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Tag: 2016

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

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 1.233 of the March 2015 Budget, how much of the £1.25 billion funding for child and adolescent mental health services has been allocated.

    Alistair Burt

    Following the March Budget 2015 announcement of £1.25 billion additional funding for children and young people’s mental health services being available over the following five years, £143 million has been allocated for 2015-16. From this, £75 million has been allocated to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to work intensively with key partner agencies to transform local services through delivery of their Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, and £68 million is being spent centrally on workforce and system development to support local transformation. For 2016-17, £119 million has been included in CCG baseline allocations. The profile of spending for future years has not yet been fully determined.

    The guidance for LTPs issued in August 2015, specified that plans had to be signed off by Health and Wellbeing Boards to ensure a shared ambition across all local partners, and included details of a robust bespoke assurance process for 2015-16, put in place by NHS England. This included the completion of detailed financial tracking templates, backed by a programme of regional and national support, to ensure that the additional money was spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators are being met. The intention from 2016-17 is to mainstream children and young people’s mental health as part of the normal NHS England planning cycle and to integrate LTPs into the new Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many journalists have been imprisoned in the occupied Palestinian territories since October 2015 and what representations they have made to the government of Israel.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As of the beginning of March 2016, we were aware of four Palestinian journalists from the West Bank arrested since October 2015. We are also aware of a Gazan journalist who was detained for seven hours at Erez crossing. We are clear that journalists should have the necessary protection to do their jobs in safety, and strongly believe freedom of the media is an important human rights principle.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many train paths an hour will be freed up on the West Coast Main Line when HS2 Phase 1 is operational according to Network Rail’s West Coast Main Line Capacity Plus study, and when that study will be published.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    HS2 Phase 1 will add significant additional capacity to the London to West Midlands rail corridor, and this provides an opportunity for the industry to evaluate how best to make use of the released capacity on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line. Network Rail continues to develop the evidence base to support the Capacity Plus study. Train operating companies and freight operating companies, passenger transport executives and local authorities and High Speed 2 Ltd are supporting Network Rail in its ongoing work. Network Rail will use this work to inform the Initial Industry Advice for Control Period 6 which is expected to be published by the end of 2016.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support and develop the UK life sciences industry; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government remains committed to ensuring that the UK has one of the most competitive and productive life sciences sectors in the world, which is at the forefront of 21st century healthcare and technology. That is crucial to ensuring both improved health outcomes for patients and wider prosperity and economic growth.

    The Government has created a supportive life sciences environment, including through significant support for research and development, both through the Research Councils and the National Institute for Health Research; support for innovation via Innovate UK; and support for exporters from the Department for International Trade. In 2014 UK Government spend on health research and development stood at just over £2.2bn[1].

    The Government’s investment in life sciences benefits many areas of the UK. For example, Government has invested £20m in a joint fund between Greater Manchester and Cheshire & Warrington Local Economic Partnerships, through Growth Deals.

    [1] ONS UK Government Expenditure on Science, Engineering and Technology, http://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/researchanddevelopmentexpenditure/datasets/scienceengineeringandtechnologystatisticsreferencetables

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  • John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that asfotase alfa is available on the NHS to all patients who may benefit from it.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating the costs and benefits of asfotase alfa (Strensiq) for treating paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia to determine whether it can be recommended for national commissioning by NHS England.

    There has not yet been an opportunity for stakeholders to appeal NICE’s recommendations on the use of asfotase alfa for treating paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia. NICE published a second iteration of draft guidance for consultation on 22 September 2016 and the closing date for comments was 13 October 2016. NICE’s independent Evaluation Committee will now consider the comments received in response to the consultation before deciding on the next steps for the evaluation.

  • 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 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent people in other EU countries who have been convicted for murder, violent assault or rape from travelling to the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK has always and will continue to operate our borders securely and enforce our immigration laws. This includes carrying out full checks on all arriving passengers in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can, and do refuse them entry. However, that requires other countries to inform us of individual’s criminal histories.

    This Government has also introduced a new power to enable the UK to require entry clearance applicants to provide an overseas criminal record certificate, helping to reduce overseas offenders gaining visas to enter the UK. From 1 September 2015, Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur entry clearance applicants and their adult dependents are now required to provide a criminal record certificate from the country/countries in which they have been living for the past ten years. This will be rolled out to other categories at a later stage on a phased basis.

    The UK is leading calls in Europe to improve the sharing of criminal records information between Member States, allowing us better to identify criminals before they try and enter the UK. This includes accelerating work to develop a more comprehensive system for sharing information on non-EU nationals who receive criminal convictions within the EU. In the light of the unprecedented migratory flows into Europe, the UK is leading calls for systematic and complete identification, registration and fingerprinting of those entering the EU as well as greater sharing of information about those who pose a risk. The Home Office is also leading work to progress recommendations from a project to tackle serious offending by mobile EU criminals (SOMEC Project). This project examines the threat from offenders crossing internal EU borders who pose a risk.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received on allowing a five per cent rate of VAT to golf participants at proprietary golf facilities.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Treasury has received representations on applying a five per cent rate of VAT to golf from both the Association of Golf Course Owners, the Reduce VAT in Sport campaign group, the UK Golf Course Owners Association, and England Golf.

  • David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the commitments by the UK not to create obstacles to, but facilitate such deepening of the Eurozone, to sincere cooperation with the Eurozone, not to impede the implementation of legal acts directly linked to the functioning of the euro area to refrain from measures which could jeopardise the attainment of the objectives of economic and monetary union contained in the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016 are legally binding; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union, is legally binding. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has been clear that this deal protects the UK’s rights as a country outside the Eurozone, and from any future integration.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her French counterpart on French authorities’ use of tear gas in the refugee camp in Calais.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government is in regular contact with French counterparts on the migrant situation in Calais.

    Steps taken by French authorities to clear sections of the migrant camp in Calais are consistent with the shared strategy to encourage those in need of protection to claim asylum in France and to return those not in need to their home country. The French Government, with support from the UK, has made huge efforts to provide decent accommodation in France for all those that need it, including for women and children.

  • Baroness Rawlings – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Rawlings – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rawlings on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 April (HL7637), whether the new settlement for the UK in the EU negotiated by the Prime Minister included a provision for the British Art Collection in the European Parliament to be repatriated in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.