The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that medical and fuel supplies for Nepal are not blocked by the Indian government.
Mr Hugo Swire
I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 26 November 2015 (PQ 17369) and 16 November (PQ 15614).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when a Government Minister last visited (a) Burundi, (b) Democratic Republic of Congo and (c) Central African Republic.
Mr Nick Hurd
The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (Mark Simmonds) visited Burundi in April 2014. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (James Duddridge) visited Burundi in December 2015.
Ministers from both DFID and the FCO have visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DFID (Lynne Featherstone) in April 2013, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the FCO (Mark Simmonds) in April 2014, and the Minister of State at the FCO (Baroness Anelay) in October 2015.
Ministers have not visited the Central African Republic (CAR) in recent years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding for community pharmacies on the provision of pharmacy services; and what steps he is taking to ensure that busy community pharmacists are not forced to reduce their services.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will consider developing an atrocity prevention lens similar to the framework used by the UN Office for the Prevention of Genocide to assist in decision-making on bilateral aid and other aid assistance programmes.
Mr Nick Hurd
The UK continues to be strongly committed to early and effective international action to prevent mass atrocities, which are of grave concern to the Government. The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR) underlined the importance the Government attaches to upholding international humanitarian law and to the prevention of mass atrocities through effective implementation of the UN agreed principle of the Responsibility to Protect.
The Government’s overseas network, strong international partnerships, and early warning mechanisms give the UK significant insight into emerging risks. HMG also produces an internal risk report on countries at risk of instability, which highlights regions in which there are increasing risks of instability, conflict and mass atrocities. The report draws on a wide range of sources and includes indicators that highlight the risk of mass atrocities occurring. The data assessment reflects best practice from NGOs and partner governments’ and is kept under regular review. Policy-makers also take into account atrocity risk analysis from partner governments, the UN and NGOs.
As set out in the SDSR and the UK Aid Strategy, the response to conflict, atrocity and other risks uses diplomatic, development, defence and law enforcement capabilities in an integrated manner. As such, addressing and preventing conflict, instability and state failure is a key priority running through UK aid policies and programmes. This includes the prevention of identity-based mass violence, alongside other forms of violence and instability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of Burundi on political violence in that country.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK Government remains deeply concerned about the political situation in Burundi and the allegations of horrific human rights abuses against its people.
Our Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, Danae Dholakia, met with several Burundian government Ministers alongside her French counterpart in Bujumbura in June; and met with the Burundian Foreign Minister in Arusha in mid-July. In July we deployed a permanent UK Diplomat to Bujumbura to increase our engagement.
We support the East African Community (EAC) led dialogue process mediated by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and have been present through our Special Envoy at each round of the dialogue so far, engaging directly with all parties.
We have also been working with partners to ensure that the international response is robust. We supported the suspension of EU aid direct to the government last March. We imposed EU sanctions on individuals accused of human rights abuses. We agreed UN Security Council Resolutions, including UNSCR 2303 which mandates a UN police force. We pushed for a strong Burundi resolution in the Human Rights Council on 27 September and welcome its establishment of a Commission of Enquiry. Burundi is a UK priority country for human rights work in 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what upgrades are planned for Newmarket railway station.
Claire Perry
There are plans already in development to improve lighting at Newmarket station which will be undertaken in the early years of the new franchise due to start in October 2016.
For the new East Anglia franchise we have adopted a new stations policy. This requires a 40 year Stations Asset Management Plan along with a 10 year Station Social and Commercial Development Plan. This will ensure the bidders target the provision of services at stations according to the volume and needs of passengers at the individual station. We expect bidders to plan for investments to improve the station environment and facilities for passengers as part of a 40 year station strategy.
Theformation of a Station Social and Commercial Development Plan involves consulting with users and the local community on concerns, issues, opportunities and risks relating to individual stations and the priorities for investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK aid in improving access to family planning in the last five years.
Mr Nick Hurd
Our investments aim to reach 24 million additional women and girls by 2020. We are on track to meet this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of city regions to commissioning and delivering healthcare.
George Freeman
Devolution of health and social care responsibilities has the potential to further progress local integration going beyond statutory health and care services – leading to better patient experience, improved outcomes and more efficient use of local resource.
Devolution creates opportunity for strategic, innovative commissioning, underpinned by a stronger model of local shared accountability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the relative performance at GCSE of (a) pupils who are home schooled and (b) other pupils.
Edward Timpson
The Department does not hold information for pupils taking GCSEs who are home schooled. The latest information for other pupils is available from the “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015” statistical first release available on GOV.UK at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he next plans to meet his US counterpart to discuss Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership proposals.
Greg Hands
The UK continues to support an ambitious Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the EU and US. As such, Department for International Trade ministers and officials meet with US counterparts on an on-going basis to discuss matters relating to TTIP.