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Tag: 2016

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Venezuelan counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Venezuela.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    This Government shares international concerns about the situation in Venezuela. Inflation and shortages of food and medicine are having a significant impact on ordinary Venezuelans, with many traveling temporarily across the border with Colombia to purchase basic goods.

    Earlier this year 60 Venezuelan non-governmental organisations called on the Venezuelan Government to accept humanitarian aid, highlighting the reported scarcity of 80% of medicines and medical supplies.

    We continue to encourage constructive dialogue between the Venezuelan Government and opposition political parties. We have raised our concerns over the deteriorating situation in the country directly with Venezuelan Ministers, urging respect for human rights and democratic values. We continue to encourage the Government to change its stance on humanitarian aid.

    Our Embassy in Caracas promotes human rights, democracy and good governance. In April, Venezuela was designated a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights priority country for 2016/17. This allows us to expand our work, collaborating with both Venezuelan and international partners, including using British Overseas Development funding, to help resolve issues around food and medicine shortages.

  • Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Byron Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Byron Davies on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many instances his Department’s procurement section sought further information from a company with regard to potential corruption, bribery or fraud in the last two years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) routinely carries out checks on potential contractors prior to contract award, including on criminal activity, such as convictions for tax evasion, bribery or fraud, and a review of a company’s audited accounts. These enquiries are conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.

    This process is reiterated in all competitive and single source tender documentation issued to tenderers prior to any contract award.

    Any suspicion of corruption is reported to the appropriate authority. Where justified, the MOD can exclude potential suppliers who pose an unacceptable risk to public money.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the work plan of the National Resilience Review is; and how often the Review team plans to meet.

    Rory Stewart

    Work has already started on the National Resilience Review, which is considering forecasting and modelling, resilience of key infrastructure and the way we make decisions on flood expenditure.

    The Review is being delivered by a cross-Government team and will be published in the summer. It will be led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Letwin, and include the Government’s Chief Scientist, Defra, DECC, DCLG, HM Treasury and the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Government response of October 2013 to his Department’s consultation on arrangements concerning whiplash injuries in England and Wales, what plans his Department has (a) to maintain access to justice for claimants and (b) to protect such claimants from the under-settling of claims potentially arising from increases to the small claims court limit.

    Dominic Raab

    The Government will consult on the detail of the new reforms in due course, including any necessary safeguards. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish details of the Global Challenges research fund announced in the Government strategy paper, UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, published on 23 November 2015.

    Joseph Johnson

    I will publish further details of the Global Challenges Research Fund alongside allocation of the Science Budget shortly.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cheques have been drafted by government departments and executive agencies in each year since 2010.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Treasury does not hold this information. Each government department and executive agency will hold this information for their own bank accounts. Public sector organisations should follow guidelines set out in “Managing Public Money”. The key points within these guidelines are that public sector organisations should generally use the cheapest, safest and quickest means of moving public funds, depending on the context, and a hierarchy of money transmission services is provided.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any ground investigation work has been carried out in Eddisbury constituency in relation to the High Speed 2 project.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No intrusive ground investigation work has been carried out at this stage. Some preparatory elements of ground investigation such as the study of available information and consultation with related stakeholders has been undertaken.

    Following a route decision in autumn 2016 HS2 Ltd will begin production of a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

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

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether elderly and disabled patents are being discharged from hospitals without adequate on-going care arrangements in place in order to free up beds for other hospital admissions.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No patient with on-going care and support needs should be discharged from hospital without appropriate arrangements for meeting those needs being put in place. We expect the National Health Service and local authorities to work together to ensure that patient safety and social care needs are taken into account when decisions are made to discharge patients from hospital.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the causes of regional variation in liver disease outcomes in England.

    David Mowat

    Public Health England (PHE) has developed and publishes liver disease profiles for all local authorities in England. The profiles provide support to local areas to understand liver disease and its risk factors in their area. They present key local statistics and highlight questions to ask locally about current action to prevent liver disease.

    The Local Authority Liver Disease Profiles demonstrate geographical variation in the main risk factors: alcohol, obesity, hepatitis B and C which explain some of the regional and local authority variations in outcome. Experts at PHE in these three areas regularly review these statistics and the evidence for intervention. The profiles demonstrate that there are widespread opportunities to reduce mortality from liver disease prevention.

    PHE is also updating the 2013 NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare for People with Liver Disease highlighting variations in risk factors, health services and outcomes.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the Education Funding Agency has spent to date on refurbishing the former East Ham Police Station; and how much of that sum was spent on demolition of the former accommodation for police officers.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department approved £599,470 for works to the East Ham Former Police Station of which £476,947 was for the demolition of the accommodation building at the rear of the site and the remainder was used for essential maintenance works to the Grade II listed building to ensure it was safe. The purchase of East Ham Former Police Station was completed on 4th February 2014.