The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers who have received severance or redundancy packages since May 2010 have subsequently been re-employed (a) as a prison officer or (b) in another capacity by his Department.
Andrew Selous
It has not been possible to answer this question within the time available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart to request that he (a) take steps to protect trade unionists who have received death threats in the Valle del Cauca region and (b) establish who is responsible for those threats.
Mr Hugo Swire
Whilst I cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country, I raised human rights concerns with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister during the UN General Assembly in September and again with the Colombian Ambassador in November. I continue to urge the Colombian authorities to ensure justice for all victims of the conflict and to thoroughly investigate threats.
Our Embassy in Bogotá takes every opportunity to urge the Colombian Government to take further measures to prevent violence and threats against human rights defenders including trade unionists. Our Ambassador in Bogota recently raised concerns about human rights defenders with both Colombian Interior Minister and the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights. Furthermore, this year we are funding a Colombian NGO to develop protection measures for human rights defenders in rural areas. Our Embassy will continue to raise these issues in regular meetings with the Colombian government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that China maintains its commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.
Mr Hugo Swire
During his meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January and in London on 4 February, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), stressed the importance of respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all residents of Hong Kong. He also made clear our expectations that the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law for Hong Kong should be respected. During those meetings, China reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.
During the visit to London by Hong Kong Chief Executive C Y Leung on 15 and 16 October 2015, the Foreign Secretary and I also discussed with him the importance of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and the need to preserve the rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Joint Declaration.
The Foreign Secretary’s most recent six-monthly report to the House, published on 11 February (covering the period 1 July–31 December 2015), urged “the Chinese and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments to reassure the people of Hong Kong that the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents will continue to be fully protected, and respected by all, in accordance with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law.” The report also stated that “while we assess that during the reporting period ‘One Country, Two Systems’ has, in very many areas, continued to function well, there have been some areas which have given grounds for concern. These revolve principally around the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, including academic freedom and the freedom of the press.” We will continue to raise such issues with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.
We aim to provide consular assistance to all British citizens, and to dual nationals in their country of other nationality in exceptional circumstances, in line with our consular guidance. We acknowledge that some countries do not accept dual nationality.
In the case of British citizen Mr Lee Po, the Government continues to call at the highest level on the Chinese Government for his
immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Mr Lee’s family.
The Government will continue to monitor rights and freedoms in Hong Kong through the Foreign Secretary’s six-monthly reports.
The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making country-by-country reporting of UK-listed company profits publicly available.
Mr David Gauke
The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated the international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for this as part of the BEPS project.
The UK was the first to commit to implementing the OECD model with legislation in Finance Act 2015. The Government believes that there is scope for greater transparency by pressing the case for public CbC reporting on a multilateral basis. As the Chancellor has said, this is something that the UK will seek to promote internationally.
The European Commission has now proposed amendments to the Accounting Directive for public CbC reporting, and we believe these proposals are a step in the right direction towards new international rules for greater public transparency
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a letter from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to Lord Marlesford, how a series of sophisticated search algorithms and the search systems incorporating them would be able to make the link between a UK passport holder’s passport and a second passport of another nationality held by the same person if there is not a record of such second passports held by British passport holders held on a central UK government database available online to immigration officers.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
It is longstanding policy not to disclose details of how search systems work, as to do so would not be in the interest of border and national security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of leaving the EU on the number of UK students studying overseas at universities in EU member states.
Joseph Johnson
There are no immediate changes following the EU Referendum, including in the circumstances of British citizens studying, or planning to study, in the EU. Future arrangements for studying abroad will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward proposals to establish an independent body to monitor fuel pricing.
Jesse Norman
The Government believes that it is essential that consumers get a fair deal and that falls in oil prices are passed on to lower retail prices.
The Department regularly meets retailers and their representatives, and closely monitors pump prices, publishing data regularly https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/oil-and-petroleum-products-weekly-statistics.
We do not believe that an independent body to monitor fuel pricing is necessary.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22574, for what reasons, during the closure of the Bexleyheath rail line during the week beginning 11 January 2016, (a) Southeastern services on adjacent lines were cancelled, (b) there was a lack of information about alternative services and (c) staff had no information to pass onto customers about alternative services or when replacement bus services would arrive; what systems were put in place to communicate regular updates of information to staff so customers could be given accurate advice; what advice was given to staff regarding assistance for people with disabilities; what steps he is taking to determine whether the responses to the situation from Network Rail and Southeastern were adequate; and if he will make a statement.
Claire Perry
Following the unfortunate landslip at Barnehust, it was necessary to close the line serving Bexleyheath in order that repairs could be carried out.
As a result of the Bexleyheath line closure, Southeastern have had to run more trains on the adjacent lines to provide extra capacity for passengers. This led to minimal cancellations to the scheduled timetable on adjacent lines.
Information regarding alternative travel arrangements was provided by posters at affected stations, station announcements, on National Rail Industry systems, the Southeastern website and on social media.
Staff were given regular updates on the alternative travel arrangements and station announcements were made where appropriate. Replacement buses were in operation between Lewisham and Dartford via Bexleyheath in both directions. Other bus services were accepting Southeastern tickets, additionally, Docklands Light Railway and London Underground were accepting tickets where appropriate. Regular updates were provided to station management, who provided briefings to their station staff. The Passenger Assist service was in effect and Southeastern staff were advised to book taxis from stations that were not accessible for those passengers who required them.
My officials were in regular contact with Southeastern and Network Rail, who ensured that the line was opened as quickly as possible and that passengers were kept informed at all times.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trust chief executives have become private sector consultants after leaving that post.
Ben Gummer
We do not hold information on the employment of chief executives after they have left the National Health Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, what plans his Department has to introduce national measurements for rheumatology services for commissioners and NHS England to inform service design and funding.
Jane Ellison
National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care.
In terms of plans to introduce national measurements for rheumatology services, NHS England’s National Indicators Group is reviewing service level metrics that could provide commissioners with assurance in this area. NHS England will also review whether a new best practice tariff in rheumatoid arthritis could be developed, subject to suitable data being available.
The Department is currently taking a number of steps to improve the systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from National Health Service outpatient clinics. For example, where trusts have identified local requirements for improving the capture of information, including for outpatient data, funds have been made available for improved electronic systems through the Integrated Digital Care Fund and the South Local Clinical Systems Programmes. This includes for improvements to patient administration, patient records, and document management systems which will help the recording and accessing of data at the point of care.
Going forward, through the work of the National Information Board, the Department is taking the following steps to improve the systems for capturing, coding and integrating data from NHS outpatient clinics:
– supporting providers to implement technology systems further in outpatient departments where they do not already exist, to collect better data and become paper free at the point of care. £1.4 billion of the recently announced investment of £4.2 billion in NHS technology over the next five years is intended for this purpose;
– examining the potential to move outpatient departments to capture activity in a standardised terminology (SNOMED CT) so it may be available elsewhere in the hospital and to support reporting and clinical audit. SNOMED CT includes representation of codes pertaining to rheumatoid and inflammatory arthritis that are generally well-developed; and
– In 2017/18, expanding the a current programme of work which is looking information exchange for inpatient transfers, to cover other care domains including the exchange of outpatient information between acute trusts and patients’ general practitioners.