Tag: Keith Vaz

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what awareness-raising activities his Department has undertaken in support of Diabetes Awareness Week 2016.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England’s (PHE) One You and Change4Life campaigns encourage people and families to make lifestyle changes to improve their health and reduce the risk of conditions such as diabetes on an ongoing basis.

PHE had scheduled Facebook posts raising awareness of Diabetes Awareness Week 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings have taken place between Ministers of his Department and Ministers of governments which support the current government of Yemen since January 2016; and in how many such meetings was the civil war in Yemen discussed.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

As set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2216, President Hadi and his government are the legitimate authority in Yemen, and the UK regularly discusses the situation in Yemen with international partners including at Ministerial level. Most recently during the UN General Assembly week in New York, I hosted two meetings on Yemen which involved Gulf Foreign Ministers, the US and the UN Special Envoy for Yemen. The UK remains committed to finding a political resolution to the current conflict and to foster peace and stability for all Yemenis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Daesh fighters in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The political crisis in Yemen remains extremely concerning, particularly the risk that terrorist organisations such as Daesh-Yemen continue to exploit the deteriorating situation to consolidate their support base and capabilities in Yemen. Throughout 2015, we saw an expansion of Daesh-Yemen, albeit starting from a small base. We continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by terrorist organisations including Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Daesh-Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in standardising the border control queue measurement system across airports, ferry ports and rail terminals.

James Brokenshire

Guidance on how queue measurements should be taken at UK border controls was updated in November 2015, following a review. This standardises the approach required for measuring queues. This guidance will be placed in the House Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Spirit Healthcare’s Empower programme on inequalities in diabetes care across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Jane Ellison

NHS England advises that the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland decided to commission a diabetes education programme collectively from April 2016 to ensure that diabetes care was being provided equitably across the area. The diabetes education programme was put out to tender and Spirit Healthcare was the successful bidder with its EMPOWER programme.

The EMPOWER programme, which is based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, is designed to reduce inequalities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The procurement was overseen by an Equality Lead from the CCGs to ensure patients’ needs were being met.

The CCGs will be monitoring the delivery of the contract and the uptake of the course. The service has been procured on the basis of a standard National Health Service contract and will be monitored according to the Quality Schedule within that. Additional quality measures will also be regularly evaluated such as patient experience, Friends and Family Test, course attendance and feedback from clinical leads.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government is supporting the current UN-sponsored peace talks in Yemen; and what steps his Department is taking to bring an end to the conflict.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the conflict. We fully support the UN facilitated talks which began on 21 April in Kuwait. We are working closely with the UN to encourage parties to engage in good faith, without preconditions, and to respect the ceasefire which started on 10 April. The UK strongly supports the work of UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and commends his efforts to getting both sides to where we are now.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to bring forward proposals for a change to legislation to further regulate the pricing of everyday drugs to the NHS by pharmaceutical companies.

George Freeman

The Department is already referring cases to the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) and to strengthen our work in this area. We are considering putting measures in place to routinely and systematically monitor significant price increases of generic medicines and take action where appropriate, including the possible referral of suspected excessive pricing to the CMA, while taking into account the potential impact of any such action on the availability of medicines.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK Government staff are seconded to or directly assist the UK Special Envoy to Yemen and his team.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

No UK Government staff are seconded to or directly assist the UK Special Envoy to Yemen and his team. Through the cross-government Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, we are providing £1.05 million to the UN Special Envoy’s office to bolster UN capacity to facilitate the peace process, and are also supporting work to broaden the dialogue to include women and other under-represented groups.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps the Government has taken to support the reopening of peace talks in Yemen and the establishment of a ceasefire.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We welcomed and fully supported the UN facilitated talks held in Switzerland in December 2015 and the commitment to engage in a new round of talks in the near future. We are working closely with the UN to encourage parties to engage in good faith without preconditions in future talks. We are encouraging all parties to reinstate a ceasefire at the next round of talks and are working closely with the UN to achieve this. This is being achieved through Ambassadorial and Ministerial engagement with the Yemeni government and the UN. I spoke to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (IOCA) at the start of February.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much compensation the former Chairman of East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust will receive as a result of her resignation from that post.

Jane Ellison

The NHS Trust Development Authority advises that the Chair of the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has not resigned. However, the Chief Executive, Sue Noyes, will be leaving her post in June 2016 and will be paid in line with the terms of her contract.