UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to promote an international antiquities code of conduct to prevent the illegal trade in such objects.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The UK welcomes steps towards developing a collaborative approach to tackling the illicit trade in antiquities and plays a key role in supporting international initiatives on this matter.

    The Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 makes it a criminal offence to deal dishonestly in tainted cultural property from anywhere in the world. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has issued guidelines to the relevant UK sectors.

    In addition, in the UK, trade associations for dealers in antiquities have codes of conduct for their members. For example, the Antiquities Dealers Association’s Code of Conduct obliges its members to ensure to the best of their knowledge and belief that all objects sold are genuine and as described and legal.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on the case of Andargachew Tsege and efforts to ensure proper legal and consular access for Mr Tsege and visitation rights for his family.

    James Duddridge

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised Mr Tsege’s case with the Ethiopian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister during his visit to Ethiopia on 1 June 2016. The Foreign Secretary received assurances that Mr Tsege will be allowed access to independent legal advice to allow him to discuss options under the Ethiopian legal system. We will continue to press the Ethiopians as necessary to ensure that Mr Tsege has legal representation. As a result of sustained lobbying by the British Government, we now have more frequent consular access to Mr Tsege. He has been visited by UK Government officials on 10 occasions, most recently by both Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and by the FCO’s Africa Director on 1 June 2016. Mr Tsege is also receiving regular visits from his family in Ethiopia, and the FCO continues to provide consular support to Mr Tsege’s family in the UK.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to monitor and regulate the liquidity ratio on property funds.

    Simon Kirby

    The monitoring and regulation of property funds is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority. Action by the government and the Bank of England over the last six years has substantially strengthened the resilience of the financial system.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the Somaliland government’s work on reconciliation between the communities in the Sool and Sanaag regions of Somaliland; and what support the Government is providing in assisting with those efforts.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The UK welcomes the recent dialogue between the Somaliland Government and representatives from the Eastern regions of Sool and Sanaag. This is a Somali-led and Somali-owned process which we hope will result in a more inclusive political settlement and enhance stability in the region. On 16 September, with international partners, we made a statement calling for the Somaliland President urgently to set out a clear process, with timelines, to achieve this.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents of accident and emergency departments diverting admissions to other hospitals there were in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2010.

    Jane Ellison

    The number of occasions when there was an agreed temporary divert of patients from hospitals in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and Yorkshire and the Humber to other accident and emergency departments is available from NHS England’s winter daily situation reports, which are collected from acute trusts each weekday during winter only. Published figures can be found using the following link.

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/

    “

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times the Child Protection Taskforce announced by the Prime Minister on 24 June 2015 has met; and when that taskforce plans to publish its first report.

    Edward Timpson

    The Child Protection Implementation Taskforce has met on four occasions since June 2015. As set out in the terms of reference, Taskforces are responsible for monitoring and driving the delivery of the Government’s priorities. The Department for Education published a paper in January 2016 ‘Children’s Social Care reform: A vision for change’[1] which outlines the three areas of work undertaken by the Taskforce thus far.

    As it is responsible for monitoring implementation rather than developing policy, the Taskforce does not have any plans to publish a report at this time.

    [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491968/Childrens_social_care_reform_a_vision_for_change.pdf

    “

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of newly qualified doctors has entered (a) primary care and (b) hospitals.

    Ben Gummer

    The requested information is not collected centrally.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the number of new private rented homes that will be needed to meet demand in the next five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    It is difficult to determine the number of new private rented homes needed to meet demand as this is affected by a variety of outside impacts, including the affordability of home ownership, household formation rates and prospective sharing arrangements. The Government is committed to delivering 1 million new homes by the end of this parliament.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many hours UK drones have flown over which countries in each year since 2010.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Since 2010, the UK’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) have operated in Afghanistan until 2014 and in Iraq and Syria from 2014.

    The number of hours flown by RPAS in Afghanistan can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/operation-herrick-afghanistan-aircraft-statistics

    Since 2014, Reaper has been flying in support of Op SHADER in Iraq and Syria. It is not possible to breakdown Reaper flying hours by country for Op SHADER. The table below provides the total number of hours flown:

    Year

    Total Reaper flying hours flown in support of Op Shader

    2014

    1,653

    2015

    12,698

    2016 (up to and including 31 March 2016)

    2,509

    Total

    16,860
  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department is taking steps to set a national standard for a maximum number of patients that GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals can reasonably deal with during any working day.

    Alistair Burt

    It is important that practices are free to meet the needs of individual patients according to clinical need. Therefore there is no requirement for general practitioner practices to offer appointments of a specific length or a specific mix of workforce to meet population need.

    However, in recognition of the increased demands being placed on general practice, NHS England has:

    1. Placed a requirement on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2016/17 to develop and implement a local plan to address the sustainability and quality of general practice, including workforce and workload issues. This is the first time specific requirements have been placed on local commissioners to support and develop general practice.

    2. Provided advice about specific ways to invest in general practice for National Health Service leaders as they prepare Sustainability and Transformation Plans for the future. In both of these, there is a dual focus on maintaining quality and access to care in existing services, while also supporting the introduction of new ways of working. Areas where support is required include increased funding, growth and diversification in the workforce, development of premises and information technology, and specific help to develop networks and federations with patient benefit at their heart.

    The ‘General Practice Forward View’ released in April 2016, announced a major new programme of development and improvement support for practices over the next three years. This will help groups of practices to redesign care in order to simultaneously release staff time and improve care for patients. As part of the development programme, support and advice will be provided to federations and CCGs on ways to engage patients and voluntary and community sector groups as partners. This will help local people shape priorities, contribute to the co-design of improved services and build assets in the community.