Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has met representatives of AeroVironment to discuss the Blackwing miniature tube-launched drone.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Representatives of the Department meet AeroVironment representatives on a regular basis to discuss current and potential future capabilities, and the Department is aware of the capabilities of the Blackwing Reconnaissance System. However, the Department has no capability requirement to procure an underwater launched Unmanned Aerial System at this stage, and, as such, there have not been any formal discussions with AeroVironment on a possible procurement of Blackwing.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to tackle fraud relating to European Health Insurance Cards.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department takes any allegations of fraud and abuse seriously and works with the National Health Service on an on-going basis to detect and tackle any suspected fraud relating to the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

    We have introduced a raft of measures to tighten up systems and procedures, both for issuing EHICs and checking the subsequent claims made to the United Kingdom. These measures include requiring additional proof of entitlement, mandatory declaration and email verification processes.

    The Department is also undertaking a major system redesign project which aims to strengthen existing processes. Reducing further the potential for fraud and error is one of the key objectives of this work.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings Ministers of her Department have had with social media companies to discuss harmful online content since May 2015.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    Details of ministerial meetings with external companies are published on gov.uk.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations his Department has received from professional football teams in England and Wales on the potential introduction of safe-standing facilities at higher tier sports stadia in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

    Tracey Crouch

    Representations have been received from one League One club, Peterborough United, and from Grimsby Town in the National League about the possible introduction of safe standing accommodation at their respective grounds.

    The Minister for Sport has also met Andrew R T Davies, Leader of the Conservative Party at the Welsh Assembly to discuss the possibility of a safe standing pilot in Wales.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of Senior Civil Servants in his Department are based in London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills HQ, as at 31 January 2016, had 93.5% of its Senior Civil Servants based in London. The majority of staff from within the BIS Group are based outside London.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential of Westbury to become the north-south/east-west rail hub for the central south of England.

    Claire Perry

    The importance of Westbury as an interchange station for South West Trains and Great Western Rail services is not underestimated by the Department, and is already a mini hub and crew point for some of the inter-regional services (Bristol to Portsmouth and Weymouth). However, Bristol is the key hub for the region, and the Department has therefore made no such assessment regarding Westbury.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual cost to the UK of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative; which ten countries have benefited most financially from the scheme; and which countries have performed best in terms of debt servicing and repayment.

    Baroness Verma

    To date 36 countries have benefited from the HIPC Initiative. As a result, many developing countries have seen a marked improvement in their debt position and growth over the last 15 years. The recipients that have benefited most by committed volume are: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Uganda.

    Many countries saw substantial reductions in their debt servicing as a result of HIPC debt relief. The largest reductions in terms of the ratio of debt service to exports were Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Malawi, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe and, Sierra Leone which all saw a fall of more than 10%.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Education and (b) Northern Ireland Executive on increasing the involvement of children and young people of school age in commemorative events for the First World War.

    David Evennett

    My Department works in close partnership with the Department for Education on the First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours and Legacy 110 programmes for secondary schools, which we encourage schools to sign up to throughout the centenary period. To get even more young people involved in commemorations, we will soon launch the Great War Debate series for schools. We plan to hold one of these debates at the Clandeboye Estate, a First World War army training site, in November.

    Children will take part in all our national commemorative events to mark the Battle of Jutland in Orkney on 31 May, and the Battle of the Somme at Thiepval and Manchester on 1 July. As one example, over 1300 school children are due to visit the Experience Field at Heaton Park in Manchester on 1 July, as part of the Somme commemorations.

    Commemorative events in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland WWI Centenary Committee. The Chair of the Committee attends Government Advisory Group meetings where all aspects of the centenary programmes are discussed.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will assess the effect of the use of Lariam on the quality of performance of military personnel on operations.

    Mark Lancaster

    Mefloquine (commercially known as Lariam) is an effective anti-malarial that is used by many militaries to protect their personnel while on operations. There is no defined caveat from any advisory body in the world that suggests the use of mefloquine should be restricted in military personnel or people who handle weapons.

    Although there is no evidence that mefloquine impairs function, in accordance with guidance from Public Health England, the Civil Aviation Authority and others, the drug is not used by military aircrew. Mefloquine is also not used by divers, as its side effects could potentially be confused with decompression or narcosis events.

    In October 2015, the results were published of a Ministry of Defence questionnaire-based study of anti-malarial use by UK Service personnel training in Kenya during 2012 and 2013. This found that significantly more doxycycline than mefloquine users reported that one or more adverse effects had interfered with their ability to do their job.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost is of a Care Quality Commission inspection for a (a) hospital trust, (b) care home, (c) nursing home, (d) GP surgery and (e) ambulance service.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The largest area of the Care Quality Commission’s expenditure relates to inspection activity which was a total of £134 million in 2015-16. As part of the CQC’s work to explore its value for money, the CQC calculated an average cost for inspections across the year for each sector. The average cost per inspection provided by the CQC for the financial year 2015-16 is:

    – Hospitals: £107,500

    – Primary Medical Services: £6,600

    – Adult Social Care: £4,100

    The CQC’s annual report, published on 21 July 2016, also sets out these costs per sector, per quarter, and the CQC is continuing to refine its costing of inspection activity. Inspection costs for ambulance services are unable to be provided within the timeframe of this Parliamentary Question.