The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to putting in place immediate arrangements for members of the armed forces to be trained in train driving, operating and management.
Earl Howe
Defence has no current plans in place to provide training in train driving, operating or management.
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 Lord Prior of Brampton on 15 September (HL1768), and in the light of the need to maintain compliance with EU law until the UK leaves the EU, what steps they are taking now to ensure that once the UK has left the EU they are ready to move quickly to a new drugs and treatment approval regime.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government is now working to understand, in full, the implications of withdrawing from the European Union (EU) and to develop a future approach to medicines regulation. The Government will ensure that the United Kingdom’s approval regime is ready and operational as soon as the UK has formally departed the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why 450 British extremists who have been, or are believed to have been, fighting in Syria have been permitted to re-enter the UK, and why only three of those individuals have been charged with terrorist offences.
Lord Bates
Approximately 800 British nationals have travelled to Syria to take part in the conflict since it began, and of those who are known to have travelled about half have returned.
It is a general convention of international law that a state should allow entry of its own citizens.
However, everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq – which includes those who voluntarily decide to live in areas controlled by ISIL – must expect to be subject to review by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences abroad, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security.
British citizens and residents who commit offences abroad can be prosecuted under a wide range of terrorism and criminal law offences including training for terrorism and murder.
Decisions on charging are taken independently on a case-by-case basis by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to make morbidly obese persons whose obesity is caused by over-eating and lack of exercise pay some or all of the cost of NHS treatment received for that condition.
Lord Prior of Brampton
There are no plans to make persons whose obesity is caused by over-eating and lack of exercise pay any of the cost of National Health Service treatment received for that condition.
The NHS Constitution states in its second principle “Access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not an individual’s ability to pay. NHS services are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament.” A copy of the NHS Constitution is attached.
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 issue instructions to NHS Trusts to draw up doctors’ schedules that ignore the EU Working Time Directive.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government has no plans to issue instructions to ignore the Working Time Directive (WTD).
There will be no immediate changes to our relationship with the European Union. We remain a part of the EU until negotiations are concluded, which could take up two years or more if agreement isn’t reached. While the United Kingdom remains a member of the EU, we must meet our obligations as a member of the EU, including the WTD.
It is the responsibility of individual National Health Service trusts to ensure service rotas are compliant with the WTD.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are planning to take to honour the British soldiers who fought in Musa Qala in Afghanistan in the autumn of 2006.
Earl Howe
Service in Afghanistan is recognised by the Operational Service Medal. All those who deployed to Afghanistan will have been eligible to receive the medal if they met the qualifying criteria. There is a long-standing rule that decisions taken with regards to medallic recognition should not be revisited once five years have passed since the conclusion of a military operation. The ‘five year’ rule has been looked at by the Committee on the Grants of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) on a number of occasions, and on each occasion it has concluded that the rule is sound and should not be changed.
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 Lord Prior of Brampton on 25 July (HL1283), and in the light of the need to maintain compliance with EU law until the UK leaves the EU, what plans they have to discuss with NHS Trusts the introduction of new rotas for doctors which, following the UK’s departure from the EU, would exceed the current hours prescribed by the Working Time Directive.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The new rotas being introduced as part of the new contract for doctors in training include contractual limits on working hours that are stronger than those prescribed in the Working Time Directive. The contract limits weekly average hours to 48, and it places a cap of 72 hours on the number of hours that can be worked in any one week, compared to 91 hours under the Directive. It also reduces the number of consecutive nights and consecutive long days that doctors in training can work, compared to the current arrangements. Trusts are contractually obliged to observe these limits, regardless of the Working Time limits. Robust arrangements are in place to ensure this happens, with Guardians of Safe Working Hours in each trust. Trusts will be fined if junior doctors miss more than 25% of their designated meal breaks, work more than an average of 48 hours a week over 17 weeks or work more than the 72 hours limit in any one week.
Negotiations on a new contract for consultants have included a similar focus on safe working hours and limits. Discussions have been constructive and are continuing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries where female genital mutilation is known or suspected to be practised widely receive UK overseas aid.
Baroness Verma
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the most extreme manifestations of gender inequality. It is a form of violence against women and girls and can result in a lifetime of physical, psychological and emotional suffering. It is a global problem – over 200 million women and girls across at least 30 countries, including the UK, have been cut.
The UK Government remains firmly committed to bringing about an end of FGM. Our Flagship FGM programme supports efforts to end the practise in 17 of the highest burden of these countries. With the support from UK aid over 13,500 communities across these countries have publically declared the abandonment of FGM since 2008.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have collected on the number of racoon dogs in the UK; whether they have any plans to ban the ownership of racoon dogs outside licensed zoos; and what action they plan to take to exterminate any in the wild.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
No data is collected on the number of raccoon dogs in the UK.
There are currently no plans to ban the ownership of this species inside or outside licensed zoos.
It is currently an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release a raccoon dog, or allow one to escape, into the wild. If an animal were to escape it would first be the responsibility of the owner to recapture the animal. If, however, there was a threat that the species were to become established in the wild, action would be undertaken to capture and remove the animals in accordance with a draft rapid response protocol currently being prepared as part of the GB non-native species strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports have, since 2006, (1) commented on the state of the UK economy; (2) commented on the state of the UK economy and have been shown to be erroneous; and (3) made comments on the state of the UK economy that the IMF have had to revise or retract due to the inaccuracy of the forecast.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The information requested in relation to the evaluation of comments and forecasts about the UK could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF produce a report evaluating the forecasts of the organisation and the most recent one was published in 2014.
The UK economy is assessed by the IMF on an annual basis as part of the Article IV process. The IMF also produce quarterly forecasts for the UK economy in their World Economic Outlook (WEO) reports and WEO Updates.
Article IV reports and World Economic Outlooks and Updates are readily available on the IMF website and include recent revisions to forecasts.