The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 23171, to which countries RAF Reaper drones have been deployed on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sorties since 26 January 2016.
Penny Mordaunt
Since 26 January UK Reapers have been deployed on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in Iraq and Syria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on securing stem cell donations from abroad for patients in the UK who have blood disorders or blood cancer in each year since 2003-04; and (a) how many and (b) what proportion of patients in each of those years received stem cell donations from abroad.
Jane Ellison
The Department does not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of injured children trying to leave Syria being turned away at the Jordanian border.
Mr Philip Hammond
We are aware that there are large numbers of refugees being denied access to Jordan at the Jordan/Syria border. Whilst recognising their legitimate security concerns and the need for proper vetting, we have discussed with the Government of Jordan the necessity of prioritising admittance for the sick and injured, including children. Jordan has shown remarkable generosity as host to over 630,000 registered refugees from the Syria conflict. The UK is firmly committed to supporting Jordan. We have contributed over £330 million to help Jordan since the start of the Syria crisis. As co-hosts of the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference held in London this year we helped secure over $12 billion of commitments of further support for those inside Syria and Syria’s neighbours Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey which are bearing the humanitarian weight of the crisis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 374, on tax avoidance and evasion, whether (a) the Guardian, (b) the BBC, (c) the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and (d) the Süddeutsche Zeitung have agreed to provide the data they received.
Greg Hands
HM Revenue & Customs has asked the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the BBC and The Guardian to share their data. The BBC and The Guardian have confirmed that they do not hold the data. The ICIJ have refused to share their data with us, stating that their policy is not to hand over such material. While we welcome the steps they have taken in exposing this issue, their decision not to release the full set of information to us is disappointing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NICE has to consult on its methodology for carrying out evidence reviews and impact analyses to support NHS England’s specialised commissioning process.
George Freeman
As yet, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not have any plans to consult on changes to its methods and processes to support NHS England’s specialised commissioning process, but will carry out a full consultation if any such changes are considered necessary.
Following NHS England’s review of its specialised commissioning processes and the publication in the summer of the final report from the Accelerated Access Review, we anticipate NICE will want to look at its processes and methods for the assessment of drugs and treatments used in specialised commissioning.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with the government of Japan on increasing trade links with that country.
Mark Garnier
My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade met with the Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom on 6 September. A range of topics were discussed including the opportunities presented by the United Kingdom exiting the European Union to strengthen its role as a global leader for free trade, including its trade links with Japan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department has for the decommissioning of nuclear-powered submarines if a suitable geological disposal facility is not identified.
Harriett Baldwin
Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) is the only type of waste from submarines that will require the use of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). A facility for the interim storage of ILW has been arranged at Capenhurst in Cheshire until the proposed GDF is available from 2040. In line with Government guidance, the interim ILW store will have a design life of at least 100 years – considerably longer than it is anticipated will be required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to prevent students using paid-for commercial essay-writing services advertised on the internet.
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Government strongly condemns any form of cheating. All publicly funded providers of higher education courses are expected to comply with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, published by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). One of the requirements of the Code is to ensure that students do not obtain awards through any form of unacceptable academic practice relating to assessment, including plagiarism. There is no centrally held set of data on the number of recorded plagiarism cases in UK Higher Education – responsibility for tackling plagiarism lies with the HE providers themselves, as autonomous organisations. Institutions have a variety of mechanisms to address cheating by both international and EEA/UK students, including strong policies and specialist software. Between 2012 and 2015, the QAA carried out approximately 650 reviews of institutions. Of these, it only had to make recommendations to 30 individual universities and colleges on the need to improve systems and information related to plagiarism. The QAA are discussing the legality of essay mills with the Consumer and Markets Authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the performance of the Education Funding Agency on the case of Harperbury Free School; and what the cost to the public purse of that school has been to date.
Edward Timpson
I have every confidence in the performance of the Education Funding Agency on this project.
The combined capital and revenue cost of the project to date is £1,919,000.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the minimum number of hours off-duty is that his Department uses to define a day off for a junior doctor.
Ben Gummer
Neither the current contract nor the new contract define a day off. Both define a minimum rest period between shifts of 11 hours and a minimum break between defined periods of prolonged work of 48 hours. Further minimum rest periods, as set out in the existing Working Time Regulations, will also apply. The new contract will reduce the number of consecutive night shifts after which a 48 hour break must be taken from seven to four, the number of consecutive long day shifts from seven to five, the number of consecutive late evening shifts from 12 to four and the number of consecutive shorter shifts from 12 to eight. The improvements are part of the around 90% of the new contract that was agreed with the British Medical Association and that make the new contract much safer than the current one.