Tag: 2016

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish the report by Ian Acheson into the role of Muslim clerics in prisons in England and Wales.

    Lord Faulks

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Justice is currently considering the recommendations of the review of Extremism. As the Secretary of State told the House on 26 April, a summary document will be published in due course. The full report cannot be published due to sensitive security issues.

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of potential links between hand hygiene compliance levels across the NHS and rates of MSSA bacteraemia in 2015.

    Ben Gummer

    Tackling healthcare associated infections is complex and requires a strong patient safety system that integrates cleanliness, infection prevention and control and antibiotic use. Hand hygiene is an important component and we continuously review and enhance national measures, systems and guidance. For example hand hygiene references in The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for prevention and control of infections and related guidance, were strengthened when it was revised in 2015. It will also form part of forthcoming guidance on reducing Gram negative infections such as E. coli.

    Auditing of hand hygiene is a local responsibility and information on hand hygiene compliance is not collected centrally. Therefore, no national assessment has been made of the potential links between hand hygiene compliance levels and the above infections.

  • Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the trends in the number of applications to Early Years Teacher training courses over the last five years.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Head of Profession for Statistics for the Department is currently reviewing the data collected on Early Years initial teacher training. We are unable to provide any data or assessment of trends while this review is ongoing. It is intended that the first data will be published in November 2016.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic effect on the UK of the UK withdrawing from the European Banking Authority.

    Simon Kirby

    On 23 June the British people voted to leave the EU and the Government will deliver on their verdict. We will continue to undertake the policy work to support the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and to establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK. However, we are not going to give a running commentary on every twist and turn of our exit negotiations. It is in all our interests for UK and EU to work together on both our withdrawal and a new relationship and for us to be able to deliver a successful outcome through a constructive negotiation.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will maintain patient access to technologies considered through commissioning through evaluation programmes during that evaluation.

    George Freeman

    There are two main phases for any treatments entered into NHS England’s Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) programme.

    During the first phase, an agreed number of patients are recruited to the scheme within just a few participating centres across England. This enables patients to benefit from the skills and expertise in each centre, within an evaluation programme, whilst detailed clinical and patient experience data are collected.

    Once the total number of patients have been treated, the scheme enters an analysis phase. Whilst any patients already treated under the scheme will continue to receive appropriate follow up care, no new patients will be funded by NHS England during the analysis phase.

    This ensures that NHS England directs the majority of public funds to evidence based care and also means that dedicated CtE programme funding can then be redirected to support patient recruitment in another area of specialised care where further evaluation data is needed.

    This represents a continuation of NHS England’s published policy position for the treatment concerned (i.e. that the treatment is not routinely commissioned by the National Health Service).

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to extend the rural fuel duty rebate scheme to parts of Northern Ireland where cheaper fuel is readily available from the Irish Republic.

    Damian Hinds

    The rebate is only available for communities that meet specific quantified criteria of distance from refineries, with above average pump prices and low population densities. No areas in Northern Ireland were found to meet the full selection criteria. There are currently no plans to extend the scheme beyond the qualifying areas.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Prudential Regulation Authority on the level of risk at (a) financial institutions with high energy market exposure and (b) such institutions which have issued loans to the North Sea oil industry.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor set out the government’s view on the challenges facing the UK economy in a speech on 7 January. The transcript of the speech is available from www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-on-challenges-facing-uk-economy-in-2016. The Chancellor and other Ministers meet regularly with regulators and the Bank of England. In addition, the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report sets out an analysis, which can be found here:

    http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/fsr/2015/dec.aspx

    The Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) stress test results in December 2015 suggest that the major UK banks would be resilient to a sustained commodity price downturn.

    The UK now has a robust system of financial regulation, where the regulators have clear objectives and powers to deal with risks to the financial sector. The Government established the FPC to identify, monitor and address systemic risks to financial stability.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with universities on the wide implementation of the Race Equality Charter Mark.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is a higher education sector body that supports equality and diversity for staff and students across the UK. They developed and launched the Race Equality Charter (REC) in January 2016, with the aim of improving the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education. Institutions can apply for a Bronze or Silver REC award, depending on their level of progress.

    My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. In guidance to the Director of Fair Access, which we published on 11 February, we ask him to maximise the contribution of Access Agreements towards this ambition.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why journalists from some Commonwealth countries were denied visas to attend the recent Commonwealth Journalists Association conference in London, and what assessment they have made of whether those decisions are compatible with the Foreign Office’s commitment to promote human rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the Commonwealth.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Her Majesty’s Government is committed to promoting efforts to supporting human rights, democratic values and the rule of law in the Commonwealth and beyond. We believe that it is important for all Commonwealth members to live up to the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter.

    All UK visa applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with UK immigration rules and guidance.

    The onus is on the applicant to demonstrate that they satisfy the immigration rules. Decision makers will take account of an applicant’s personal and financial circumstances as well as the prevailing country situation.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding has been allocated by Health Education England for clinical placements for the new nurse training places his Department plans to deliver by the end of the Parliament.

    Ben Gummer

    Following the reforms to higher education healthcare funding, the Government, through Health Education England, will retain the responsibility for commissioning and funding the minimum numbers of clinical placements required to produce sufficient healthcare graduates. The Government is consulting on the widest possible funding solutions to ensure there is sufficient placement capacity across the system, in order to match the expanded number of training places created by the reforms.