Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the action they and their allies can take to enable the UN agencies in Syria to carry out their mandates fully and freely.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has played, and will continue to play, a leading role in ensuring that UN agencies are able to carry out their mandates in Syria. Through our membership of the UN Security Council and as part of the International Syria Support Group we helped generate a mandate for the UN Special Envoy for Syria to launch intra-Syrian peace negotiations this month. We have also co-sponsored a series of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) on humanitarian issues, including most recently UNSCR 2258 on cross-border humanitarian access. These resolutions provide a mandate for the delivery of aid into Syria.

    We are deeply concerned about the restrictions placed on UN agencies to deliver these mandates, particularly the obstructionism and lack of response from the Syrian Regime to repeated requests from the UN for humanitarian access to towns and regions across Syria. We regularly raise these issues in the UN Security Council.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with dependants who have been granted leave to remain in the UK had a no recourse to public funds condition attached to their leave in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office systems cannot be interrogated in a way that will provide any meaningful response to the question. A manual review of all applications submitted within the stipulated timeframe would be needed in order to provide an accurate response and this would incur a disproportionate cost to the public purse.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has instructed the deportation of any nationals of other EU member states on public protection grounds in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office seeks to deport EEA nationals or their family members on grounds of public policy or public security where that person’s conduct repre-sents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.

    The table below shows the number of EEA nationals deported on the basis of a criminal conviction, where their presence in the UK is not considered conducive to the public good.

    Year

    EEA FNO Removals (1)(2)(3)

    2011/12

    1,275

    2012/13

    1,727

    2013/14

    2,306

    2014/15

    3,026

    2015/16 (up to end of Q3)

    2,584

    (1) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office’s Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases.

    (2) Quarterly Foreign National Offender (FNO) removals are published as National Statistics and available in table 7 of latest the published "Immigration Statistics release" https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015

    (3) Total FNO removals figures relate to those cases that have been deported, administratively removed or voluntarily departed from UK.
  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to tackle loneliness among people with dementia.

    Alistair Burt

    Loneliness is a complex problem and affects people in many different ways. There is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and many of the solutions to combatting it lie within local communities. Examples of emerging practice are provided on the Social Care Institute for Excellence Prevention Library.

    The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 set out a vision for a society where the public thinks and feels differently about dementia. It raises the importance of social action solutions such as peer support and befriending services which can also provide practical and emotional support to people with dementia and carers to reduce isolation and prevent crisis.

    The Prime Minister’s 2020 Challenge, promotes dementia friendly communities, which are helping to support people with dementia to live more independent and fulfilling lives in their own communities, for longer. Currently, there are around 140 communities across England. Towns, cities and villages have signed up to Alzheimer’s Society’s foundation-stage recognition process for dementia friendly communities and there are over 1.5 million Dementia Friends.

    The Cross Government Autism Strategy originally published as Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives in 2010 and updated as Think Autism in 2014 has done much to encourage innovation to break down social isolation by helping autistic people, their families and carers access health, social care, other public services, and peer support. Recently the Department has been working with the Autism Alliance UK, the largest network of autism charities, on the Connect to Autism project. It encourages local organisations, services and companies to become Autism Champions through training staff in autism awareness with a view to helping people who have autism overcome the anxiety and loneliness they can suffer in many everyday environments.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to his Department’s White Paper, Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice, published on 16 May 2016, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on the effect of the establishment of UK Research and Innovation on their policies and funding.

    Joseph Johnson

    My officials have discussed the proposals in the White Paper, including the creation of UK Research and Innovation, with the Devolved Administrations. I look forward to continuing these discussions with my counterparts.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there have been contraventions of the (a) 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and (b) 1972 World Heritage Convention during the conflict in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have no diplomatic presence in Syria and so are unable to provide an accurate assessment of the damage to cultural property ourselves.

    The Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill introduced to Parliament in May 2016 will enable the UK to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of Armed Conflict. We are also working with Counter-Daesh Coalition partners to tackle the illicit trade in antiquities through UN and EU sanctions.

    The 1972 World Heritage Convention is policed by the World Heritage Committee, supported by UNESCO. At present all six World Heritage Sites (ancient cities of Aleppo, Bosra, Damascus & N Syria, Crac des Chevaliers & Qal’at Salah El-Din, site of Palmyra), in Syria have been placed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list. The continuing concern of the World Heritage Committee was expressed at its annual meeting held in July, but its conclusions are yet to be published.

    Earlier this year the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in partnership with the British Council launched a Cultural Protection Fund, which will allocate £30 million to projects which will foster, safeguard and protect cultural heritage in global conflict zones.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2016 to Question 906370, if he will publish the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study; whether he plans to fund proposals for a Brighton Mainline 2 in order to remedy the significant capacity and performance constraints identified; and if he will make a statement.

    Paul Maynard

    The Government will publish the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study, and its response to the recommendations, in due course.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) 16 to 24 year old and (b) 25 to 30 year old homeless people have been temporarily housed in bed and breakfast accommodation by their local authority in each of the last five years.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The only age related information held for those in temporary accommodation is for households headed by 16 or 17 year olds. Figures for such households temporarily housed in bed and breakfast accommodation as at 31March for the last five years are as follows;

    2011- 160

    2012 – 150

    2013 – 100

    2014 – 60

    2015 – 50

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the level of mark-ups on dermatology specials, what consideration they have given to reforming the process by which English NHS tariff prices are set.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Drug Tariff sets out what National Health Service dispensing contractors will be paid for the products supplied as part of providing pharmaceutical services and the fees for providing those services in primary care.

    The current arrangements in the Drug Tariff for paying for specials, including dermatological specials, were introduced in 2011. It is recognised that there can be variations in the price of some specials, which is why we are considering further possible improvements in the arrangements that govern the price the NHS pays. These include expanding the number of products covered by these arrangements and improving the data used to set the prices.

  • Baroness Taylor of Bolton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Taylor of Bolton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes have taken place in the last two years to improve the measurement of babies in the final stages of pregnancy.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Fetal growth restriction is widely recognised as a major determinant of stillbirth. Knowledge to inform the effective identification and management of these babies continues to grow, particularly around what constitutes ‘normal’ growth for each baby.

    We are advised by NHS England that it is developing the Saving Babies’ Lives “care bundle”. This is a package of measures which includes a recommendation to improve the detection of growth restricted babies. This includes use of a growth chart to plot fundal height (the distance from the maternal pelvis to the top of the growing womb) and estimated fetal weight, both measures to estimate a baby’s growth. The recommendation is also designed to tackle variable practice amongst clinicians in carrying out measurements. We understand this will be published as a guidance document later in 2016 and will be followed by an implementation toolkit.

    The care bundle is now being voluntarily implemented by maternity care providers while its recommendations are tested, formally evaluated in practice and refined over time and in the light of new evidence.