Tag: 2016

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the new Argentinian government to emphasise the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and the right of self-determination.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government has engaged with both President Macri and Foreign Minister Malcorra. Whilst we are eager to improve relations with the Argentinian government we continue to make it clear that this does not, and will not, change our position on the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in what way his Department participates in the European New Car Assessment Programme; and what his policy is on changes to the criteria for awarding five stars for safety.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport, as a founding member of Euro NCAP, continues to take a keen interest in the organisation through membership of the Board of Directors.

    Euro NCAP has regularly updated the assessment criteria to reflect new technologies and improved designs. As such it has been fundamental to improving road safety of new cars in the UK and the organisation provides a valuable source of information to UK consumers which the government fully supports.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that rail companies improve their passenger safety procedures.

    Claire Perry

    Britain is known for having one of the safest railways in Europe for both passengers and for workers, but we cannot be complacent.

    The Office of Rail and Road’s duty is to ensure that those responsible for keeping Britain’s railways safe for passengers and providing a safe place for staff to work do so.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-UK children of each nationality are currently looked after in (a) foster care and (b) residential homes.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not collect information on the nationality of looked after children. Information is available on their ethnic origin and this has been published in national table A1 of the statistical first release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption, 2014 to 2015’, which is attached and available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015.

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  • 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 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will apply the principles of the Responsibility to Protect to the situation in Iraq and Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) imposes an obligation on all states to protect their populations, and for the international community to assist. The Asad regime has consistently ignored this obligation, using extreme violence against its own people and preventing access to humanitarian aid. The British Government is also appalled at the brutality of Daesh abuses against all communities. In line with R2P, we continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and we are working with the international community to find ways of providing justice to those who have suffered. Ultimately, the only way of safeguarding people is by defeating Daesh and establishing a lasting peace in both Syria and Iraq.

    The UK is working through the International Syria Support Group to support and facilitate UN brokered intra-Syrian negotiations to end the conflict through political transition to a government that represents and protects its people, and are a leading member of the Global Coalition against Daesh. Our counter-Daesh strategy is working. Daesh have lost about 40 per cent of the territory it once held in Iraq – and significant territory in Syria. Thousands of people have been freed from Daesh’s abusive rule and have been able to return safely to their homes.

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

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Office of Road and Rail’s recent proposals for the East Coast Main Line services take fully into account the needs and expectations of passengers using stations south of Doncaster, in particular Newark, Grantham and Lincoln.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) has granted Virgin Trains East Coast’s application to run additional services on the East Coast Mainline.

    It will be for Network Rail and the relevant train operators to work together through the normal industry processes, under the oversight of the ORR, to ensure that the future mix of services provides an effective level of connectivity to meet the needs of passengers from these and other stations on the route.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Mr John Hayes

    My Department does not hold information on the earnings or contracts of staff where work is outsourced. The Department for Transport pays its directly employed and agency staff at least the Living Wage however, both in the central Department and its executive agencies.

  • 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 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his announcement of 27 September 2016 on extra funding for mental health, what steps he is taking to ensure that funding reaches children who have experienced abuse, neglect or live in poverty.

    Nicola Blackwood

    On 29 September, NHS England announced that an extra £25 million from nationally-led programmes on children’s mental health would be made available to clinical commissioning groups to support children and young people’s mental health transformation and delivery, with a focus on reducing current waiting times.

    Access to all National Health Service treatment is determined on the basis of clinical need, not on the basis of personal circumstances or any other non-clinical criteria.

  • 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 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential application in the NHS of a treatment for arthritis proposed by researchers at Queen Mary University involving injection of microvesicles.

    Jane Ellison

    We are aware of a recent study undertaken by Queen Mary University of London which suggested that arthritic cartilage could be treated by microvesicles. This work is still at a very early stage and the efficacy of such a treatment approach would need to be demonstrated in clinical trials before it could be considered for routine use in the National Health Service.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to ensure that its buildings are open for wider community use.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Church of England’s Cathedral and Church Buildings Division developed the open and sustainable churches initiative five years ago, and now 80% of churches provide a function beyond purely worship, with 54% of Anglican parishes running at least one organised activity to address social or community need. Churches are being used as citizen’s advice bureau, post offices, shops, night shelters and food banks. Two recent examples of local projects where the Church has opening its buildings for the wider community in the Lincoln Diocese include:

    St Peter & Paul Church, Algarkirk has been successful in getting through the first stage of HLF funding for a project to host a local heritage center, explaining the history of the area including an oral history project and fascinating details about this Grade I medieval church. The Parish Church has a collection of Victorian stained glass of national quality and furnishings by J.G. Grace who also furnished the Houses of Parliament.

    All Saints Church, Winterton is a Grade 1 Medieval church which has been restored with new community facilities installed to make it more accessible with the help of HLF and other grants.