Tag: Lord Blencathra

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the use in Florida of the organophosphate insecticide Naled, which is banned in the EU, what advice they are giving to British citizens intending to visit Florida; and what steps they are taking to place that advice on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The method of mosquito control in other countries is not a matter routinely covered by FCO travel advice. Currently, specific UK health travel advice for Florida and the wider US is supplied by the National Travel Health Network and Centre, to which the FCO website country pages have links.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 September (HL1580), which organisations will deliver the new Desistance and Disengagement Programme; and whether the programme targets terrorist groups other than those related to Islamic extremism.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Delivery of the Desistance and Disengagement Pilot Programme will be led by the Home Office in conjunction with key stakeholders and other Governmental Departments.

The Home Office will work alongside experienced practitioners and non-governmental organisations to deliver a suite of mentoring, psychological and theological interventions.

The pilot programme will focus on those convicted of all terrorism, or terrorism related offences, who have served their custodial sentences and are due to be released on licence. It is therefore not limited to Islamist extremists.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they plan to give to the Clean For The Queen campaign, which aims to conduct a nationwide litter cleaning campaign next year to celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government is delighted to support and endorse this excellent initiative. Litter and fly-tipping blight communities and pose a risk to human health, which is why tackling them is a priority for the Government. The Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs gave his backing to the campaign when it was launched, and we will continue to promote it, to help reach as many people as possible.

Our experience with the first Community Clear-Up Day in March demonstrated the enthusiasm and willingness of people across England to give some of their time to improve their local environment. The Clean for The Queen campaign provides a great opportunity for people to come together and clean up our local streets and parks.

We hope the campaign will help lead to a lasting legacy of a cleaner, tidier Britain

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to protect the identity of RAF unmanned aerial vehicle operators.

Earl Howe

Reaper Force personnel are briefed in line with their specific situation and, as with all RAF personnel, they receive periodic training on personal security. This includes, for example, briefing on social media profiles. Mechanisms exist to ensure that specific threats, and the necessary responses to them, are communicated in a timely fashion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to implement English language checks on doctors who have come from other EU countries to test their knowledge of clinical English rather than general social English.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In June 2014 the General Medical Council (GMC) was given powers to carry out proportionate language controls on all applicants from the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure that doctors have the necessary English language skills to practise safely in the United Kingdom. In addition the GMC was given powers to take fitness to practise action if a doctor working in the UK has insufficient language skills to carry out their job safely. Doctors must register with the GMC to practise in the UK.

Since June 2014 a total of 1,659 doctors from the EEA have been unable to demonstrate to the GMC that they have sufficient language skills to practise safely in the UK; 564 of those doctors have gone on to reach the standard required by the GMC and have been issued with a licence to practise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial contribution they have received from the Church of England to fund the provision of facilities for refugees.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government recently launched a community sponsorship scheme to enable community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 September (HL1580), whether they plan to run a similar programme for Islamic extremists still in prison.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

In line with the former Prime Minister’s commitment, we are currently considering how the Desistance and Disengagement programme can best be introduced within the prison estate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to follow the example of the government of Belgium which has passed a law to arrest all suspected extremists who have returned to Belgium from Syria or Iraq.

Lord Bates

The UK has a wide range of disruptive tools and offences under which a suspected terrorist or violent extremist can be arrested and prosecuted. Earlier this year, we legislated, through the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 and the Serious Crime Act 2015, to strengthen further our capabilities to deal with the threat from foreign fighters and British-born jihadis who seek to harm the UK, including where they have undertaken prohibited activities abroad.We keep our counter-terrorism powers under constant review.

All decisions relating to the arrest, charge and prosecution of terrorism suspects are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of fast broadband and mobile phones in sending diagnostic information between patients in their own homes and medical practitioners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Government supports the wider use of information technologies in health and social care and the creation of a paperless National Health Service by 2020.

Investments in health technology were announced in the autumn statement and will help patients and staff access the services they need and facilitate use of online services and apps including those that enable communication between patients and their medical and other health and social care practitioners.

The Government welcomes the recommendations to increase take-up of internet enabled services that were made by Martha Lane Fox in December 2015. These recommendations will inform the delivery of the National Implementation Board’s contribution to the implementation of the NHS strategic plan for England outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of doctors from other EU countries who have inadequate clinical English language skills.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In June 2014 the General Medical Council (GMC) was given powers to carry out proportionate language controls on all applicants from the European Economic Area (EEA) to ensure that doctors have the necessary English language skills to practise safely in the United Kingdom. In addition the GMC was given powers to take fitness to practise action if a doctor working in the UK has insufficient language skills to carry out their job safely. Doctors must register with the GMC to practise in the UK.

Since June 2014 a total of 1,659 doctors from the EEA have been unable to demonstrate to the GMC that they have sufficient language skills to practise safely in the UK; 564 of those doctors have gone on to reach the standard required by the GMC and have been issued with a licence to practise.