuing stable iodine tablets in the event of a radiation emergency involving the operating reactor of a nuclear powered warship/submarine are in place at: HMNB Clyde, HMNB Devonport, HMNB Portsmouth, Port of Southampton, BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness, Portland Port, Loch Goil and Loch Ewe.

    Arrangements for responding to radiation emergencies involving operational nuclear reactors in other countries are a matter for the country concerned.

    Some pre-distribution of stable iodine tablets to households in the off-site emergency planning zone takes place at Loch Ewe, Portland Port and BAE Systems Barrow-in-Furness

    The arrangements for issuing stable iodine tablets in areas that do not have pre-distribution to households are determined by the relevant Local Authority having responsibility for the off-site plan. At some locations the department supports the arrangements through the provision of local Ministry of Defence personnel to assist in the distribution of stable iodine tablets.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria; and what steps her Department is taking to support refugees within that camp.

    Rory Stewart

    The UN High Commissioner for Refugees assesses that there are an estimated 9,155 people living in the al-Hol refugee camp, including 5,650 Iraqi refugees; and shortages of food, water and health services. DFID funds World Food Programme and UNICEF’s 2016 Syria appeals through which we are supporting the provision of food, water, sanitation and hygiene services in the camp. DFID is also supporting an international non-governmental organisation to provide protection services in the camp.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure the economic empowerment of women in the developing world.

    Justine Greening

    The economic empowerment of women is a top priority for my Department. In September 2015 at the UN General Assembly and Post-2015 Summit, the UK and UNWomen hosted the event Transforming Economies: Empowering Women and Girls. The Call to Action launched at this event secured over 150 commitments to action from governments, development institutions, civil society and the private sector. These will all help deliver the Global Goal targets for women’s economic empowerment.

    We support a wide range of programmes to increase women’s opportunities for employment, ownership and control over economic assets and ability to start and run businesses. Since 2011, DFID have helped 2.5m women to improve their land and property rights and 35m women to access financial services.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Leeds North West of 12 January 2016 on meeting hon. Members with constituencies along the River Wharfe.

    Rory Stewart

    The Secretary of State received five letters in January from the hon. Member for Leeds North West about the recent flooding in Leeds. The Secretary of State met him and all Members for Leeds constituencies on 20 January to discuss the flooding in Leeds, as well as flood defences on the nearby River Aire (to which the River Wharfe is a tributary). The Secretary of State will be responding to the specific points raised by the hon. Member for Leeds North West within the next week. In the meantime, I can confirm that I am happy to meet MPs with constituencies along the River Wharfe

  • Lucy Allan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lucy Allan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Allan on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle cyber harassment.

    Karen Bradley

    Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and cyber harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour. Through the Criminal Justice Act 2015, we have strengthened two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, giving the police longer to investigate either offence, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment.

    Through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, we have brought together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups to work in partnership to help keep children and young people safe online.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she is taking to ensure that farmers receive fair pricing for their dairy produce.

    George Eustice

    The £26.2 million aid package we secured from the European Commission has helped to provide some immediate relief. A number of supermarkets have also pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price.

    Longer term, we are working to develop futures markets in the dairy sector to help farmers manage risk.

    At the most recent council meeting in the EU, the UK supported a package of new measures to try to help the dairy sector recover.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I refer the hon Member to the answer given by my Rt hon Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General today to UIN 36288.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of the Corsellis Brain Collection for promoting research into brain diseases for the treatment of patients in the NHS.

    George Freeman

    The Department has not made any specific assessment of the importance of the collection for promoting research into brain diseases.

    The excess costs of maintaining the collection compared with the income from specimen preparation over a number of years have rendered the collection unsustainable as a research resource. Every effort is being made to ensure as much of the collection as possible is available to researchers and the West London Mental Health Trust has been working with BRAIN UK (an initiative funded by the Medical Research Council which co-ordinates the distribution of tissue across the country) to support this.

    As part of this strategy the Trust has therefore decided to publicise the decision to close the collection and invite requests from appropriate academic departments for tissue relevant to their research and teaching programmes, and to respectfully dispose of those tissue samples for which no scientific purpose can be envisaged. Some 7,500 out of 8,500 specimens have identified destinations as a result of this process, to departments across the United K and in the Netherlands, in Canada and in Hong Kong. The Trust has obtained the appropriate Human Tissue Authority licenses for this work. We understand that the collection will close by the end of June 2016.

    The UK Brain Bank Network, which is funded by Government through the Medical Research Council, has established a national network of UK brain tissue resources (banks) for researchers to access. The Network currently involves 10 brain banks across the UK which now hold over 14,000 well characterised brains.

  • Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that the human rights of Turkish people imprisoned as a result of the failed coup in July 2016 are respected; and what reports he has received on the alleged abuse of those prisoners by the Turkish authorities.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Government condemns unreservedly this failed coup. In the aftermath of the coup attempt we have emphasised the need for Turkey to respect human rights, including press freedom, and the rule of law. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also raised concerns about reports of ill-treatment in detention. The Turkish Government’s response to the coup attempt should be lawful and proportionate, and undertaken in line with Turkey’s international obligations.