Tag: David Anderson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that the proposed EU-Canada trade agreement is not implemented until it has been fully scrutinised by national parliaments.

Anna Soubry

The EU–Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) could be worth up to £1.3 billion per year to the UK economy. The Government is therefore keen to see the agreement implemented as soon as possible.

The Government considers, along with other Member States, that CETA is a “mixed agreement”. This means that CETA can only take full effect once the UK has decided to ratify it. As part of that ratification process, the complete draft text of the agreement would be laid before Parliament for 21 sitting days. In addition, the Government will ensure the proposals for a Council decision on signature, and subsequently conclusion, will be subject to scrutiny in both houses of the UK Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of (a) the indicators of mental disorders including stress, depression, fatigue and post traumatic stress disorder and (b) the provision of support by service providers or others to personnel in 13 and 39 Squadrons.

Mark Lancaster

The Government is committed to improving the mental health of our Armed Forces and has long recognised that Service life can cause stress. Support to personnel has improved in a number of ways, including providing pre and post-operational stress management training, a wide range of psychiatric and psychological treatments and initiatives such as Decompression and Trauma Risk Incident Management (TRiM) and Post Operational Stress Management.

Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels of the risk of Mental Health disorders and indicators to help identify these. Trained TRiM providers are embedded within both Squadrons to offer peer group mentoring and support, whilst also educating non-medical Service personnel on how to identify indicators of mental health problems.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to eradicate polio worldwide.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK Government is fully committed to global polio eradication. With a cumulative investment of more than $1.2 billion, the UK is the third largest donor to the eradication effort, and is providing £300 million for 2013 to 2019. UK funding has contributed to a greater than 99% decrease in polio cases since 1988, with no cases reported in Africa for over a year. Only two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – are reporting cases of wild polio in 2015, meaning we are now closer than ever to global eradication.

The UK also plays a key role in sustaining global political commitment and in making sure that every penny we, or others, invest in polio is spent well. The UK actively participates on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s Polio Oversight Board and the Finance and Accountability Committee, ensuring a strong focus on results and delivering value for money. During the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the UK re-affirmed our unwavering commitment to fighting polio encouraging others to join us in the final push towards global polio eradication.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she will announce details of the amount to be made available in the next round of Contracts for Difference auctions in the UK energy market; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government will hold three Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions in this Parliament with the next auction for less established technologies expected to take place by the end of 2016. We are currently working with HM Treasury to finalise the budget for future auctions and will set out more information in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Office of the Independent Adjudicator is able to send the complaint outcome to the complainant and member higher education provider within 90 days of the reviewer’s determination that the file is complete.

Joseph Johnson

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s Annual Report (2014), which contains the latest published figures available, states that it took an average of 207 days to close a complaint from the time the student first submitted a complaint form. Provisional figures indicate that improvements have been made since then and the 2015 Annual Report is likely to show a significant reduction in this figure.

The European Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution, which came into force on 9 July 2015, now requires dispute resolution bodies such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) to issue complaint outcomes within 90 days of receiving the full complaint file, unless the case is highly complex. The OIA and other alternative dispute resolution bodies are required to report to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which is monitoring compliance with the Directive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to make translarna available to boys who could benefit from it.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that provides guidance for the National Health Service on whether to fund selected drugs and treatments. NICE is currently evaluating Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through its highly specialised technology programme. The publication date for NICE’s final guidance is to be confirmed.

The NHS in England is legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE highly specialised technology guidance within three months of its final guidance being issued. In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place a copy of the UK Joint Targeting and Battle Damage Assessment Policy paper, dated 2005, in the Library.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK Joint Targeting and Battle Damage Assessment Policy paper, dated 2005 established the baseline principles primarily for coordinating the delivery of lethal effects. This paper has been superseded by Joint Services Policy (JSP) 900 UK Targeting Policy – Edition 2 dated September 2015 which contains the policy and direction on targeting, and guidance on the processes involved and best practice to apply. UK Targeting policy has evolved to incorporate operational lessons identified through Full Spectrum Targeting, apportioning action (lethal and non-lethal) in accordance with desired policy outcomes, and to bring greater interoperability between the UK, NATO and the 5 Eyes Nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US ). JSP 900 cannot yet be placed in the public domain as it would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces and forces cooperating with them. However, we are working to produce a releasable version which is to be published later in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has consulted teachers’ unions on implementation of the new assessments at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Nick Gibb

Throughout the introduction of our important reforms to primary assessment, we have worked closely with teachers, head teachers and their union representatives.

In addition to regular discussion between teacher unions and officials, we launched two public consultations ahead of the changes: one on primary assessment and accountability from July to October 2013 and another on teacher assessment arrangements from October to December 2014. We received a large volume of diverse feedback, including from teachers unions, and this was given proper consideration in developing the new arrangements.

We continue to listen to the concerns of the profession as the details of the new arrangements are finalised. On 9 February, I met Russell Hobby, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, to discuss teacher assessment arrangements. I subsequently wrote to Mr Hobby to summarise our discussion and address some of his concerns; that letter was published on 19 February and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-assessments-letter-from-nick-gibb-to-the-naht. I am also due to meet representatives from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the National Union of Teachers in the coming weeks.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of which fuel source is the most efficient for national electricity grid re-starts following power cuts; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

DECC officials routinely work with National Grid to assess the resilience of response processes, including the failure of the National Electricity Transmission System.

This work includes assessment of how different fuel sources can deliver this ‘Black Start’ capability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made on the inquiry into alleged child abuse at the Kincora boys home.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

This is a matter for the independent Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry. I can confirm that there will be the fullest possible degree of co-operation by the UK Government and its agencies.