Tag: Joan Ryan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department (a) has taken or (b) plans to take to analyse the reasons for the changes in the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index in (i) Enfield, (ii) London and (iii) UK between 2010 and 2015.

Brandon Lewis

The 2015 Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index was published as part of the English Indices of Deprivation and is the best measure of the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families. Changes to the methodology, indicators and published guidance were made following a public consultation in late 2014 to inform the 2015 update.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding the Government provided to each (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian non-governmental organisation through the (i) Conflict Security and Stability Fund and (ii) bilateral programme budget in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

(a)The provisional project spend for 2015/16 for non-governmental organisations registered in Israel provided through: (i) the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is: The Peres Centre for Peace – £44,592; Injaz – Centre for Professional Arab Local Governance – £60,608; Kids Creating Peace – £40,000; Yesh Din – £196,084; Gisha – £53,126; Peace Now – £124,361; Terrestrial Jerusalem – £51,040; The International Peace and Cooperation Centre – £232,933; and Rabbis for Human Rights – £101,441; (ii) the Bilateral Programme Budget is: none.

(b)The provisional project spend for 2015/16 for non-governmental organisations registered with the Palestinian Authority provided through: (i) the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is: Jerusalem Community Advocacy Network (also registered in Israel) – £141,679 (ii) the Bilateral Programme Budget is: Society for the care of Disabled People – £9,117; Nawa Association for Culture and Arts Association – £7,111; Al Aqsa Sports and Social Club- £9,602; Society for Physically Handicapped People – £9,602; Ibda’a for children development and institutional cultural exchange – £5,062; Idna Cooperation – Women Capacity Building- £6,658; Sourif Association for Higher Education – £2,920; Iman and Baraem Kindergartens – £4,865 ; ADWAR Association for Social Change – £5,516; Assembly of Benevolent Operation – £7,061; Atwar centre – £1,282; Diyar Sports school for Girls – £6,328; Saint Nicolas Home for the Elderly – £5,183; Hebron Rehabilitation Committee – £5,010; Ashtar Theatre – £2,127; The Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry – £9,963; Aqaba Club for Unity and Hope – £5,169; Burj Al Luqluq Youth Centre (also registered in Israel) – £19,297; and Silwan Youth Centre (also registered in Israel) – £7,173

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of doctor staffing levels in the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.

Ben Gummer

Patient safety remains a key priority for the Government and whilst progress has been made there is clearly much more to be done. The Department is aware of the situation at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and the relevant regulatory bodies, led by NHS Improvement, are taking appropriate action.

The Warning Notice, issued to North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 6 June 2016 requires the trust to significantly improve the treatment of patients attending the emergency department (ED).

NHS Improvement has given assurance that North Middlesex University Hospital carried out immediate actions to support the staffing concerns raised by the regulators.

A new Clinical Director and an experienced Medical Director have been appointed to provide the ED with dedicated substantive leadership. The Clinical Director will provide leadership to the department and oversee the recruitment to currently vacant posts. In addition, there is also focus on reducing the medical work load in the ED through added support from other clinical services and professionals. This includes the appointment of new matrons and a new dedicated service manager with extensive ED experience.

Further, local general practitioners are increasing the level of support they provide to the department both to prevent admissions and to improve discharges. All of these measures will be in place by the end of June 2016.

On staffing, the local National Health Service is working with the Trust to ensure it can provide emergency care to the required standards. NHS Improvement and NHS England have put in place enhanced oversight mechanisms to assure themselves that services remain safe at all times.

An external specialist review of the consultant and middle grade rotas for June, July, August and September has been commissioned to provide independent assurance of the appropriate competencies within each rota.

NHS Improvement will continue to work with system colleagues, Health Education England and the General Medical Council to assure themselves that the improvements being put in place meet the requirements that they need to see from both the Trust and the system both in the short term and the long term.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote good governance in the Palestinian Authority.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) works closely with other government departments to promote good governance in the Palestinian Authority (PA). In particular, the Department for International Development has helped improve the capacity and accountability of the PA including through technical assistance. The FCO also funds projects to improve accountability and to strengthen the role of civil society organisations, and the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) supports greater civilian oversight of the Palestinian Authority’s Security Forces.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions the Financial Conduct Authority has had with the Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority on the use of the financial services messaging platform Symphony.

Harriett Baldwin

This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.

The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Rt Hon Joan Ryan by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the steps the Sri Lankan authorities have taken to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 on Sri Lanka.

Mr Hugo Swire

During my visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I was able to see for myself the progress that Sri Lanka has made in implementing its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution as well as the considerable challenges that remain. There have been some encouraging developments such as the return of some military occupied land, the deproscription of Tamil diaspora organisations and the release on bail of some long-term Tamil detainees held under anti-terrorism legislation. There is still much to be done and the UK is committed to supporting Sri Lanka to fulfil all of its UNHRC commitments. We welcome Sri Lanka’s engagement with the UN. The High Commissioner for Human Rights will visit shortly to inform his assessment of Sri Lanka’s progress, which he will present to the UNHRC in June.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commission a technical review of the indicators of deprivation used to decide formulae for funding for (a) schools and (b) free school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds often need extra support at school to achieve as well as their peers. That is why, in addition to providing £2.5 billion this year through the pupil premium – which we have protected at current rates for the duration of the parliament – we also require local authorities to target funding for deprived pupils through their local formula.

Under current arrangements local authorities can choose between a pupil-level measure of disadvantage (pupils eligible for free school meals or eligible at any point in the previous 6 years) or an area-level measure of disadvantage (the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index), or a combination. We are aware that the update to the area-level deprivation data last year led to some areas changing their local formulae to mitigate the impact on deprivation funding for their schools.

We recently launched the first stage of the consultation on our plans to introduce a national funding formula for schools from 2017. Our proposals would mean schools’ funding is matched fairly and transparently to their needs and their pupils’ characteristics. Through the consultation process we are seeking views on the best way to target funding for disadvantaged pupils to support them to achieve to the best of their ability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) Healthwatch England, (b) Healthwatch Enfield and (c) other patient groups on the decision by NHS Royal Free Foundation Trust to grant Google DeepMind access to NHS patient records.

George Freeman

The Department has received no representations from patient groups on this subject.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) Health Education England, (b) the General Medical Council and (c) the Care Quality Commission on the standard of treatment provided to patients at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust’s emergency department; and on what dates he received those representations.

Ben Gummer

NHS Improvement (NHSI) is working alongside NHS England and the local health and care system to both improve patient care in the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and to assure Health Education England (HEE) and the General Medical Council that patients are safe and that trainee doctors receive adequate support.

Ministers in the Department have held regular discussions and received updates from NHSI, NHS England and HEE and will continue to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of projects that foster co-operation and co-existence have had on the prospects of securing lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Rory Stewart

Projects that foster cooperation and coexistence can help to build understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, and maintain a constituency of support for peace. The Secretary of State is currently assessing options for providing further support to coexistence programmes.