Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of the practice of breast ironing” in Commonwealth countries of Africa

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government is aware of the harmful practice of breast ironing in some Commonwealth and other African countries. There is little reliable data on the number of girls suffering this form of abuse, but we strongly condemn violence against women and girls in all its forms.

    The Government places gender equality at the heart of our bilateral development programming and works through diplomatic and development channels to tackle the causes and drivers of violence against women and girls as a matter of priority. The manifestations of violence may change but it is critical to address the structural causes of violence, including harmful beliefs and attitudes.

    In Cameroon, Kenya and Nigeria we are continuing to engage with governments and local communities to support the rights of women and girls, including ending harmful practices which constitute violence against women and girls. In Cameroon our High Commission has been working closely with the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family on campaigns in coordination with local religious leaders, to raise awareness and support community-led change to end the harmful practice of breast ironing.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what provisions there are to enable UK citizens to check whether their names and data are held on the World Check database operated by Thomson Reuters Accelus; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) confers a number of rights on individuals in respect of the processing of their personal data by UK organisations. Subject to certain exemptions, section 7 of the DPA gives individuals the right to request a copy of information which an organisation holds about them. An individual can exercise this right, commonly known as ‘subject access’, by making a written subject access request to the organisation.

    If an individual would like to find out what information Thomson Reuters holds about them in World-Check, they can email contact@world-check.com. Further information about individuals’ rights concerning the processing of their personal data by Thomson Reuters Accelus can be found on their website at:

    https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/world-check-privacy-statement

    “

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel following reports from Physicians for Human Rights in Israel that wounded Palestinians have been deliberately left untreated by Israeli medical orderlies for as long as two hours.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made representations to the Government of Israel about this particular issue, we have concerns about treatment of Palestinian detainees. We have raised these concerns with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, including at Foreign Minister, Attorney General and National Security Adviser levels. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly monitors this issue and meets with Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (PHRI). Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv met a group of Israeli civil society organisations, including PHRI, on 3 February.

  • Baroness Manzoor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Manzoor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Manzoor on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of the people previously claiming Disability Living Allowance at the higher component of (1) mobility, or (2) care, how many have been assessed for (a) the higher rate, or (b) the standard rate, of (i) the mobility component, or (ii) the daily living component, of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in each year since PIP was introduced.

    Lord Freud

    The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) registrations, clearances and claims in payment for both new claims and reassessed claims (for those previously in receipt of disability living allowance (DLA)) is published on Gov.UK.

    In particular, breakdowns of reassessed claims in payment by type and rate of awards can be found from Stat-Xplore, which is a tool for exploring DWP’s statistics.

    The Department does not have verified data on the number of DLA claimants who have had their award changed as a result of the move to PIP. We intend to provide more detailed breakdowns of DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes in due course. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the difference between available funding and the cost of providing NHS services in (a) Nottingham City, (b) Nottingham West, (c) Nottingham North and East and (d) Rushcliffe clinical commissioning groups.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department has made no estimate of the size of the financial deficit of Nottingham City, Nottingham West, Nottingham North and East and Rushcliffe Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in 2021. NHS England advises that the four CCGs are forecasting an overall surplus for the 2016-17 financial year.

    Every health and care system in England is producing a multi-year Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP), showing how local services will evolve and become sustainable over the next five years – ultimately delivering the Five Year Forward View vision of better health, better patient care and improved National Health Service efficiency.

    The national health and care bodies expect the Nottinghamshire STP to articulate clearly the scale of the future financial challenge at STP level and how local commissioners and providers plan to respond. The overall financial challenge articulated in the STP will include consideration of the resources required by the NHS in Nottinghamshire, and the resources likely to be allocated in future years.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether all quasi-judicial decisions made by government departments or agencies should be made public.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    There are a wide variety of quasi-judicial decisions and each are subject to different statutory requirements. In many cases the reasons behind the decisions are published with the decisions, for instance where a Secretary of State decides to make, or not make, a Development Consent Order under the Planning Act 2008, the decision letter and associated order, if applicable, must be published.There are several reasons why decisions might not be published and those include national security, sensitive personal data or commercial sensitivity.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether training is given to work capability assessors in the symptoms and effects of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

    Priti Patel

    All healthcare professionals receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions affect their ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying-out an assessment they routinely refresh their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy that the House be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to deploy UK Reaper aircraft outside Syria and Iraq.

    Michael Fallon

    No.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of bus routes that have been (a) added and (b) removed since 2010.

    Andrew Jones

    My Department does not hold this data, as decisions about the provision of bus services, including the frequency, the level of fares or agreed local concessions are mainly a matter for the operator concerned.

    Where there is not enough demand for a bus route to be commercially viable in its own right, all local authorities have powers to subsidise bus services, Provision of subsidised services is a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of their other spending priorities.

    We are very aware however of the importance of bus services to local communities, and in recognition of this we were able to protect Bus Service Operators Grant funding as part of the 2015 Spending Review. We have also protected the national concessionary travel in England for the whole of this Parliament.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, how much extra money was made available for (1) the Royal Navy, (2) the army, and (3) the Royal Airforce, in 2016–17 and 2017–18.

    Earl Howe

    The Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force operate as fully integrated joint organisations where elements work closely together sharing land, buildings and facilities, and sometimes equipment. The enhancements made in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) reflect their consequent integrated budgetary structure.

    The Spending Review 2015 set out plans to fund the SDSR, and confirms the Ministry of Defence (MOD) budget settlement from 2016-17 to 2020-21. The Government has committed to increasing the MOD budget by 0.5 per cent above inflation over the course of this Parliament, and has ensured access to £2.1 billion from the new Joint Security Fund.

    We will spend £178 billion on equipment and equipment support over the next decade, £12 billion more than previously planned. This money will be spent on priorities identified by the SDSR, including:

    • Two additional Typhoon squadrons and an additional squadron of F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft to operate from our new aircraft carriers.
    • Nine new Maritime Patrol Aircraft, based in Scotland, to protect our nuclear deterrent, hunt down hostile submarines and enhance our maritime search and rescue capability.
    • Two new Strike Brigades of up to 5,000 personnel fully equipped to deploy rapidly and sustain themselves in the field.

    The precise costs of delivering these priorities will depend upon the associated contractual arrangements.