Tag: Danny Kinahan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to develop agriculture education links with countries that would benefit from UK expertise.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Department for International Development has supported Partnership Projects covering agriculture and veterinary sciences, across 17 developing countries linking UK Universities and developing country institutions. We have funded research programmes for collaborative projects between UK researchers and partners in Africa and Asia at postgraduate level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many compensation claims against prison staff were made by prisoners in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

NOMS defend robustly all claims brought and successfully defend two thirds of claims brought by prisoners. It is not possible accurately to separate prisoner compensation claims against prison staff from other similar claims (e.g. assaults by other prisoners).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on granting that Institute the power to be able to approve cancer drugs for use off-license.

George Freeman

Clinicians can prescribe any treatment, including an unlicensed product or a product not licensed for a particular indication, which they consider the best available medicine to meet the individual clinical needs of their patient, subject to their primary care organisation agreeing to fund this treatment.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) already produces Evidence Summaries which critically review the best available evidence for significant uses of unlicensed or off-label medicines. They help commissioners and clinicians to make evidence-based prioritisation, treatment and funding decisions where there are no clinically-appropriate licensed alternatives.

Ensuring that patients get timely access to any new treatment, including off-label medicines in new indications, is complex and the Department is committed to working with stakeholders including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the General Medical Council, patient and professional groups, and charities to co-ordinate activities and set plans in place that will make this easier. This includes work to look at more systematic inclusion of off-label uses of drugs in the British National Formulary and development of case studies looking at re-purposed medicines and their pathways from research results into clinical practice.

Alongside these, the Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act 2016 will, in due course, provide the National Health Service with a newly created database which will provide a mechanism for collecting and sharing information on innovative treatments including off-label drugs and medicines in development. Now that the Act has received Royal Assent the work to implement its provisions can begin.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals to ring-fence and secure EU infrastructure funding for projects in Northern Ireland when the UK withdraws from the EU.

Mr David Gauke

On 12 August, the Chancellor set out the steps the Treasury was taking to offer reassurance to recipients of EU funding as part of the UK Government’s wider work on the UK’s exit from the EU.

I wrote to the Northern Ireland Finance Minister on the same day, clarifying that the Treasury was offering guarantees in relation to the funding required to cover European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) projects administered by the Executive within its devolved responsibilities, which will have signed contracts or funding arrangements in place in advance of Autumn Statement.

My letter further indicated that the Treasury will consider what procedures to put in place for funding in relation to ESIF projects which are expected to be signed after Autumn Statement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s plans are for the future of RAF Aldergrove.

Harriett Baldwin

The estate optimisation strategy aims to provide a more efficient and better quality Defence estate to support our Armed Forces, which will be fit for purpose for future generations.

This long-term, detailed work seeks to identify a rationalised Defence estate which more appropriately meets the needs of our Armed Forces by being of better quality, more cost effective and more efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall, by 2040.

No decision about the future of individual sites has been made at this point, other than those that have been previously announced

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to distribute a proportion of the frozen assets of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in the UK to the families of people killed (a) by Libyan-supplied semtex and weapons and (b) on flight LW1103.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

There is no legal basis upon which the UK could re-direct frozen Libyan assets or the interest accrued to individuals for the purposes of compensation. Regarding assets which belonged to Qadhafi or other regime figures, the UN Security Council has stipulated that when these are unfrozen, they will be made available to, and for the benefit of the Libyan people. For the duration of time that these assets are frozen, they and any interest they accrue will be governed in accordance with the specific sanctions in place over the individuals or entities to which the assets belong. In this case, the asset freezing measures are set out under EU Regulation 204/2011 which prohibits the release of frozen funds and the interest accrued belonging to listed individuals or entities except in very specific circumstances, which do not apply here.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to her oral statement of 20 October 2015, Official Report, column 381, on Paramilitary Groups (Northern Ireland), in relation to the structure of the Provisional IRA, what is meant by departments.

Mr Ben Wallace

The independently reviewed assessment of paramilitary organisations states that PIRA retains "some departments with specific responsibilities". It is only the policy of her Majesty’s Government to publish the report. It is a long held convention of Government not to discuss or disclose detailed intelligence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget reductions he plans to the fire and rescue service.

Greg Hands

Funding for fire and rescue authorities, national resilience and other central programmes will be determined as part of the Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to tackle the blockage of foreign aid to Nepal across the Indian border.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.

The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received of allegations of India blocking foreign aid to Nepal.

Mr Desmond Swayne

We are deeply concerned about the impact of the border blockages and resulting fuel crisis in Nepal. This has affected all sectors of the economy and has affected the humanitarian relief effort and the supply of reconstruction materials.

The UK has urged all parties to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue. I issued a statement on 13th October expressing concern that much needed humanitarian supplies are yet to reach many people still living in temporary shelter.