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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she has taken to ensure that all renewables can compete on equal terms in the additional rounds of renewable subsidy auctions scheduled between now and 2020.
Andrea Leadsom
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme allows a wide range of renewable technologies to compete for contracts.
On 18 November 2015, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change announced the intention to run three more auctions this Parliament, with the first, for the less established group of technologies that includes Offshore Wind, Wave, Tidal Stream, Advanced Conversion Technologies, Anaerobic Digestion, Dedicated Biomass with Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Geothermal, planned for late 2016.
We will announce plans for Pot 1 (established technologies) and Pot 3 (biomass conversion) in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects of proposed changes to the way in which drugs are assessed for inclusion in the Cancer Drugs Fund on cancer drug patients.
George Freeman
NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that more prisoners obtain employment on release.
Andrew Selous
Supporting offenders into meaningful employment is a vital aspect of the Government’s approach to rehabilitation. We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by Prison Governors. And we want Governors to do more so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works. We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release. I regularly meet businesses across the country including at 2 successful roadshows at HMP Sudbury and HMP/YOI Drake hall. New businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses. The Prime Minister has announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.
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.