Tag: 2016

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which common electrical and propulsion systems are shared between the T26 Global Combat Ship and the Type 45 Destroyer.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Due to the specific requirements of Anti-Submarine Warfare operations and the availability of equipment on the open market, the Type 45 and Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) electrical and propulsion system architectures are fundamentally different; no major equipment will be common to both.

    Lessons learned from the Type 45 programme and the in-service experience drawn from the Type 23 Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates have all been applied to the T26 GCS electrical and propulsion system design.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) defections from North Korea and (b) unsuccessful defection attempts from that country in the last four years.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold detailed information on the number of defections from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Information on defections from the DPRK can be obtained from the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Unification

    http://eng.unikorea.go.kr/content.do?cmsid=3026

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent on upgrading its IT systems in 2014-15.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department spent £38m on upgrading IT systems in 2014-15, including both software and equipment development. This includes around £31m for internally developed software, predominantly within delivery bodies of the department such as the Student Loans Company. It also includes the Core Department roll out of a new ICT system, Evolve, for use by all staff. This replaced the previous IT service. The total cost of the Evolve rollout was £3.5 million.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many hotel bookings were made for (a) ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department during the negotiation processes for local authority devolution deals in each of the last three years.

    Mr Mark Francois

    Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in this department undertake a variety of visits to support the delivery of Government’s devolution and local growth objectives and other departmental business. We do not hold figures for the number of hotel bookings made specifically to support the negotiation of devolution deals.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policy of the recent UN Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict and its Annex which lists the Saudi-led Coalition as committing grave violations against children in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict which was published on 2 June, which includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. The conflict in Yemen has had a significant impact on children, in terms of the numbers of child casualties, the recruitment of children as soldiers, and attacks on hospitals and schools. We consider all these reports very carefully. We note the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that removed the listing of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition from the report’s annex, pending the conclusion of a joint review by the UN and Saudi Arabia on the cases and numbers cited in the text. We welcome co-operation between the UN and Saudi Arabia to look in to this matter. A political solution remains the best way to bring this conflict and the suffering of the Yemeni people to an end. The UK Government remains fully committed to this endeavour.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to review progress towards commitments made at the 2016 Anti-Corruption Summit in London; and what the timetable is for further periodic reviews of that progress.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government remains committed to tackling corruption in all its forms. The new administration is currently considering the approach and the governance structures that will oversee this work. Such details will be confirmed in due course. In the meantime, departments are working to progress the anti-corruption agenda, including work that was set out at the London Anti-Corruption Summit on May 12.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Chinese counterpart and (b) officials from Tibet on human rights in Tibet.

    Alok Sharma

    ​We do have concerns about human rights and freedoms in Tibet. I raised our concerns about the Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk and Tibetan Blogger Druklo (aka Shokjang) with the Chinese Ambassador, in writing, on 1 August 2016. In that letter I also pressed him to allow UK diplomats to visit the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

    Neither I, nor my officials, have been able to have recent discussions with officials from the Tibetan Autonomous Region. However my officials have had discussions with non-government organisations on the situation in Tibet.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential role of technology in reducing aseptic pharmaceutical medication error.

    George Freeman

    Where appropriate, automation has a role to play in ensuring consistent output from aseptic compounding and increased production capacity. It may also provide additional protection against microbiological contamination by use of ‘closed systems’ of manufacture.

    Licensed specials manufacturers may consider automation as an appropriate solution for their product range and capacity. In these cases, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency inspections assess whether the process design, validation, personnel, training and procedures relating to the automated system comply with the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practice.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the independent power and propulsion system performance review of the Type 45 Destroyer of March 2011.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    A copy of the report entitled ‘Type 45 Destroyer – Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review’, redacted in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any national guidance has been issued relating to the use of opt in letters sent by health trusts to patients on mental health service waiting lists.

    Alistair Burt

    Guidance on the use of opt-in letters for patients who are asked to opt-in to adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services is published in “Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Waiting Times Guidance and FAQ’s”. This guidance can be found at the following link:

    http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/iapt-wait-times-guid.pdf

    “