Tag: Ben Bradshaw

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the Government permits the 35 people named under the US Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 to (a) hold assets in the UK and (b) be issued with UK visas.

Richard Harrington

As we have previously made clear, the Magnitsky case remains of serious concern to the UK Government.

The UK Government has powers in relation to assets that are very similar to those available to the United States under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012. These powers are under regular review and the Government will consider further legislation if and when the evidence suggests it is necessary.

Wherever we have evidence that individuals were involved in the Magnitsky case, that evidence is taken very carefully into account in considering visa applications.

For reasons of data protection the Government does not routinely comment on individuals’ asset holdings or immigration cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to commence its review of driving offences; when he plans that the public consultation on that review will take place; and what timetable he has set for the completion of that review.

Andrew Selous

Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones, which is why tough sentences are available to the courts. It is our intention to consult on sentencing proposals, including driving, before the end of this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28059, whether representatives of ex-intraveneous drug users and former sex-workers will be invited to sit on the working group being formed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs as part of its review of blood donor selection criteria.

Jane Ellison

Stakeholder representation on the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissue and Organs’ Donor Selection Criteria Working Group consists of the Terence Higgins Trust, National Aids Trust, Patients Association, Sickle Cell Society, Thalassemia Society and the LGBT Consortium. A Stakeholder meeting is planned alongside the first meeting of the Working Group and a wider range of stakeholders is to be invited. Relevant stakeholder representatives such as former sex workers and ex-intravenous drug users will be invited to attend the Working Group when it is considering particular aspects of donor selection criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether UK citizens would retain ownership rights over property elsewhere in the EU during the period prior to the completion of Article 50 negotiations relating to the Lisbon Treaty in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.

Mr David Lidington

The procedure governing a country’s departure from the EU is set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This provides for a period of two years for the negotiation of exit terms. EU laws would continue to apply to the departing Member State until the Article 50 agreement had entered into force, or for two years if no agreement had been reached and no extension to the two year period had been granted. A request for an extension could only be granted with the unanimous agreement of the remaining Member States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent finding by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that pre-exposure prophylaxis could reduce HIV rates in men who have sex with men by between 40 and 60 per cent; and what steps he is taking to make pre-exposure prophylaxis available to people in this group.

Jane Ellison

NHS England is working with local authorities, clinicians, patient representatives and Public Health England to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of providing Pre-exposure prophylaxis to at-risk groups to prevent them acquiring HIV. This includes a full review and analysis of published literature in this area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) homes and (b) affordable homes have been completed under the Get Britain Building scheme to date; and what estimate he has made of the number of new jobs created by that scheme.

Brandon Lewis

The total number of homes completed under the Get Britain Building programme from its launch in November 2011 to September 2015 is 9,761. Of these, 1400 are affordable homes.

Government does not collect data concerning the number of jobs created by the Get Britain Building programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether UK citizens will have the rights that currently apply to access public services in the EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU and prior to the completion of exit negotiations under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Mr David Lidington

The procedure governing a country’s departure from the EU is set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This provides for a period of two years for the negotiation of exit terms. EU laws would continue to apply to the departing Member State until the Article 50 agreement had entered into force, or for two years if no agreement had been reached and no extension to the two year period had been granted. A request for an extension could only be granted with the unanimous agreement of the remaining Member States.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health of 26 November 2015, Official Report, column 1481, what the (a) timetable and (b) terms of reference are of the review of blood donation policy by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

Jane Ellison

The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) decided at its meeting in January 2016 to carry out a review of deferral criteria for blood donors in relation to risks both from sexually transmitted diseases and from infections potentially transmitted by other routes, for example, tattooing or intravenous drug use.

The process will fully involve stakeholders, and will be incremental, with published progress reports and any intermediate advice. The terms of reference will be published once approved by SaBTO.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the current multi-purpose vaccine will continue to be used following the recent tender for supply of that vaccine to the UK HPV Vaccination programme.

Jane Ellison

The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus vaccination programme for girls. As this is a competitive tender, it would not be appropriate to discuss the outcome of the procurement until a contract has been concluded with the successful bidder following the mandatory standstill period.

The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service. The award criteria are published on the government’s Contracts Finder website:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/813bc859-8662-4c79-822b-f03cc84b8ceb

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK citizens will have the rights that currently apply to access higher education in the EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU and prior to the completion of exit negotiations under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Joseph Johnson

The procedure governing a country’s departure from the EU is set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This provides for a period of two years for the negotiation of exit terms. The EU Treaties would continue to apply to the departing Member State until the Article 50 agreement had entered into force, or for two years if no agreement had been reached and no extension to the two year period had been granted. A request for an extension could only be granted with the unanimous agreement of the remaining Member States. The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.