Tag: Joan Ryan

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 discussions he has had with his (a) Sri Lankan and (b) UN Human Rights Council counterparts regarding the announcement by Sri Lanka’s President Sirisena that foreign judges will not be involved in the inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Mr Hugo Swire

The British Government has always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. I therefore welcomed the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2015, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, which called for the participation of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorised prosecutors and investigators, in Sri Lanka’s judicial accountability process. During my most recent visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I discussed the importance of an international element in Sri Lanka’s accountability process with both Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Samaraweera. I also wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 28 January to reiterate the UK Government’s commitment to working with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of the UNHRC resolution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) the British Medical Journal, (b) GP networks, (c) Monitor and (d) other organisations on conflicts of interest in the commissioning of services by clinical commissioning groups.

George Freeman

NHS England updated existing guidance for managing conflicts of interest in December 2014, when NHS England issued revised statutory guidance, which prescribed stronger assurance measures in light of the development of primary care co-commissioning. This came into force from April 2015.

In light of comments from stakeholders and the recent National Audit Office report “Managing conflicts of interest in NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups”, as well as findings from the audit of the management of conflict of interest that was undertaken in the autumn by NHS England’s internal auditors, NHS England is in the process of further updating this statutory guidance.

NHS England has engaged with NHS Clinical Commissioners in respect of conflicts of interest in the commissioning of services by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to positive effect.

It has also engaged with around 80% of the Audit chairs for the CCGs- the feedback and discussion received on behalf of both these groups will feed into the Revised Statutory Guidance which will be published and discussed at the next NHS England board meeting on 31 March. This will launch the official public consultation (which will also take into consideration views from British Medical Journal and Monitor).

The final guidance will then be presented to the May NHS England board meeting and will be published on the NHS England website.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to engage with representatives from the Alevi community in Britain.

Mr Marcus Jones

Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government meet members of minority communities on a regular basis. My officials are happy to meet with representatives of the British Alevi community and discuss items that have been raised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Alevis.

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 standard of treatment in North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust’s emergency department.

Ben Gummer

NHS England is the responsible organisation for emergency planning and resilience in London. As such, it has well-established contingency plans in place which take effect in the event of emergency departments (EDs) having to temporarily reduce their scope of operations in order to ensure the best standards of patient care, our central concern.

As the Rt. hon. Member is aware, following an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, the CQC issued a Warning Notice. The Warning Notice, published on 6 June 2016, requires the trust to significantly improve the treatment of patients attending its emergency department.

The CQC is responsible for assessing whether the Trust is providing the right standard of care and ensuring that improvement plans meet the level of improvement required.

NHS Improvement is working alongside NHS England and the local health and care system to ensure that the Trust has the resources it needs to ensure that patients receive safe, high quality care.

We are informed by NHS Improvement that, in order to address the poor performance at the Trust’s ED, it has devised a plan titled Safer, Faster, Better. This is a whole system programme with the primary objective of improving performance, patient experience and outcomes for patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from further education colleges on withdrawal of ESOL Plus Mandation Funding.

Nick Boles

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received an estimated 40 letters on this subject from a range of people, including Further Education College Principals, ESOL teachers, ESOL students, local councils, the Association of Colleges and other furthereducation stakeholders.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the regulatory implications of use of the financial services messaging system 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 prevalence of torture in Sri Lanka.

Mr Hugo Swire

Her Majesty’s Government takes very seriously any allegations of torture or other forms of ill-treatment, in Sri Lanka as in other countries. I raised concerns, highlighted by recent NGO reports on allegations of ongoing torture in Sri Lanka, with both the government and civil society when I visited Sri Lanka in January. British High Commission officials in Colombo are also in regular contact with local human rights organisations in Sri Lanka.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS guidance to clinical commissioning groups on their responsibility to manage conflicts of interest when commissioning and providing services.

George Freeman

NHS England updated existing guidance for managing conflicts of interest in December 2014, when NHS England issued revised statutory guidance, which prescribed stronger assurance measures in light of the development of primary care co-commissioning. This came into force from April 2015.

In light of comments from stakeholders and the recent National Audit Office report “Managing conflicts of interest in NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups”, as well as findings from the audit of the management of conflict of interest that was undertaken in the autumn by NHS England’s internal auditors, NHS England is in the process of further updating this statutory guidance.

NHS England has engaged with NHS Clinical Commissioners in respect of conflicts of interest in the commissioning of services by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to positive effect.

It has also engaged with around 80% of the Audit chairs for the CCGs- the feedback and discussion received on behalf of both these groups will feed into the Revised Statutory Guidance which will be published and discussed at the next NHS England board meeting on 31 March. This will launch the official public consultation (which will also take into consideration views from British Medical Journal and Monitor).

The final guidance will then be presented to the May NHS England board meeting and will be published on the NHS England website.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Alevi community in Turkey has the right to exercise freedom of religious expression; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

We have noted the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling and regularly discuss issues concerning freedom of religion and belief, including those of the Alevi community, with our Turkish interlocutors. We will continue to do so. The Turkish government continues to improve protections for all religious minorities in Turkey. We welcome the continuing implementation of the Law on Foundations which has seen a number of properties returned to minority community foundations or the payment of compensation. As we highlighted to Turkey through the 2015 UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights, we would like to see Turkey implement legislation that increases protection of the rights of persons belonging to all minority religious groups, including the status of their places of worship.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust is able to guarantee patient safety; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer

NHS England is the responsible organisation for emergency planning and resilience in London. As such, it has well-established contingency plans in place which take effect in the event of emergency departments (EDs) having to temporarily reduce their scope of operations in order to ensure the best standards of patient care, our central concern.

As the Rt. hon. Member is aware, following an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, the CQC issued a Warning Notice. The Warning Notice, published on 6 June 2016, requires the trust to significantly improve the treatment of patients attending its emergency department.

The CQC is responsible for assessing whether the Trust is providing the right standard of care and ensuring that improvement plans meet the level of improvement required.

NHS Improvement is working alongside NHS England and the local health and care system to ensure that the Trust has the resources it needs to ensure that patients receive safe, high quality care.

We are informed by NHS Improvement that, in order to address the poor performance at the Trust’s ED, it has devised a plan titled Safer, Faster, Better. This is a whole system programme with the primary objective of improving performance, patient experience and outcomes for patients.