Tag: Ian Lucas

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he had with his Libyan counterparts about violence in Tripoli.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Since assuming office on 15 July, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has yet to have direct discussions with the Libyan Foreign Minister. However, through our Embassy in Tripoli, we remain in direct contact with the Libyan Government at the highest levels. We share their concern at the attacks in and around Tripoli International Airport, and condemn all actions which put lives in danger whether in the East or West of the country. We support the Libyan Government’s call for a ceasefire and urgent dialogue.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Tripoli.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to monitor carefully the ongoing security situation in Tripoli and across Libya. We are deeply concerned at the attacks in and around Tripoli International Airport, and condemn actions which put lives in danger whether in the East or West of the country.

    We support the Libyan Government’s call for a ceasefire and urgent dialogue. Violence and the threat of violence are unacceptable, and should not be used to pursue political goals. The situation in which armed groups operate outside government control, and without respect for either Libyan or international law, threatens the stability of the state and Libyan people’s aspirations for a secure and prosperous future.

    Our travel advice remains current, and is updated as necessary to reflect the situation on the ground.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the newly elected President of the Syrian National Council.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are in constant contact with the Syrian opposition, including with the newly-elected President of the National Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra. We are increasing our support for them, as they counter the threats from extremists and Assad’s regime. UK Special Representative to Syria, Jon Wilks, met President al-Bahra on 10 and 15 July. In these discussions Mr Wilks stressed the UK’s strong support for the National Coalition’s goal of a transition to peaceful, democratic and inclusive Syria. I look forward to meeting and working with President al-Bahra in due course.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost per night is of a bed in (a) an intensive therapy unit or high dependency unit, (b) a district general hospital, (c) a spinal cord injury centre and (d) a spinal cord injury centre for a ventilated spinal cord injured patient.

    Jane Ellison

    Information is not available in the format requested.

    Such information as is available is from reference costs, which are the average unit costs to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Unit costs for inpatient care, including spinal cord injury, requiring the use of a hospital bed for at least one night are submitted per finished consultant episode rather than per night. Only unit costs for inpatient stays beyond the expected length of stay for each treatment are submitted per bed day. Unit costs for critical care, including in an intensive therapy unit or high dependency unit, are submitted per critical care bed day. This information is shown in the following table.

    National average unit costs of adult critical care, elective and non-elective care, and spinal cord injury care in England, 2012-13

    Unit cost per finished consultant episode4

    Unit cost per excess bed day5

    Unit cost per critical care bed day6

    Adult critical care1

    1,173

    Inpatient care2

    1,758

    273

    Spinal cord injury care3

    7,649

    354

    Notes:

    1National average adult critical care costs submitted in reference costs by all NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts that provided patient care in critical care units during 2012-13 give the nearest equivalent to the average cost per night of a bed in an intensive therapy unit or high dependency unit. They relate to parts of the patient’s hospital stay that require organ system support in a designated critical care bed. These are conventionally grouped into critical care areas, such as an intensive therapy unit or high dependency unit, but may include temporary, non-standard locations.

    2National average elective and non-elective inpatient costs submitted in reference costs by all NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts that admitted patients during 2012-13 give the nearest equivalent to the average cost per night of a bed in a district general hospital. No attempt has been made to distinguish between district general hospitals and other types of trust, such as specialist or teaching trusts.

    3National average elective and non-elective inpatient costs submitted in reference costs against treatment function code 323, spinal injuries, by the following eight trusts providing spinal cord injury centres in England give the nearest equivalent to the average cost per night of a bed in a spinal cord injury centre:

    (a) Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

    (b) Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

    (c) Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

    (d) Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    (e) South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    (f) Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

    (g) St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust

    (h) The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    4Reference costs for elective and non-elective inpatient episodes of care distinguish between the inlier unit cost below a statistically derived expected length of stay (known as a trim point) for a given treatment, and an excess bed day cost for each bed day over the trim point. Inlier unit costs cover the costs of active treatment and are submitted per finished consultant episode rather than per bed day.

    5Excess bed day costs are used to estimate the cost of an overnight stay in a hospital bed and generally include routine ward costs such as nursing, dressings, and blood tests, although they may also include the costs of active treatment where this continues beyond the trim point, especially for specialised services.

    6Adult critical care costs are submitted per critical care bed day.

    Source: Reference costs, Department of Health

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Welsh Government and (b) Secretary of State for Wales on improving rail connectivity with north Wales utilising the Halton Curve.

    Claire Perry

    The Secretary of State for Transport met with Edwina Hart the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, National Assembly for Wales on 16th July 2014, to discuss the rail connectivity in North Wales which included Halton Curve.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the details of the new parliamentary elections law in Egypt.

    Hugh Robertson

    The new parliamentary elections law, enacted by the decree of former interim President Adly Mansour on 5 June, increases the number of parliamentary seats to 567, with 420 seats to be elected by single member constituencies and 120 through party lists. On 3 June, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) issued a statement urging Egypt’s leaders to ensure that the transition leads towards accountable and democratic governance, underpinned by strong and accountable institutions.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what works will be undertaken as part of the upgrade of the Halton Curve.

    Claire Perry

    This scheme involves the installation of new crossovers at Halton and Frodsham with a track upgrade enabling trains to operate in both directions. This work reinstates a rail link which will enable passenger services from North Wales and West Cheshire to directly access Liverpool City Centre and Liverpool John Lennon airport. Further details of the work to be provided by Network Rail early next year.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he had held with his Egyptian counterpart on the new parliamentary elections law in that country.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has yet to meet his new counterpart, Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri who was sworn in on 17 June. He did raise the issue of parliamentary elections and the need for political inclusiveness with former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy on 14 May before the new law was passed.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on rail journeys in (a) Wales and (b) the North West of the upgrade of the Halton Curve.

    Claire Perry

    The exact service patterns have not yet been determined by Network Rail and stakeholders. Further announcements expected 2016/17.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his Department’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2014-2017, in what way, as part of the implementation of that plan, women’s participation at grassroots level will be measured.

    Mark Simmonds

    My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary, along with the Secretaries of State for International Development and Defence, launched the 2014-2017 National Action Plan (NAP) at the Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit earlier this month.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working with Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence, is committed to ensure that the promotion of women’s participation in conflict resolution is an integral part of our overseas conflict policy and forms one of the main focuses of the NAP. The NAP outlines several ways we will do this, for example providing financial and capacity building support to civil society organisations promoting women and girls’ participation in peacebuilding.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also funded and helped to facilitate workshops in two of the NAP’s focus countries (Afghanistan and Burma) with another being held in a third (Somalia) in the next few months. The workshops have been well attended by civil society groups that, in many cases, represent the views of women from the grassroots level.

    Measuring participation of women from grassroots level is challenging; there is a lack of baseline and country-level data on women in peace and security issues. With this in mind, the UK has allocated specific funding to the external and independent monitoring and evaluation of this NAP.