The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many recorded suicides there were by (a) men under 18, (b) men aged 18 to 30, (c) men aged over 30, (d) women under 18, (e) women aged 18 to 30 and (f) women aged over 30 in each London borough in each year since 2010.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the total dispatchable electricity capacity was in January (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016; and what estimate she has made of that capacity in January (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.
Andrea Leadsom
Dispatchable electricity, as defined by National Grid, comprises of generation that can be switched on and off at relatively short notice. This does not include substantial capacity in the GB mix such as nuclear and wind generation.
The attached table outlines both expected Pre-Winter dispatchable capacity[1], as per the relevant National Grid Winter Outlook publications and the 2015 Future Energy Scenarios Slow Progression projection of available capacity.
Post-2015/16 figures represent the Slow Progression July 2015 outlook of generation background. We take energy security very seriously and monitor the commercial outlook of supply frequently alongside National Grid and Ofgem.
The trend of declining conventional capacity has arisen due to margins in preceding years being unnecessarily large because of the recession. The drop off in capacity is a symptom of returning to the kinds of margins we were used to pre-recession and to reflect improvements in energy efficiency as well as increasing levels of renewable technologies coming on to the system.
Our priority is to ensure that British families and business have access to secure affordable energy supplies that they can rely on. National Grid have a number of tools to ensure a secure supply of electricity including Contingency Balancing Reserve, in which additional power stations are held to provide security in times of system stress. This extra capacity will help us to ensure we meet the GB 3 hour LOLE reliability standard and will be sufficient to maintain security of supply even in the toughest system conditions.
In addition to the Contingency Balancing Reserve, from 2018, the Capacity Market will ensure that retiring plant can be replaced by new investment by providing additional secure investment for both existing and new electricity generators
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether her Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.
James Brokenshire
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the preparedness is of the Animal and Plant Health Agency to react to and control a potential future animal health outbreak similar in scale to the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001.
George Eustice
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), compiles the UK contingency plan for exotic notifiable disease that sits above plans designed by Defra and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Governments.
These are key documents that describe the strategic, tactical and operational responses required to any incursion of exotic notifiable disease, such as foot and mouth disease. These plans are complemented by specific GB disease control strategies and APHA work with the Government Departments in each administration to produce the necessary operational instructions.
To ensure the plans and instructions are fit for purpose, the UK runs a national animal disease exercise roughly every other year on various exotic diseases and we regularly include foot and mouth disease in those exercises.
The next national exercise will be in June 2018 and will be based on a foot and mouth disease scenario.
APHA also create and manage an annual programme of regional or country exercises designed to identify best practice and any gaps in existing plans or procedures. They also run table-top exercises for APHA’s policy customers to identify issues that may arise from new and emerging threats such as African Horse Sickness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 20722, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the published industry estimates used to formulate the announcement about the motor insurance industry in the Autumn Statement 2015.
Dominic Raab
The Government received data from numerous sources, and the industry estimates do not differ significantly from other available figures.
The Government will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders in taking forward the new reforms and will consult on the detail in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve GP access to natriuretic peptide testing.
Jane Ellison
NHS England is working with key partners to ensure better co-ordination and integration of all services with the aim of delivering person-centred and coordinated care which is tailored to the needs and preferences of the individual, their carer and family.
Specifically on heart failure, NHS England is working with Health Education England to look at ways of improving the provision of and increase access to echocardiography, which is used for the diagnosis of heart failure.
NHS England has also established a best practice tariff for acute heart failure. This aims to encourage better practice in the caring for heart failure patients. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published quality standards for acute heart failure and chronic heart failure, which can be found at:
https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS9
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs103
NHS England expects commissioners and providers to take account of quality standards in the services that are delivered to patients.
The use of natriuretic peptides in diagnosing heart failure is widely understood and pathology laboratories are used to measuring them. The NICE’s guidance on acute heart failure and chronic heart failure both cover the use of natriuretic peptides. This guidance can be found at:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg108
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg187
The NICE has also developed a commissioning toolkit for the use of natriuretic peptides assessment in primary care for suspected heart failure:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on devolving power to the Scottish Government to seek on behalf of Scottish institutions continued participation in the European Research Council after the UK leaves the EU.
Joseph Johnson
The nature of the relationship between UK institutions and the European Research Council will be a matter for future discussions. The Government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to play a leading role in European and international research and innovation and is committed to working with the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations to achieve this aim.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what system is available to the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency to ensure compliance with cabotage regulations.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) ensures compliance with the cabotage regulations by carrying out roadside checks, which are conducted by DVSA enforcement examiners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Statement of 11 January 2016 on the Smith Commission Agreement, HCWS458, what the (a) dates, (b) minutes and (c) outcomes was of any discussions or meeting held since 28 November 2014 on issues relating to asylum seekers with (i) Home Office Ministers and (ii) Ministers or Officials of the Scottish Government.
David Mundell
In the period since the Smith Commission, the UK and Scottish Governments have had regular meetings to discuss issues relating to asylum seekers. These have included discussions on the non-legislative proposals from the Commission, and a demonstration for Scottish Government officials of the asylum process at the Home Office in Glasgow. This cross-government work with the Scottish Government on asylum issues is on-going.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the correlation between smuggling rings which bring people into the EU and human trafficking gangs which exploit migrants for sex and slavery.
Karen Bradley
Organised crime groups are known to be involved in smuggling and trafficking operations, and in some cases both. We are working closely with operational partners including the National Crime Agency, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement, as well as partners across Europe and Africa, to develop the intelligence picture on both of these crime types.We will continue to monitor the development of links between these two crime types.
We are working with partners across Europe and Africa, including through the Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce to identify and disrupt organised crime groups facilitating irregular migration in source and transit countries.