Tag: 2016

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to develop a cross-departmental strategy to provide more support to carers in England.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their carer roles. This includes provision of and access to respite and replacement care.

    The Department has provided £400 million to the National Health Service over four years from 2011 for carers to have breaks from their caring responsibilities. The carers breaks funding of £130 million is now included in the Better Care Fund in 2016/17. The Department has also provided £186.6 million of funding in 2016/17 to local authorities for improved carers’ rights, as established in the Care Act 2014.

    The Care Act 2014 duty for local authorities to undertake carers’ assessments also provides an opportunity for the local authority and the carer to look at the support they need and the outcomes that they wish to achieve, including providing them with a break or taking up work, educational and leisure opportunities if they wish.

    The Department is committed to continuing to improve support for carers and is currently leading the development of a new cross-Government national carers’ strategy, due to be published by the end of 2016. We are currently consulting widely with a range of stakeholders and carers themselves to inform the development of the strategy.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to improve the provision of asylum accommodation.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We have worked closely with our COMPASS Providers to improve property standards and over the lifetime of the contract quality standards have increased. Where issues with accommodation are discovered we work with our contractors to ensure issues are quickly addressed. When they are not we can and do impose sanctions and seek remedial plans to drive improvement. Through continued engagement with service users and accommodation providers and regular property inspections the Home Office will continue to ensure asylum accommodation is adequate.

  • Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pauline Latham on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of employees of mining companies that are registered in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

    Chris Skidmore

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether any members of the Burmese army who have received training from the Government have been involved in military offensives in which war crimes have allegedly been committed against civilians.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We do not provide combat training to the Burmese army. We do provide educational training which in 2015 included the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context and Strategic Leadership Programmes, both delivered by the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in partnership with Cranfield University. In addition, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst delivered a Psychology of Leadership programme in Burma, and we have also provided English Language Training. We hold no information on whether any specific members of the Burmese Army who have received training from the UK have been involved in offensives in which war crimes may have been allegedly committed.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the implications are for her Department’s policies of the legal submission given to her on 15 December 2015 by the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign on the confrontation between police and miners at Orgreave in June 1984.

    Mike Penning

    On 21 July 2015 the Home Secretary met a group of MPs, a Welsh Assembly Member, Michael Mansfield QC and members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign (OTJC), led by Louise Haigh MP, to discuss their calls for a public inquiry to be established following the publication of the IPCC scoping review into the policing of events at Orgreave in 1984.

    Following this meeting, on 15 December 2015 the Home Secretary received a submission from the OTJC containing their arguments for establishing a public inquiry into the events at Orgreave. That 85 page submission raises a range of extensive issues which the Home Secretary is currently considering fully and in detail before responding. She will set out the Government’s position in due course.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the new owners of London City Airport; what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the sale of that airport on airport capacity in the South East; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There have been no discussions with the new owners of London City Airport.

    The purchase of London City Airport is a commercial matter between the relevant parties.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, from which non-UK EU-based companies his Department procures materiel.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In 2014-15, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) placed 2,128 new contracts. A breakdown of those which were non-UK EU-based companies is not held centrally.

    The MOD does, however, routinely publish a list of all organisations with which we have spent £5 million or more. Details for 2015 can be found in Excel tables 2a and 2b of the Trade, Industry and Contracts Bulletin 2015 at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of civil war in Nigeria as a result of the policy of the government of Nigeria on Biafra.

    James Duddridge

    The UK fully supports the territorial integrity of Nigeria and President Buhari’s commitment to work for a secure and prosperous Nigeria for all Nigerians. We are committed to working with Nigeria to help tackle threats to Nigeria’s security and to address the underlying causes of instability which exist within Nigeria. We do not assess that there is institutionalised persecution of the Igbo or any other peoples by the Nigerian authorities.

    We are not aware of any patterns of land confiscation in Nigeria by the Nigerian Government. Nigeria does face the challenge of inter-communal violence between farmers and herdsmen over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water. We are aware that the Nigerian legislature is currently debating a bill on grazing routes and reserves for Nigerian herdsmen. Part of that debate focuses on balancing the rights of land owners with the requirements of herder communities.

    Through our development assistance the UK supports initiatives to reduce these conflicts and build bridges between communities. We will continue to work with the Nigerian Government, non-governmental organisations and civil society to improve the security situation and human rights for all the people of Nigeria.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing on the NHS laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson’s disease.

    Jane Ellison

    No assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) on the National Health Service. We understand this new innovation, whilst promising, remains at a relatively early stage in terms of development and testing. Good quality evidence from clinical trials would be needed before clinicians and commissioners could make appropriate assessments about the clinical and cost effectiveness of the shoes and consider their suitability for patients with PD.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on changes in the number of licensed private hire vehicles in England in the last 12 months; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of that change on (a) congestion and (b) consumer safety.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport’s taxi statistics provide information on the number of licensed taxis and private hire vehicles in England and Wales. Data are derived from the department’s survey of licensing authorities in England and Wales, which takes place every 2 years. The last survey was published in August 2015. It showed a total 166,100 private hire vehicles in England in March 2015, an increase of 11.8% since March 2013. The Department has not made a further assessment of any impacts of that change.