Tag: Andrew Gwynne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, under what circumstances the Government can take ships up from trade which are registered with flags of British Overseas Territories.

James Duddridge

Any vessel registered in the UK, an Overseas Territory or a Crown Dependency, is a ‘British ship’ and is entitled to fly the British Merchant Shipping flag (the ‘Red Ensign’). The UK remains the flag State for all ships flying the Red Ensign and is ultimately responsible under international law for these ships. The UK has general superintendence over the ship registers in the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. This general superintendence derives from the UK’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea regarding ships flying its flag; these obligations have been implemented in domestic legislation.

Under prerogative powers all British flagged vessels (including those on UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependency registers) can be requisitioned where there is deemed to be a threat to the realm. Conscription of all British flagged vessels is done by Government Order. Such Order is enacted only during national crisis, such as war. The decision to use such Order is decided on a case by case basis by the Government of the day. For example, this Order was enacted during the Falklands War.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many relatives have been banned from visiting family members resident in local authority-funded care homes in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt

The information requested is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress his Department has made in replacing Linear Accelerators that are older than 10 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

In order to provide the very best radiotherapy treatment to patients, NHS England has to urgently address the need to modernise radiotherapy machines. NHS England’s Radiotherapy Service Review will establish exactly what is needed, where and when, focussing on the highest priority replacements and upgrades to result in the greatest patient impact. The Review will produce a plan for a modern national radiotherapy network by September, with a revised radiotherapy service specification by the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department and its executive agencies spent on the publications (a) Who’s Who, (b) Burke’s Peerage and (c) Debrett’s in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock

Spend on individual publications is not held centrally and is therefore only available at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on taking account of local communities producing a Neighbourhood Plan using powers in the Localism Act 2011 when a local authority makes a separate school site disposal application to her Department.

Edward Timpson

The Secretary of State considers any application to dispose of publicly funded school land on a case by case basis. Before consenting to a disposal she will consider the impact on the local community, including any community interest in the land or local plans for the site. The requirement to seek consent from the Secretary of State for the disposal of school land is however, an entirely separate process to any local planning considerations or requirements. Such matters are the responsibility of the local authority.

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 21^st 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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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the mandate to Health Education England for 2016-17; and whether he plans that that mandate will reference the strategic review of the cancer workforce recommended in the England Cancer Strategy.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Health Education England mandate 2016-17 was published on 13 October 2016. A copy of ‘Delivering high quality, effective, compassionate care: Developing the right people with the right skills and the right values’ is attached.

The mandate sets Health Education England an objective to continue to take forward the relevant recommendations set out in the Independent Cancer Task Force report, ‘Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 – 2020’, including working with partners to develop a vision for the future shape and skills mix of the workforce required to deliver a modern, holistic patient-centred cancer service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding her Department has allocated to the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

Dr Phillip Lee

There is no MoJ funding allocated to the Troubled Families programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.

MOJ works with DCLG to encourage Troubled Families teams to co-operate with offender management services to identify families for the programme. MoJ is also supporting the evaluation of the programme through data matching with administrative data sets such as the Police National Computer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from the Prime Minister’s Office in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

Matthew Hancock

The Prime Minister’s Office is part of the Cabinet Office. No stationery was reported as lost or stolen from the Cabinet Office in any of the last five fiscal years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department does not centrally record this information.