Tag: 2016

  • Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conclusions they have drawn from the research commissioned by the Department for Education in 2010 into the development of government guidance on governance arrangements in children’s services: Research governance in children’s services: the scope for new advice.

    Lord Nash

    This report highlighted the importance of governance and ethical consideration in children’s services research. The report suggested that at the time of the research, local practice was variable, but there were, and still are, a number of accepted research governance arrangements in place for local authorities and other research organisations to seek guidance and approval, including the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), the Social Research Association, the NSPCC, and university ethics boards. The Department for Education has concluded that these arrangements are the best route for local authorities and external research organisations to obtain external guidance on research governance and ethics.

    Following publication of the report, the Department, in consultation with the ADCS Research Group, has developed ethics guidance and an ethics checklist for its own funded research and evaluation. This is based on the Government Social Research Professional Guidance, which sets out the principles that should be used when conducting social research for the Government. It states that those conducting, commissioning or managing Government social research have a responsibility to ensure that research is conducted using appropriate methods and that the rights and interests of all those involved in the research process are protected. Research should be conducted in a manner that:

    • ensures valid, informed consent is obtained before individuals participate in research (for children under 16, parents/legal guardians as well as the children themselves must be approached for consent to participate);

    • takes reasonable steps to identify and remove barriers to participation;

    • avoids personal and social harm; and

    • protects the confidentiality of information about research participants and their identities.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to ceasing to be a guarantor power in Cyprus to facilitate a political settlement on the island.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is prepared to consider whatever arrangements the two communities can agree upon to meet the security needs of a reunited Cyprus as part of a settlement. We remain strongly supportive of the efforts of President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci to seize this opportunity to secure a historic agreement.

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

    Lord Rea – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rea on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk of a driver’s involvement in a collision involving injuries or death when they have a blood alcohol concentration of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or more; and how that assessment of risk compares with that made when the alcohol limit for drivers was set in 1967.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Sir Peter North’s 2010 Review of drink and drug driving made an assessment of various studies. The Coalition Government responded in March 2011 by setting out its position on maintaining the current limit. This Government agrees with that assessment and we do not believe any further studies have provided sufficient evidence to change that position. There are therefore no plans to change the current laws.

  • Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what preparations have been made to achieve the safe and effective transfer of responsibility for Tier 4 obesity services from NHS England to Clinical Commissioning Groups.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Specialised commissioning teams at NHS England are in contact with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and a formal process has been agreed to transfer the technical and service aspects of the commissioning responsibility.

    This process includes NHS England leading on the contract negotiation for 2016/17 on behalf of CCGs based on the current service provision. Although the transfer is effective from April 2016 in terms of the contract values, the timing of the handover will be agreed between local specialised commissioning teams and CCGs, in line with their preparedness.

    NHS England will continue to work with CCGs to provide support as appropriate.

    NHS England does not expect the services patients receive to be affected following the transfer of obesity surgery commissioning responsibilities to CCGs from April 2016, as the change is primarily to commissioning responsibilities.

    No service changes are included as part of the transfer process. The transfer process will include providing information to CCGs on pathways, provider performance and any quality issues relating to this service.

    The transfer should support better integration between Tier 3 and Tier 4 services (which include obesity services) which in turn should improve access for eligible patient and streamline pathways. Clinical teams remain responsible for the quality of their services.

    NHS England through its clinical reference group has finalised clinical guidance to support commissioners and clinical teams. We would also look to leadership from royal colleges and professional groups to promote best practice in this area. CCGs already have mechanisms in place to monitor provider performance and quality through the existing quality assurance processes.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16350, whether (a) professional and vocational training and (b) other alternative forms of digital skills development will be supported by the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    Employers will be free to spend their money on apprenticeship training which they judge best meets their needs. This could be on approved in-house apprenticeship training, or apprenticeship training offered by another registered provider of their choice.

    We want to give employers in England flexibility on how they use levy funds without introducing additional and unintended complexity into the system.

    Apprenticeships are available in a wide range of sectors and at all levels including degree level. There are new apprenticeship standards in digital industries occupations such as Network Engineer, Software Developer, and Digital & Technology Solutions Professional (degree apprenticeship).

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government provides local authorities who express an interest in resettling refugee children under the Immigration Act 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.

    It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.

    We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.

    The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.15 of the Budget 2016, on funding for mesothelioma research, what consultation his Department conducted with stakeholders before the decision was taken to award that funding to four institutions centred around Imperial College.

    Greg Hands

    The award of £5 million for Mesothelioma to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma Research was in response to an application for charitable funds in order to urgently address the anticipated imminent high mortality rate amongst Royal Navy Veterans and dockyard workers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made a series of Banking Fines announcements since October 2012. Throughout all of these his intention has always been that the fines would be allocated to good causes including Military and Emergency Services charities and related good causes that represent the ‘best of values’. This award was committed by the Chancellor in accordance with his intent for the use of LIBOR fines articulated above.

    The National Mesothelioma Centre, to which the funds have been committed, will be a collaboration between four leading institutions which have a major interest in the treatment of mesothelioma: the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College, the Royal Brompton Hospital, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), and the Royal Marsden Hospital. Scientists at NHLI and ICR have considerable expertise in the discovery of the genetic mutations which cause cancer, including mesothelioma, and in particular in the identification of ‘driver’ mutations which can be potential targets for new treatments. ICR has considerable experience of pulling through novel therapies into clinical practice. Their NHS partner hospitals – Royal Brompton and Royal Marsden Hospitals as national specialist centres have mesothelioma patients referred to them from across the UK. This collaboration will form the hub of the Centre whose spokes will engage all other hospitals in the UK to which mesotheliomas are referred and treated. This will thus form the basis of a network to enable rapid evaluation of potential new treatments. The funds therefore have been committed to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma research, rather than to just 4 specific hospitals/research centres.

    Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor, the driving force behind the application, has, as per his original intention stated in his funding application, engaged across the Mesothelioma community, with a view to forming a steering group for the centre. Those he has contacted include: the British Lung Foundation, who have offered to fund raise with the centre for further resources for mesothelioma research; Ms Liz Darlison, of Mesothelioma UK; the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund; and the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum; Dr Robert Rintoul from Cambridge University; Prof Anne Willis and Marion Macfarlane and Dr John Le Quesne from Leicester University; and Prof Luciano Mutti from Manchester University. They have all expressed their support for the intention that these funds be used as a platform to foster collaborative research into an effective treatment for mesothelioma across the UK.

    The grant to the National Mesothelioma Centre is subject to standard grant terms and conditions including a reporting requirement to ensure that the funds are used as intended. It is not policy to publish all documentation relating to LIBOR awards, due to the large number of applications and associated correspondence.

  • Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Hindhead on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders, and (2) Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders, have been made in the last 12 months.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    16 Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs) have been made on sentencing in the Crown Court under section 14 of the Modern Slavery Act.

    Three Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders (STRO) have been made on application to the Magistrates’ Court, of which three have been made.

    No persons under 18 years old have been given an STPO or an STRO.

    This data has been run specifically to answer this question and is not verified to the same standard as Official Statistics.

  • Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been charged under section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 by each police force in England and Wales in each year since 2012.

    Lord Bates

    This information is not held by the Home Office. The Home Office receives data from police forces in England and Wales which show offences recorded by the police that resulted in one or more people being charged or summonsed. It is not possible to determine either the number of people charged for each offence or what section of an act someone was charged under for each offence or what specific section of an act somebody was charged under for some offences.

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they anticipate imminent proposals by the European Commission compelling member states to send gas supplies to any other state in the case of emergencies; and if they expect such proposals to be brought forward, whether any decision would be taken by qualified majority voting or unanimity.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Commission proposals for a revision to the existing security of gas supply regulation were published on the 16 February. We will need to consider carefully the precise emergency arrangements that are proposed and how they might impact on the UK. These proposals will of course be subject to the usual negotiation process during which the Government will seek to achieve the best possible outcome for the UK. A final text will need to be agreed by qualified majority voting in the Council and in agreement with the European Parliament.