Tag: Andrew Percy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Department manages.

Mark Lancaster

Ministry of Defence Health and Safety Policy states that the requirement to provide First-Aid is delegated to each Top Level Budget Holder (TLB). It is the duty of each TLB to conduct risk assessments of the activities at the establishments/units they control, and supply the necessary equipment and training including first aid equipment. The information requested is therefore not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for freedom of speech in universities of recent reports of violent protests at an Israeli Society event at King’s College London.

Joseph Johnson

The Government strongly opposes any kind of violence or intimidation that curtails free speech in universities and leads to the closure of peaceful meetings.

King’s College London has undertaken its own review of the protests at the Israeli Society event on 19^th January and concluded that a number of individuals “intentionally disrupted the rights of others to exercise freedom of speech within the law”.

Whilst the violent protests were deplorable, KCL has acted to reiterate its commitment to free speech and take disciplinary measures against individuals concerned.

The Prevent duty introduced in September 2015 requires institutions to have robust policies and procedures in place to manage events such as this in order to protect students and staff and safeguard freedom of speech. As the designated monitoring body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will be making an assessment of compliance with the requirements of the duty.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bus operators have an incentive to invest in new vehicles when franchising is an option open to local authorities.

Andrew Jones

Local transport authorities with access to bus franchising powers will wish to ensure that local operators are aware of their intentions, so that investment decisions can be taken and services continue to be provided in the best interests of passengers.

Any authority that chooses to implement franchising will have the ability to specify its requirements of operators as part of any franchise contract. This could include requirements relating to the standards of vehicles to be used by operators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce nuisance telephone calls.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government is taking forward a range of measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law.

Specific actions include consulting on making it a requirement for direct marketing callers to display calling line identification; strengthening the ICO’s direct marketing guidance; and exploring extending the ICO’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls. Baroness Neville-Rolfe’s speech on the subject to the Direct Marketing Authority can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/baroness-nevile-rolfe-on-data-protection-and-nuisance-calls

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of Hamas fighters joining ISIS in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have not received any reports of Hamas fighters joining Daesh in Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of reports that on 11 March 2016 on Palestinian television President Abbas described all of Israel as being an occupation of Palestinian territory.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

While we have not made an assessment of these specific reports, we have urged the leadership of both the Palestinian and Israeli authorities to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, the type of action and language which will make it more difficult to achieve a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict. Our Consul General in Jerusalem met with President Abbas on 17 March where he raised our concerns on incitement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve public and professional awareness and understanding of surrogacy.

Jane Ellison

Surrogacy is a complex issue, the legislation about which has not been significantly addressed by respective administrations since the Surrogacy Arrangements Act was introduced in 1985. The Government recognises the arguments for the need for a review, and we have therefore asked the Law Commission, as part of the consultation on its 13th work programme this summer, to consider including a project on surrogacy.

The Department has not issued guidance about surrogacy to professional groups or the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). The Government recognises surrogacy as an important option for some people wishing to start a family and is currently considering how best to clarify the current legal arrangements for intended parents, surrogates and their families. The CAFCASS campaign to increase awareness of Parental Orders is ongoing and targeted at health workers, local authority registration staff and surrogacy agencies. It will be evaluated in full upon completion in autumn 2016; in-campaign monitoring indicates its messaging is reaching the target audience.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve understanding of palliative and end-of-life care in nursing and care homes.

Ben Gummer

We are committed to ensuring everyone at the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care that is tailored to their individual needs and preferences. This applies to all settings in which palliative and end of life care is delivered, including nursing and care homes.

To achieve this, we introduced a new approach to end of life care in 2014 based on five priorities for care of the dying person. It is for individuals and organisations delivering end of life care, including care homes, to ensure that the care they provide is based on the priorities. The Implementation Guidance for Service Providers and Commissioners and the Duties and Responsibilities of Health and Care Staff, which accompanied the priorities, set out clear expectations for organisations to ensure their staff receive the right training in palliative and end of life care.

In addition, Skills for Care, which works to support staff working in adult social care to develop their skills and knowledge has developed end of life care qualifications, guidance and resources to equip workers to recognise and manage end of life situations effectively.

In April 2015, Skills for Care launched the new Care Certificate, an identified set of standards that health and social care workers should adhere to in their daily lives. The Certificate includes end of life care and provides confidence that all health and care workers have the same introductory skills, knowledge and behaviours to provide compassionate, safe and high quality care and support.

I intend to announce further policy on end of life care in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of meningococcal disease there have been in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) England since 2010.

Jane Ellison

National and regional data on the number of cases of invasive meningococcal disease in England are published by Public Health England based on the number of laboratory confirmed cases. There are no published figures by constituency, data are not reported against these boundaries because of the risk of deductive disclosure.

Number of laboratory confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease, Yorkshire and Humber and England: 2009/10 to 2014/15

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14
Yorkshire and Humber	82	105	69	95	67
England	858	1009	730	769	636

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many defibrillators are provided in each building her Department manages.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID has 2 HQ buildings in the UK, one in Whitehall and the other in East Kilbride, Glasgow. Each building has one defibrillator and all staff who are trained in first aid have had the appropriate training to use the equipment.