Tag: Andrew Percy

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU, Africa and the Middle East on addressing the refugee crisis in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Foreign and Commonwealth Office ministers regularly discuss the migration and refugee crisis with their counterparts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, co-hosted by the UK in London on 4 February, brought together over 60 countries, as well as international organisations, business, civil society, Syrians and people affected by the conflict. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held bilateral talks with colleagues from a range of countries, and migration was a feature of many of those meetings. On 15 February, the Foreign Secretary attended the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, and discussed the crisis with ministers for foreign affairs from EU countries.
My right hon. Friend, the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) attended the General Affairs Council in Brussels on 16 February, where he discussed migration with Europe ministers from EU countries. Migration was on the agenda at the European Council on 18-19 February, attended by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron). It was also the main focus of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels on 25 February, attended by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to increase public awareness of potential flood risk for home-buyers.

Rory Stewart

Maps showing flood risk are available on the Gov.uk website, allowing home buyers to check whether a property they are considering purchasing is at risk of flooding. Individuals can search by postcode and later this year the Environment Agency (EA) is introducing the ability to search by a specific address.

The EA also share this flood risk data with companies that produce home buyers reports, and approximately 400,000 property reports are produced annually that include this data.

Much of this data is already available as Open Data and several third party applications have already been developed that encourage public awareness. The EA is releasing more information by the end of June 2016, to encourage further growth and development of similar public awareness raising applications.

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 assessment he has made of the effect of recent violence in Israel and the West Bank on relations in that region.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are deeply concerned by the recent violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which has had a negative impact on relations. Since the start of the current violence, Ministers and officials have spoken regularly to both the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. The current violence underlines that a just and lasting resolution that ends the occupation and delivers peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is long overdue.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that all children are taught in schools about online abuse and how they should report such abuse to the police.

Edward Timpson

E-safety is covered at all key stages in the computing curriculum since its introduction in September 2014. Children in primary schools are taught how to use technology safely and respectfully, how to keep personal information private, and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet, such as online abuse or other online technologies. Pupils in secondary schools are taught a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting their online identity and privacy, how to recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct and how to report concerns. All schools can choose to teach children about the dangers of social media in an age-appropriate way. Schools are also able to teach pupils about e-safety in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons. The PSHE Association’s non-statutory programme of study for health and well-being includes ways of keeping physically and emotionally safe, including online.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to change surrogacy law to give single parents with children born through surrogacy the same rights as couples.

Jane Ellison

The Government has accepted the judgment by Sir James Munby from the High Court. We will be looking to update the legislation on Parental Orders, and are now considering how best to do this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the amount of choice and quality of care people available to those with terminal illnesses, their families and carers; and what steps his Department is taking to increase the amount of choice for high quality care.

Ben Gummer

The Department commissioned an independently led Review of Choice in End of Life Care which provided advice to Ministers earlier this year. The Review set out a vision for enabling greater choice and improving quality at the end of life for every dying person. This includes enabling greater use of advance care planning and electronic care records to record people’s choices and preferences, and building services around people’s needs and preferences.

We want to ensure that patients have greater choice about the care they receive at the end of their life and we are working with NHS England to see how this can best be achieved. We will set out our full response to the Choice Review in the coming months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what timetable she plans to set for ratification of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.

Karen Bradley

The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention in June 2012. We will only commit to ratification when we are absolutely satisfied that we comply with all articles. The UK already complies with the vast majority of the articles but primary legislation is required to comply with the extra-territorial jurisdiction provision set out in Article 44 of the Convention. We are liaising with the devolved administrations about ratification, including the further legislative steps required.

We will continue to lead efforts to tackle violence against women and girls. End Female Genital Mutilation and combat early and forced marriage, both at home and abroad.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will encourage clinical commissioning groups to prevent inequalities through adequate HCP outsourcing and training on medical nutrition.

Jane Ellison

Preventing health inequalities is a priority for the Department of Health. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 placed a duty on the Secretary of State to have regard to the need for reducing health inequalities between the people of England and the National Health Service. Clinical commissioning groups take forward this duty in terms of access to, and quality of, local services.

The role of health care professionals is integral to this effort, given that they address a range of health unhealthy behaviours, including around poor nutrition and obesity. It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to prove high quality patient care. In the case of dietitians, this includes being able to accurately assess nutritional needs of individuals, groups and populations.

NHS England has the lead in supporting the work of CCGs and, while it has previously undertaken a mapping exercise to gauge the extent of formal training and education on these issues for pre-registration courses, it is not currently undertaking any work on this.

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

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

Alun Cairns

The Wales Office does not have any defibrillators in its London and Cardiff Offices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to projects that develop opportunities for educational co-operation between Palestinians and Israelis.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), the UK provides support for the ‘Youth Creating Peace On/Line’ project which encourages educational cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis. The project, run by NGO ‘Kids Creating Peace’, uses dialogue and leadership workshops to train participants to become peace advocates in their communities and beyond. The UK is providing £40,000 to ‘Youth Creating Peace On/Line’ for 2016/17.