The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.
Mr David Lidington
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my Rt Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office today to UIN: 36288.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to place incentives into NHS dentistry contracts to encourage NHS dentists to practice in areas with significantly above average numbers of oral and dental health issues.
Alistair Burt
NHS England has a duty to commission services to improve the health of the population and reduce inequalities, and also a statutory duty to commission primary dental services in order to meet local need.
While some local access difficulties remain overall access continues to increase with the latest access data showing 30 million patients were seen by a dentist for National Health Service care in the 24 month period ending 31 March 2016. This is 1.8 million more patients than May 2010.
The Government is determined to increase the focus on improving oral health particularly in high needs groups. The Department is working with NHS England to test a new NHS dental contract focusing on improving oral health. 82 prototypes are testing the best balance of incentives to prevent disease and treat disease where present. In addition, NHS England will test new ways to improve children’s oral health in 10 high need areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Government plans to publish the pre-consultation report on proposals to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims.
Mr Philip Dunne
The pre-consultation process was a limited and informal exercise to inform the consultation, and therefore the Government does not plan to publish a report. The formal consultation on proposals to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims is due to commence shortly. It will be followed by a Government response before the introduction of fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from the Stroke Association and other stakeholders on the future of the National Stroke Strategy.
David Mowat
The Sentinel Stroke National Audit programme (SSNAP) continuously monitors the quality of stroke care across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Audit results are returned to providers so that they can identify areas for improvement.
There is good evidence that providing detailed information in a timely way has enabled the quality of stoke care to steadily improve. Since the introduction of SSNAP nearly four years ago when no teams scored an ‘A’, there are now units achieving this level, indicating excellent care. The National Clinical Director for Stroke, in association with the clinical networks, continues to work with hospitals to support those in need of improvement.
NHS England is aware that the provision of stroke care in the community remains an area that has not progressed as quickly as hospital care. However, providing data to teams and working with the clinical commissioning groups to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned should help to improve care.
In August this year, NHS England’s Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, and Professor Anthony Rudd, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke, met with Juliet Bouverie, the Chief Executive of the Stroke Association to discuss issues of common interest. Additionally, Professor Rudd meets regularly with various members of staff of the Stroke Association to ensure that the views of the charity are heard and understood. Departmental officials have also met with the Stroke Association.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-01-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what have been the results of the training of police and security forces in Bahrain by UK armed forces.
Earl Howe
The Defence relationship contributes to UK objectives in Bahrain through programmes of world class training and education. Whilst this relationship is almost exclusively military to military, the one element that is delivered to the police and security forces concerns training to counter improvised explosive devices. This work has undoubtedly saved Bahraini lives and potentially those of UK citizens and our own Armed Forces based there.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-02-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on that region of recent violence in Israel and the West Bank.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Since the start of the current violence, Ministers and officials have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. We understand, and share, the deep frustration on all sides at the lack of progress on the Middle East Peace Process. The current violence underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2016-03-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they recognise Islamic State’s treatment of the Yazidi people as an act of genocide.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The situation is desperate for many communities within Syria and Iraq. We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yezidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Syria and Iraq who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.
As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and other ministers have explained in response to similar questions, it is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for the international judicial system rather than legislatures, governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations of International Humanitarian Law, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.
Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That’s why the UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of 66 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many projects in Lancashire have been funded directly under the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Greg Hands
The Northern Powerhouse is creating a single Northern economy that is greater than the sum of its parts. Lancashire will benefit from pan-Northern projects including the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy, Shale Wealth Fund, Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and membership of Transport for the North. Lancashire will directly benefit from investments including a £251.11m growth deal, two Enterprise Zones, a National College for Onshore Oil and Gas at Blackpool, £56,000 for the refurbishment of the Muni theatre in Pendle and numerous transport schemes. Government does not hold information on the specific number of projects in Lancashire.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the next set of National Diet and Nutrition Survey data will be published.
Jane Ellison
The next report of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey is being prepared and will be published as an Official Statistic; the publication date will be announced in advance in accordance with the Official Statistics Code of Practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made by the East Midlands Ambulance Service on reducing patient handover times to local hospitals.
Ben Gummer
NHS Improvement advises that East Midlands Ambulance Service is working with hospital trusts, clinical commissioning groups, NHS Improvement and NHS England to reduce handover delays. For example, since November 2015 at Leicester Royal Infirmary 1-2 hour delays have reduced by 67% and delays of more than two hours have been reduced by 76%. This has resulted in the average handover time reducing by 38% from 39 minutes to 24 minutes.