Tag: Parliamentary Question

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether a visitor to the UK from another European Economic area state who is not in possession of an EHIC card can register as a temporary patient with a GP practice and receive treatment free of charge.

Alistair Burt

Possession of a European Health Insurance Card is not required to register with a practice. Anyone can seek to register as a National Health Service patient with a general practitioner (GP) practice by approaching one directly and submitting a written and signed application. A practice cannot legally refuse to register someone because they do not possess identification or documents.

Individual GP practices can have a policy where they ask prospective patients to provide identification, however they must ensure that this is applied to all patients and not done in a discriminatory manner.

01/01/2023
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of Human Rights Watch in its recent report Nepotism and Neglect, which identifies the failure of the authorities in Bangladesh to respond to the effects of arsenic in the drinking water of Bangladesh’s rural poor; and whether they will raise that issue with the government of Bangladesh.

Baroness Verma

The UK Government along with other donors, discusses issues such as safe drinking water with members of the Government of Bangladesh. Water quality testing, which focussed upon arsenic, has been a major part of DFID’s support for ensuring access to clean arsenic free water in rural Bangladesh. DFID has also supported arsenic testing by assisting the Government of Bangladesh to establish a national water-point database. The UK works with the Government of Bangladesh to use the database to identify water points which exceed the arsenic national standard can be identified and corrective necessary action taken.

DFID has also delivered large scale results on water, sanitation and hygiene education through our strategic partnership with BRAC. This has given 699,000 people access to clean drinking water, including in arsenic prone areas, through deep tube wells, piped water supply systems and pond sand filters to over the last 5 years.

01/01/2023

Nick Herbert – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Herbert on 2016-05-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives, what estimate he has made of the long-term reduction of trade from leaving the EU in each UK region.

Mr David Gauke

In April 2016 HM Treasury published analysis that showed that reduced access to the Single Market under each of the alternatives set out would have a negative impact on trade.

The analysis does not make any estimate of the impact on the long-term trade position in each UK region. HM Revenue and Customs Regional Trade Statistics on the value of trade in goods in each region are publically available through the UK Trade Info website. The value and percentage share of goods exports to the EU from each region are shown in the table below.

Region	Value of goods exports to the EU in 2015 (billions)	Value of goods exports to the EU as a share of total goods exports in 2015
North East	£7.0	58%
North West	£11.6	47%
Yorkshire & the Humber	£7.8	47%
West Midlands	£12.0	42%
East Midlands	£8.7	45%
East of England	£11.4	54%
London	£12.7	39%
South East	£19.0	47%
South West	£9.7	64%
Wales	£5.0	41%
Scotland	£6.7	38%
Northern Ireland	£3.5	55%

01/01/2023

Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police officers are trained to deal with hate crime.

Sarah Newton

The Government condemns all hate crimes and is committed to tackling these crimes in partnership with the communities affected.

We have in place some of the strongest legislation to tackle hate crime in the world – this includes specific offences for racially and religiously aggravated activity and offences of the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.

We also have stronger sentences for hate crime. We continue to carefully consider the recommendations from the Law Commission review into hate crime legislation. The Government has committed to taking action to improve our response to hate crime.

This includes joint training between the police and Crown Prosecution staff to improve the way the police identify and investigate hate crime; building on the improvements to police recording of hate crime by working with the police to break down religious-based hate crime by religion; and working with victims and advocacy groups to improve victims confidence to come forward and report such crimes.

The police are also improving their operational practices and recording. Last year, the College of Policing published Operational Guidance for officers responding to hate crime which comprehensively covers how to address all forms of hate crime.

Hate crime statistics show number of crimes recorded by the police by force area. The decision as to how hate crime is resourced in individual forces is an operational matter for the Police and Crime Commissioner for that area. The latest police funding settlement represents a fair deal for the police and reinforces this Government’s commitment to protect the public. No Police and Crime Commissioner who maximised precept income is facing a reduction in cash funding this year.

Police and Crime Commissioners are also responsible for commissioning local support services for victims of crime. The Ministry of Justice provides the Commissioner with a grant to enable services which best meet the needs of local victims of crime to be funded.

The Home Office published a new hate crime action plan on 26 July 2016, which sets out Government action over the next four years to tackle hate crime. It includes:

● new steps to boost reporting of hate crime and support victims;

● new CPS guidance to prosecutors on racially aggravated crime;

● a new £2.4 million fund for protective security measures at potentially vulnerable places of worship;

● and additional funding to community organisations tackling hate crime.

Nobody in this country should live in fear because of who they are and anyone who experiences hate crime should report it to the police, either in person at a police station, online through the True Vision website, or by phoning 101.

01/01/2023
Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of allowing schools to admit children from one religion on integration and social cohesion.

Caroline Dinenage

All schools must promote integration and social cohesion whatever their character and ethos. The Department is currently consulting on proposals to remove the 50% cap on faith admissions in new faith free schools. We have proposed additional measures to promote inclusivity and community cohesion, alongside existing requirements to promote fundamental British values, which will apply to all new faith free schools. These are aimed at ensuring all pupils can play an active role in our society and are prepared for life in modern Britain. The consultation document is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-frameworks/schools-that-work-for-everyone

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01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of potential savings to the NHS arising from an expansion of the availability of Take-Home Naloxone.

Jane Ellison

No estimate has been made of the potential savings to the National Health Service arising from expanding the availability of take-home naloxone.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ ‘Consideration of naloxone’ (2012) reported that there is a lack of published research on the cost-effectiveness of naloxone provision and said that naloxone provision in local areas would be a local decision including an assessment of its cost-effectiveness.

To help local areas introduce effective and efficient take-home services, Public Health England published advice on promoting wider availability of naloxone to reduce overdose deaths in February 2015.

01/01/2023
Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blunkett on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on support services provided through the Education Services Grant to local authorities of the £600 million funding reduction announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 for (1) special needs provision, (2) psychological services, and (3) child and adolescent mental health provision.

Lord Nash

We are protecting the core schools budget in real terms, enabling a per pupil protection for the dedicated schools grant (DSG) and the pupil premium. The DSG protection includes funding for special needs provision and funding for the education of children and young people in child and adolescent mental health services units.

The Education Services Grant is not intended to fund special needs provision, psychological services, or child and adolescent mental health provision. The £600 million reduction to the Education Services Grant, announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, should therefore have no direct impact on the provision of these support services.

01/01/2023
Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether an impact assessment has been carried out by her Department on the policies outlined in her speech at the Institution of Civil Engineers on 18 November 2015.

Andrea Leadsom

The speech contained a number of policy proposals which are at different stages of implementation. Some measures which are close to delivery have already had assessments published, such as the changes to the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff to ensure bill payers get value for money. Where appropriate impact assessments for other proposals, such as the consultation to close unabated coal-fired power stations, will be published in due course.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of casualties that have resulted from the UK’s use of (a) Brimstone missiles, (b) Hellfire missiles and (c) Paveway IV guided bombs on the most recent occasions on which those weapons were deployed against targets in (i) Iraq and (ii) Syria.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence takes any allegations of civilian casualties very seriously. We do an assessment after every British strike of the damage that has been caused, and check very carefully whether there are likely to have been civilian casualties. As has always been the case, we consider all available credible evidence to support such assessments.

There is no such evidence to date that RAF airstrikes have caused any civilian casualties.

01/01/2023
Alan Mak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Mak on 2016-02-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase the personal allowance during this Parliament.

Mr David Gauke

The Government is committed to raising the income tax personal allowance from £10,600 to £12,500 by the end of this parliament. This is alongside our commitment to raise the higher rate threshold to £50,000. Over 30 million individuals will benefit from these changes.

Summer Budget 2015 confirmed that the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17, and £11,200 in 2017-18.

01/01/2023