Tag: 2016

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the accident rate on the M4 motorway between junctions 10 and 12 is equivalent to the average rate for all motorways; and how many accidents in the last year on that part of the motorway involved heavy lorries.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The accident rate for 2012-2014 on the M4 between junctions 10 and 12 is below the average rate for all motorways. There were 7 personal injury accidents in 2014 involving heavy lorries on this section of the motorway.

    This is based on the latest validated accident data Highways England holds for the Road Network for 2014, with the 2015 data due to be released in October 2016.

  • 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 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal College of Nursing on a connection between worry and dementia.

    Jane Ellison

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had and continues to have discussions with a range of organisations about dementia including its signs and symptoms.

    Reducing the incidence of dementia, improving the treatment and care of people with dementia and improving dementia research, is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015.

    Under the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, we set an ambition for:

    – Improved public awareness and understanding of the factors, which increase the risk of developing dementia and how people can reduce their risk by living more healthily. This should include a new healthy ageing campaign and access to tools such as a personalised risk assessment calculator as part of the NHS Health Check.

    – Increased identification of effective ways in which people can reduce their personal risk of developing dementia, including cardio-vascular and cognitive strategies, and ways of encouraging these approaches to improve public health and wellbeing.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what extra support is provided to foster carers receiving children who have experienced multiple placement breakdowns.

    Edward Timpson

    The statutory framework is clear that fostering services must provide carers with the necessary training, information and support, in the interests of children placed with them.

    Through the Children’s Services Innovation Programme, the Government continues to support the roll out of interventions such as KEEP (Keeping Foster and Kinship Carers Safe and Supported) and the Mockingbird Project. The Children’s Services Innovation Programme has £100m worth of funding and supports 53 programmes in the development, testing and spreading of more effective ways of supporting children and families who need help from children’s social care services. KEEP is a training programme for foster carers and part of the National Implementation Service, which has £4.1m worth of funding. The Mockingbird Project supports groups of ten foster carers around a ‘hub’ which provides support. This is part of the Fostering Network, which has £1.6m worth of funding. Both projects aim to increase the positive parenting skills of foster and kinship carers in responding to children’s difficulties. They seek to build resilience, improve placement stability and enable young people to thrive as children and adults.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of office space owned or occupied by (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies is currently unused.

    Jane Ellison

    The proportion of office space owned or occupied by the Department and its executive agencies which is currently unused is (a) 0% and (b) 1.37 %.

    The Department’s executive agencies are Public Health England and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The vacant space is leased by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and will be released on 31 March 2016.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7103 and HL6982), whether they have received any representations from non-executive members of any Service Boards about rebalancing funds between the fighting environments.

    Earl Howe

    Non-executive members of Service Boards are appointed to advise, challenge and support the board in carrying out its responsibilities. They are able to offer their views on any topics discussed at board meetings.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Iranian government on the imprisonment of seven Bahá’í leaders.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK regularly raises our concerns at the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to meet the President of the European Council to discuss the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The former Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and the former Minister of State, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), have held discussions with EU counterparts and partners in the EU institutions to explain the result of the referendum and next steps. The former Foreign Secretary had discussed the outcome of the EU referendum with European Parliament President Martin Schulz and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a report from the Institute of Global Food Security that 25 per cent of samples of oregano tested are contaminated, what discussions they are having with food retailers to ensure that the public can have confidence in the labelling of food products.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Food labelling rules require that information provided about food must not mislead the consumer. Food business operators are responsible for ensuring that labelling complies with the law. The law is enforced by local authorities which set their own policies.

    The Food Standards Agency is aware of the oregano sampling exercise earlier this year, which revealed that of seventy-eight samples, nineteen were also found to contain olive or myrtle leaves. Levels ranged between 21% and 69%.

    Guidance on the Authenticity of Herbs and Spices, an industry best practice guide developed by representatives from the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the Seasoning and Spice Association, and the FSA was published on 7 June.

    The guidance represents the culmination of a strand of work the FSA undertook together with industry after the recall of a number of products early in 2015 following the discovery of undeclared almond protein in cumin and paprika. The FSA provides advice on supply chain verification and understanding vulnerabilities, as well as on sampling, inspection and testing.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken since 6 May 2010 on the case of Mr Gilbert Juma Deya’s immigration status in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The Secretary of State is considering further representations from Mr Deya that extradition would breach his Convention rights. She will make a decision as soon as possible.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will take steps to ensure that farming business is market-led rather than production-led.

    George Eustice

    The UK has some of the best farmers in the world, producing food to the highest standards of quality, safety, traceability and animal welfare. To make the most of this talent and quality, we need to work with farmers to raise our productivity and close the gap with some of our leading competitors. This means that we shall be supporting more UK businesses to sell their top quality produce around the world; trebling the number of apprenticeships in the food and drink industry to bring new skills and innovation; and reforming tax averaging and investment allowances to help farmers plan capital spending for the long term.

    Our new 25-year food and farming plan has been developed jointly with food and farming businesses. It will set a joint vision for increasing productivity, exports, resilience and consumer confidence, thereby boosting demand for British food and the contribution of farming to our economy.