Tag: 2016

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they now recognise that a genocide is underway against minorities in Syria and Iraq; and whether the opinion set out in The Sunday Telegraph on 27 March that ISIS are engaged in what can only be called genocide of the poor Yazidis” by the new Foreign Secretary reflects their official position.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    This Government shares the House of Commons’ condemnation of Daesh atrocities against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yazidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Iraq and Syria who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.

    It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

    We are fully committed to working internationally to ensure Daesh is held to account for its crimes. Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That is why the UK is playing a leading role in the Global Coalition of more than 66 countries and international organisations united to defeat Daesh.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average Fire and Rescue response times were to incidents in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Redcar and Cleveland and (d) Middlesbrough in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    National Statistics on Fire and Rescue response times are published annually, including response times for other types of fire incident. The most recent publication, for 2014/15, was published in 2015 and can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-incidents-response-times-england-2014-to-2015

    Accompanying data tables can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables

    The next publication on fire and rescue response times for 2015/16 is due for release in late 2016.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 December (HL4088), what proposals they have also to consult travellers who use the railway line between London, Salisbury and Exeter.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Network Rail undertook public consultations for a period of 90 days on the Wessex and Western Route Studies prior to their publication in August 2015.

    The Government expects to set out in July 2017 its investment plan for the railways during 2019 to 2024 (CP6). The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) will undertake public consultation as part of the process to develop plans for CP6.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of (1) maintained schools, (2) faith schools, and (3) academies, were rated as outstanding following an Ofsted inspection in 2014–15.

    Lord Nash

    This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Leader of the House, what discussions he has had with the House of Commons Commission on the potential effect on staffing and other costs and expenditure on repair and maintenance contracts of uncertainty about the dates of 2016 parliamentary recesses.

    Chris Grayling

    No substantive discussions have taken place. Agendas and decisions relating to meetings of the House of Commons Commission are available on their website at http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/house-of-commons-commission/.

    “

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what total amount has been received by (a) his Department and (b) HS2 Ltd under the Connecting Europe Facility 2015 Multi-Annual Work Programme; and what estimate he has made of the amount that will be received under that programme by each body in the next three years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport was awarded Connecting Europe Facility funding for the following projects in 2015:

    • South-Wales railway electrification study (Network Rail). €4.1 million
    • Arc Atlantique Corridor Phase II. A UK led ITS traffic management deployment project involving Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Netherlands. The UK partners (Highways England, Transport Scotland, Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government share amounts to around €9 million).
    • European ITS Platform – Italian project coordinating standards for deployment of ITS traffic management systems across Europe. The UK partners (Highways England, Transport Scotland, Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland, and the Welsh Government) amounts to around €0.5 million)
    • High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) €39.2 million

    It is not possible to estimate how much additional funding may be available in the next three years. Funding for projects is awarded through a competitive bidding process with projects having to meet specific criteria set by the European Commission. The second call for funding closed in February 2016 and the results will be announced later this year.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the vacancy rate is for spinal surgery specialists in England.

    Ben Gummer

    The vacancy rate for spinal surgery specialists in England is not collected.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s proposal for collaboration between the NHS and Vertex to widen access to the treatment Orkambi on the treatment of the patients with that disease.

    George Freeman

    The Department has received the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s proposals for an arrangement that would potentially allow access to Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) as part of a Managed Access Scheme in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) appraisal of Orkambi.

    I have encouraged the Trust and the manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to engage with NICE to consider whether there remains scope for this, or any other, proposal to be taken into account in its appraisal and the Department is also engaging with the manufacturer directly on this matter.

  • Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support the resolution from Mauritius at the forthcoming UN General Assembly calling for the matter of the resettlement of Chagos islanders to be referred to the International Court of Justice.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are not aware of any plans by Mauritius for a resolution at the next UN General Assembly regarding the resettlement of Chagos islanders to be referred to the International Court of Justice (ICC). On 17 May the Prime Minister of Mauritius expressed to the Mauritian Parliament his intention to seek a referral by the UN General Assembly to the ICC this autumn, in order to obtain an advisory opinion in relation to sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). We would not support any such resolution as we are in no doubt about British sovereignty over BIOT.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of proposals set out in January 2016 by Lord Justice Jackson to set fixed costs on all personal injury claims valued up to £250,000; and what steps the Government is taking to control costs and promote access to justice in this area.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    On 15 September, the Government announced that it is keen to extend fixed recoverable costs to as many civil cases as possible. The senior judiciary will be developing proposals and the Government will consult in due course.

    In addition, the Department of Health is currently considering the introduction of fixed recoverable costs in lower value clinical negligence claims, on which it expects to consult as soon as practicable; and the Ministry of Justice has asked the Civil Justice Council to consider and make recommendations on the possible introduction of fixed recoverable costs in noise induced hearing loss cases.