Tag: 2016

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many reports of sanctions breaches were made to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in each year since 2009-10; how many of those alleged breaches concerned businesses in HM Revenue and Customs’ large business database; in how many such cases (a) the OFSI identified wrongdoing and (b) made a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution in each such year.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation was established on 31st March 2016 however breaches of financial sanctions have previously been reported to HM Treasury. There are 441 records of alleged breaches reported to HM Treasury between September 2013 and December 2015. There are no records prior to September 2013.

    HM Treasury does not hold the requested information regarding HMRC’s large business database.

    HM Treasury does not determine wrongdoing but works closely with UK law enforcement to deal with suspected breaches. It is a matter for law enforcement to make any referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment has been made of the access to clean drinking water and adequate water supplies for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories.

    Baroness Verma

    Water and sanitation facilities in Gaza are declining. Demand for water exceeds supply by nearly four times and 96% of extracted water currently fails WHO safety standards. 40% of Gaza’s population receive just 5-8 hours of water every 3 days. In the West Bank the Joint Water Committee has not met for a number of years, which continues to stall agreement of water projects. In the West Bank, there are reports of reduced water supplies in large parts of the West Bank during Ramadan.

    UK officials are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA), the UN, World Bank, EU and other development actors on energy and water issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We continue to press both parties to reconvene the Joint Water Committee to facilitate approval of projects that will improve Palestinian access to water. Through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, DFID has invested up to £1.24m to help vulnerable rural farmers in Area C and improve irrigation efficiency by rehabilitation of water systems. The UK supports partners such as the UN Works and Relief Agency, who provide basic services and repair water infrastructure in Gaza. Through the Climate Action for Middle East and North Africa programme, DFID has provided €600,000 to develop project preparation documents for the Gaza Desalination Plant.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40083, what recent assessment her Department made of the feasibility of air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria.

    Rory Stewart

    My department’s assessment is that aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help to affected populations. The use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and if it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Air drops require certain conditions to be met for successful delivery that are difficult to meet in most of Syria; ideally including clear drop zones, safe air space and access for the intended recipients, and co-ordination with authorities on the ground to oversee distribution.

    We therefore continue to deliver the majority of our supplies by road, although our partners have made occasional air-drops in the past.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve personal social health and economic education in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government wants all young people to leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. High quality personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) teaching has an important role to play in providing young people with a curriculum for life, which equips them with the skills and understanding they need to manage their lives, succeed and stay safe. We have made it clear in the introduction to the framework of the national curriculum that all schools should teach PSHE.

    We have committed to improving the quality of PSHE and intend to make significant progress on this issue during this Parliament. The Department for Education is currently working with headteachers and other experts to identify how we can continue to improve the quality of PSHE for every pupil.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support the British Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has given, or plans to give, the Patterson family whose daughter Lauren Patterson was murdered in Qatar in 2013, in the light of the decision by the Court of Cassation in Doha on 1 February 2015 to reject the guilty verdict against Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah Al-Jabar.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Consular officials have been in regular contact with Ms Patterson’s family, and have provided assistance since her death in 2013, including raising the case with the Qatari authorities and accompanying the family to meetings and court. Since the hearing on 1 February, officials have been in contact with Mrs Patterson and her Qatari lawyer, who is awaiting written copies of the court’s judgment before advising the family on next steps. We will continue to provide support to the family and raise the case with the Qatari authorities as appropriate.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to (a) improve the productivity of House staff and (b) promote the efficient use of the parliamentary estate.

    Tom Brake

    Over the last Parliament the productivity of the House was increased through a cost reduction programme which saved 17% in real terms by 2014/15 against the 2010/11 Administration (Resource) Estimate of £231 million and by expanding the number and range of services provided.

    The Executive Committee has instigated an efficiency review with a target of a 10% reduction of controllable resource spend over the life of this Parliament, which equates to £15.5m. One way this is to be achieved is by utilising the estate more effectively.

    Following the recommendations of the Committee on Governance of the House of Commons, a restructure of services and approach is being undertaken. This is focused not just on running costs but on achieving more effective project management, facilitating improved delivery of projects. The Commission is, with the House of Lords, also examining the opportunities for further joint working between the Houses.

    The House Service has a continuous improvement programme to review work processes and streamline ways of working to improve efficiency, quality of service and productivity. This includes better use of digital technology. In addition, the House People Strategy provides for a number of methods to enable staff to develop their capability and improve productivity. All staff are encouraged to review their job competence, using a diagnostic tool, to identify where their competence needs to improve. A learning programme offers all staff a range of opportunities to develop that competence. Our individual performance review process provides the means for individuals to work with their manager to ensure objectives are met and to improve their work performance. Finally staff are able to work flexibly to respond to the demands of the job.

    Plans to restore and renew the Palace of Westminster could create opportunities to make better and more productive use of space. The Commission awaits the report of the Joint Committee on the future of the Palace; the Northern Estate Programme will target the optimisation of the existing buildings within its scope: seeking to improve the efficiency of the estate overall, support new ways of working, reduce running costs, and improve access and security for Members and their staff.

    The current House of Commons accommodation policy states that House staff currently occupy buildings on the parliamentary estate primarily in open plan workspace to increase the capacity and flexibility of space and (where appropriate) promote better working. Workplace studies are routinely used when reviewing business requirements to ensure that available accommodation is optimised to support users in the most efficient manner feasible within the constraints of the existing buildings.

    The Houses’ Digital strategy aims to improve efficiency and effectiveness through the delivery of highly available, secure and easy to use technology. The technology will support flexible and mobile working which will contribute to better use of the Estate and Parliamentary resources more generally. For example the wider adoption of laptops to promote flexible working is currently under consideration.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s contribution of 9 September 2013, Official Report, column 700, what the evidential basis is for the statement that none of the UK’s overseas territories or Crown dependencies are tax havens.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Islington North (Mr Corbyn), on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 344-345, and to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Moray (Mr Robertson) on the same day, Official Report, column 347.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in a high-risk group for contracting HIV.

    Jane Ellison

    The PROUD trial was launched in 2012, coordinated by the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit and Public Health England (PHE). The number of people enrolled in the trial, was 544.

    Based on evidence from the PROUD study, PHE has made an assessment that of the 100,000 men who have sex with men who attend genito-urinary medicine clinics annually, 8,000 can be identified as being at ‘high-risk’.

    The Department has not yet made its own assessment.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of heart failure patients who have access to heart failure specialist nurses.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    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.

    In particular, to encourage better practice in the caring for heart failure patients, NHS England has established a best practice tariff for acute heart failure. It is also working with Health Education England to explore ways of improving the provision of and increasing access to echocardiography, which is used for the diagnosis of heart failure.

    To help the NHS understand what a good quality service looks like, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publish quality standards which define best practice within a topic area and it has published quality standards for acute and chronic heart failure. NHS England expects all commissioners and providers to take account of quality standards in the services that are delivered to patients.

    NICE has developed a commissioning toolkit for the use of natriuretic peptides assessment in primary care for suspected heart failure. It has also produced guidance on acute heart failure and chronic heart failure, both of which cover the use of natriuretic peptides.

    NICE guidance and quality standards are published online only, but due to the complexity and length of their content, they cannot be included as attachments.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Simon Kirby’s resignation from HS2 Ltd on achieving the 2026 target date for opening phase one of High Speed 2.

    Andrew Jones

    Simon Kirby has built a high calibre team and leaves HS2 Ltd in excellent shape. Sir David Higgins remains as chair and a new CEO will be appointed as soon as possible. The 2026 target date for opening phase one of HS2 is not affected.