UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative information his Department holds on the rate of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects in the UK and in other EU member states.

    Ben Gummer

    The prevalence of neural tube defects in live births, fetal deaths (over 20 weeks’ gestation) and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly in 2012 in the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers, registers (covering 36% of the births in England and Wales) was 12.5 per 10,000 births (source: Congenital anomaly statistics 2012, England and Wales (2014)).

    In European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies registries (covering 25.8% of the births in the United Kingdom) the prevalence of neural tube defects in 2012 for the UK was 12.53 neural tube defects per 10,000 births. By comparison, other European Union member states ranged from 1.75 per 10,000 births to 17.37 per 10,000 births. Differences in total prevalence rates may reflect a number of factors including genetic and environmental differences.

    Data on prevalence is available at:

    http://www.eurocat-network.eu/AccessPrevalenceData/PrevalenceTables

    “

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the economy in Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government is clear that we are safer, stronger and better off in the EU.

    Reports by HM Treasury are clear that leaving the EU would bring serious economic costs that would affect businesses, jobs, living standards and public finances for decades to come.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how her Department plans to measure progress of the implementation of its sports strategy.

    Tracey Crouch

    Progress will be measured against the five outcomes set out in Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation. Information will be collected about the key performance indicators the strategy sets out, drawing on data from a range of sources. We will submit an annual report to parliament on the progress.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 44488, what the implications for councils are of failure to determine planning applications in a timely and efficient manner; and what plans he has to provide extra funding to councils to assist them with implementing his Department’s plans to tighten the Planning Guarantee for minor planning applications.

    Gavin Barwell

    Councils are at risk of being designated as underperforming where they persistently fail to determine planning applications for major development within statutory timescales or an agreed extended period with the applicant. In an area where the council has been designated as underperforming, applicants can choose to submit their application directly to the Planning Inspectorate for determination, instead of the council. We are extending this regime to applications for non-major development. Where applications are not determined within 26 weeks, councils have to refund the application fee under the Planning Guarantee.

    We do not intend to provide any additional funding to local authorities with regard to tightening the Planning Guarantee. Earlier this year we consulted on proposals to increase planning fees and will publish our response in due course.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of HM Revenue and Customs office closures on the local economy in East Kilbride.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a large and long-established presence in Scotland. The Department announced in November its decision to significantly invest in Scotland by creating two Regional Centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh, employing up to 6,300 staff. As part of those transformation plans, HMRC is planning to remain in East Kilbride until 2025-26.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the total number of people from the UK who have joined Daesh.

    Mr John Hayes

    We believe approximately 800 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict since it began. Of those who are known to have travelled, about half have returned.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to encourage routine use of NHS medicines throughout the NHS.

    George Freeman

    The Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to new and effective treatments on terms that represent value to the National Health Service and the taxpayer.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing advice to the NHS on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies. NHS commissioners are legally required to fund treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance, ensuring consistent access to clinically and cost effective drugs across England.

    The Accelerated Access Review, chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government later this spring on reforms to accelerate access for NHS patients to innovative medicines, medical technologies, diagnostics and digital products.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will ask her Canadian counterpart for (a) emissions data and (b) the cost of the boundary dam power station in Saskatchewan, Canada; and if she will place that information in the Library.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials are in regular contact with their counterparts in other Governments, including Canada, to exchange information on carbon capture and storage. Canadian counterparts will attend the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum in June which the UK is hosting. The exchanges include the progress of projects; however some of the specific information on the projects (such as Boundary Dam) is commercially sensitive and would not be disclosed. For the same reason we do not expect to publish any information in the House library.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many interventions by the Forced Marriages Unit led to criminal prosecutions of people perpetrating forced marriages.

    Karen Bradley

    The jointly led Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leads on the Government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. Figures on the number of cases reported to the FMU via its public helpline and email inbox are published annually and are available on GOV.uk. The figures include a breakdown of cases by age range. The FMU acts in an advisory capacity, and information on the number of cases which resulted in prosecutions is therefore not collated centrally.

    We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to send a clear message that this brutal practice will not be tolerated in the UK. We are encouraged by the first conviction in June 2015, and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent report shows that the volume of referrals from the police to the CPS has risen from 67 in 2013-14 to 82 in 2014-15. But there is still work to be done, and we will continue to work with partners to lead efforts to tackle this abhorrent crime.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on the UK withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government’s position on the European Convention of Human Rights remains clear. We cannot rule out withdrawing forever, but our forthcoming proposals do not include it. We are confident that we can replace the Human Rights Act with a Bill of Rights and reform our relationship with the Strasbourg Court.