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Tag: 2016

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department’s (a) £10 million payment to the Macfarlane Trust in 1987 and (b) £500,000 payment to the Eileen Trust in 1993 was allocated to his Department’s capital budget or revenue budget.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Department does not hold the information requested.

    The Department only holds data for the last seven financial years, in accordance with departmental policy for retention of financial data, and the Finance Act 1998 – Schedule 18 Part III, Duty to keep and preserve records.

    The government spending control regime has changed many times since the period referred to in the question, however generally payments to charities such as these would score as “grants”. The treatment of a grant as “revenue” or “capital” is explained on page 31 of HM Treasury’s Consolidated Budgeting Guidance 2016-17, which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503365/Consolidated_budgeting_guidance_2016-17.pdf

    “

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Mauritania.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We last assessed the human rights situation in Mauritania in November 2015 before Mauritania’s Universal Periodic Review ahead of the UN Human Rights Council. Officials continue to monitor human rights in Mauritania and raise our concerns with the Mauritanian authorities at the highest levels.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24113, on what occasions the Government has requested the sending state to waive the rights to diplomatic immunity of an individual diplomat in the UK in the last 12 months.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We do not disclose the missions from which we have sought waivers of immunity. Doing so would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and the States in question. Statistics for the total number of waivers of immunity sought for foreign diplomats in the UK in the last 12 months are not kept centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Statistics for waivers of immunity sought in cases of serious and significant offences allegedly committed by foreign diplomats in the last 12 months have yet to be compiled. Those allegedly committed in the calendar year 2015 will be available in the next annual Written Ministerial Statements on the failure of foreign missions to comply with UK law in 2015.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure that any underspend of the budget for Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus is allocated to projects and schemes on those bases; and what planning his Department has carried out for such a scenario.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There has been no significant underspend in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in recent years. In the unlikely event an underspend is identified, there are measures in place to identify priorities for additional investment in the SBAs, subject to wider Departmental policies. These measures involve engagement with all key stakeholders at the beginning of each Financial Year to identify ‘quick win’ projects that could be funded and implemented promptly in the event of a potential underspend.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what instructions his Department has issued to ambassadors and diplomats in relation to the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is in regular contact with diplomatic posts overseas to ensure they are informed of HM Government’s position, including on the referendum, and are able to promote the United Kingdom’s interests overseas, supporting our citizens and businesses around the globe.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK’s research capacity of the reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologist posts within the NHS.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that there has not been a reduction in the number of consultant clinical pharmacologists employed in the National Health Service in England.

    As part of its workforce planning, Health Education England (HEE) take account of a range of factors including forecast rates of retirement. HEE has recently undertaken a review of the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics workforce, the findings of which will contribute to future workforce planning for this specialty in England.

    It is for the respective Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to consider workforce planning for their health system.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart on ensuring that elections in that country are open and transparent.

    James Duddridge

    I have repeatedly urged the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Raymond Tshibanda, to ensure that elections in his country are open, transparent and are conducted in line with his country’s Constitution. Most recently I wrote to Mr Tshibanda in April this year to follow-up on my meeting with him in the margins of a UN debate on the Great Lakes region held in March 2016. I also met Mr Tshibanda at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa in January 2016. In all my interactions with representatives of the Congolese Government I have stressed the importance of a peaceful, democratic transition of power in the DRC. My Hon Friend, the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Nick Hurd MP), Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for International Development), visited the DRC in March 2016.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many guardians of safe working have been appointed to NHS organisations; and what the responsibilities will be of those roles.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    177 out of 217 trusts had appointed Guardians of Safe Working Hours as at 4 September 2016, with interim arrangements in place in a further 14 trusts; meaning 88% have arrangements in place. NHS Improvement is aiming for appointments or interim arrangements to be in place for all 217 shortly.

    The Guardian of Safe Working Hours will act as the champion of safe working hours for doctors in approved training programmes and ensure that action is taken to ensure that the working hours within the trust are safe. They will provide assurance to the trust board or equivalent body that doctors are safely rostered and are working hours that are safe and in compliance with the Terms and Conditions of Service (TCS). The Guardians will also record and monitor compliance with the restrictions on working hours stipulated in the TCS, through receipt and review of all exception reports in respect of safe working hours.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to simplify and make more accessible the diagnostic pathway in order to improve speed of diagnosis and access to support.

    Jane Ellison

    In September 2015, the NHS England Board approved the development of a personalised medicine strategy for the National Health Service which will be based around four overarching principles: the prediction and prevention of disease; more precise diagnoses; targeted and personalised interventions; and a more participatory role for patients.

    The strategy will build on the 100,000 Genomes Project, which is moving the NHS to a new model of diagnosis and treatment based on the understanding of underlying genetic causes and drivers of disease and a comprehensive phenotypic characterisation of the disease (rather than deduction from symptoms and individual diagnostic tests). Personalised medicine informs the selection of the most appropriate treatment and better outcomes for individual patients – the right drug at the right time, earlier screening and treatment, smarter monitoring and the adjustment of treatments.

    Furthermore, the Independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the need for more accessible molecular diagnostic provision in their report ‘Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes’ published in July 2015. In September 2015, the Department confirmed a commitment from NHS England to implement the Taskforce’s recommendations on molecular diagnostics.

    NHS England is currently working with partners across the healthcare system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations of the Taskforce, and has appointed Cally Palmer as National Cancer Director to lead on implementation, as well as new cancer vanguards to redesign care and patient experience.

    She has set up a new Cancer Transformation Board to implement the strategy, and this met for the first time on Monday 25 January 2016. There will also be a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Harpal Kumar, to oversee and scrutinise the work of the Transformation Board. Timeframes and phasing for implementation will be dependent on the final financial settlement reached as a result of the spending review.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what measures are in place to provide housing support to care leavers; and what additional support his Department plans to provide after April 2017.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Ensuring that young people leaving care have accommodation and support that is suitable for their needs is a priority for this Government. The homelessness legislation provides a strong safety net for vulnerable people. Care leavers aged 18-21 facing homelessness have a priority need for accommodation, as do vulnerable care leavers who are older than 21.

    We have funded youth homelessness agency St Basils to develop and support the roll-out of the Positive Pathway Framework. This supports local authority children’s services and housing teams and other local partners to work together to prevent homelessness and meet the housing and support needs of vulnerable young people, including care leavers. To build on this, we supported St Basils to develop a specific Care Leavers Accommodation and Support Framework, in partnership with Barnardo’s, in 2015.

    We have also invested £15 million in the Fair Chance Fund, a payment by results programme which aims to test new approaches to improving accommodation, employment and training outcomes for vulnerable homeless 18-25 year olds. Over 200 of the young people on the programme have previously been looked after.

    We will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it.