The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2016-10-20.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average waiting time was for telephone calls to HM Revenue and Customs to be answered in each year for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs publishes regular performance reports, including average speed of answer; details of which are available on GOV.UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what level of financial return the Government expects from diesel generators who will benefit from payments through the capacity market.
Andrea Leadsom
The Government itself will not make any financial return from generators participating in the capacity market. As with all types of capacity, diesel generators that have been successful in the second capacity market will receive a payment of £18/kw in return for providing electricity at short notice when the system requires it; and may have other sources of revenue outside the capacity market. Diesel engines are a flexible form of capacity that run for short periods to meet peaks in demand, and can reduce the consumer bill impacts by lowering the cost of securing the necessary capacity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides were recorded as having taken place on the strategic road network in each year since 2009-10; and what work Highways England has undertaken with the Samaritans related to suicides on roads.
Andrew Jones
Highways England records details on its Command and Control (C&C) database, of incidents that occur on the strategic road network, but only when the Traffic Officer Service have an awareness or involvement. Therefore due to the current Traffic Officer network coverage, the majority of incidents recorded occurred on the motorway network.
The following table records the number of incidents coded as ‘suicide/suicide attempt’ on the C&C database and reflect those incidents that the Traffic Officer Service have been directly involved in or have been reported to them:
|
Year |
Number of suicides/attempted suicide incidents |
|
2009/10 |
93 |
|
2010/11 |
125 |
|
2011/12 |
110 |
|
2012/13 |
84 |
In April 2014 a review of the database was carried out and the closure code for ‘suicide/attempted suicide’ was changed. This created significant anomalies in the data capture which means that the 2014/15 data are not robust. We are in the process of verifying the data and will be in a position to provide the figures later this year.
Highways England (formerly Highways Agency) has worked closely with organisations such as the Samaritans in helping to prevent further suicides on the strategic road network. Highways England has commenced work to take forward a Suicide Prevention Group. This group will comprise of relevant stakeholders such as the Samaritans, emergency services and our service providers to develop and co-ordinate delivery of an action plan to reduce the number of suicide attempts on the strategic road network. We are also working closely with both the Samaritans and Network Rail to identify best practice following their success in reducing suicide attempts on the rail network.
Known suicide hotspots are investigated to look at possible improvements, such as raising the height of the parapets on bridges and introducing or improving crisis signing. Highways England consults The Samaritans when undertaking this work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether her Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.
Amber Rudd
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on implementation of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 on Sri Lanka.
Mr Hugo Swire
Sri Lanka has made encouraging progress towards fulfilling its commitments to UNHRC Resolution 30/1 but we recognise there remains much to be done. We look forward to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ assessment of progress at the next Human Rights Council in June.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the recommendations of the report of the Public Accounts Committee, Department for International Development: responding to crises, published on 20 April 2016, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department improves its system of accounting for ODA spend on humanitarian emergencies.
Justine Greening
The Government will respond to the Committee’s recommendations in the usual way in a Treasury Minute which will be laid before Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the one-year survival rates are for women diagnosed with cervical cancer following (a) a routine smear test and (b) diagnosis by other means.
Jane Ellison
Cervical screening is not a test for cancer. Cervical screening detects abnormalities within the cervix that could, if undetected and untreated, develop into cervical cancer. It is unusual to detect an invasive cervical cancer on a screening test and this would need to be confirmed by a diagnostic test.
For those cervical cancers which are detected through screening, the one-year relative survival is 99%. This compares to 86% for all cervical cancers; 83% for those diagnosed after a Two Week Wait referral; and 45% for those diagnosed as an emergency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 19 July (HL1204), whether they will now list the competent courts that can recognise genocide.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We continue to believe that recognition of genocide should be a matter for competent courts, decided by judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. A recent example was in March 2016, when the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Radovan Karadžić of one count of genocide (along with other crimes) and sentenced him to forty years imprisonment. The UK is fully committed to the principle that there must be no impunity for the most serious international crimes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 11 and 18 October 2016 to Questions 46460 and 47904, whether the Government plans to put measures in place to replace the National Stroke Strategy after December 2017.
David Mowat
The National Stroke Strategy remains valid and implementation of it continues. There are, therefore, no current plans to renew it. Action is being taken to ensure the progress made on stroke continues. This includes:
– ongoing work in virtually all parts of the country to organise acute stroke care to ensure that all stroke patients, regardless of where they live or what time of the day or week they have their stroke, have access to high quality specialist care;
– publication of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy in 2013, which includes many stroke specific strategic ambitions;
– a CVD expert forum, hosted by NHS England, to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy; and
– NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Stroke works with the Strategic Clinical Networks, clinical commissioning groups, voluntary agencies and individual providers to support better commissioning and provision of stroke care.
More generally, the NHS Five Year Forward View recognises that quality of care, including stroke care, can be variable and that patients’ needs are changing and new treatment options are emerging. The Five Year Forward View sets out high level objectives to address these issues.
There are no current plans for a formal evaluation of the National Stroke Strategy. However there is a continuous evaluation of the quality of stroke care via the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP). This measures most of the key indicators defined as important in the strategy and findings are freely available on the SSNAP website at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has estimated the cost to the agricultural and horticultural industry in West Lancashire of flooding in December 2015.
George Eustice
In 2014 the value of agricultural and horticultural output for the north-west of England was £1.96 billion and gross value added (contribution to economy) was £0.82 billion. In 2013, there were 12,198 commercial agricultural holdings in the north west region. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 909,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 32,000 people, 0.94% of the workforce in the region.
Within West Lancashire in 2013 there were 406 commercial agricultural holdings. The total farmed area on these holdings was approximately 23,000 hectares and the agricultural labour force was made up of almost 2,300 people.
Although farmers in West Lancashire are still uncovering the full extent of the damage caused by the recent flooding, we understand some arable producers have been badly affected. Under the Farm Recovery Fund these farmers will be able to receive funding towards the cost of restoring their agricultural land to the state it was in before it was flooded. Applications for this funding should be submitted by 1 April 2016.