Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the costs to the NHS of the treatment of people with addiction to fixed odds betting terminals.

    Alistair Burt

    No such estimate has been made.

    We have no current plans to make such an assessment. We know that gambling addiction can potentially have a harmful impact on both a person’s physical and mental wellbeing and problem gamblers can access services in primary care and secondary care including specialised mental health and addiction services.

    The Prime Minister recently announced £1 billion to start a revolution in mental health, including £247 million to make sure that every emergency department has mental health support (following £30 million invested in 2015/16).

    Also, over £400 million for crisis resolution home treatment teams will help to improve the management of admissions to acute psychiatric inpatient care, as well as ensure the routine availability of 24/7 intensive home treatment support as a safe and effective alternative to hospitals.

    Commissioners must continue to increase investment in mental health services each year at a level which at least matches their overall allocation increase.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of schools employ a mental health specialist as a permanent member of staff.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    This is a matter for schools to decide. We have recently commissioned an extensive survey which will provide nationally representative estimates of what provision schools and colleges offer for mental health and character education. The fieldwork will begin in the summer term.

    We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether equipment provided by the UK has been used to facilitate the delivery of cluster munitions by the Saudi Arabian forces in the Yemen conflict.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of the alleged use of Cluster Munitions by the Coalition in Yemen. We have raised this issue with the Saudi Arabian authorities and, in line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to aid agencies working in Yemen.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is the 4th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16 in response to the humanitarian crisis. UK aid is focused on the most urgent life-saving needs, and has so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict with food assistance, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter.

    We work with partners such as UN agencies and NGOs who have good access and a strong track record of delivering and monitoring assistance in difficult and dangerous places. The security situation in Yemen is, however, impacting the ability of humanitarian organisations to access populations to deliver assistance, and to make assessments of their needs. The UK continues to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid and safe access for humanitarian agencies to all people in need in Yemen.

    UK aid is also supporting the UN to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response and to facilitate the delivery of aid in Yemen including; the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UN Humanitarian Air Service and the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to improve supply of essential goods into Yemen.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in Key Stage 1 were taught in classes of more than (a) 30 and (b) 35 pupils in the academic year beginning September 2015 in each region of England.

    Nick Gibb

    The number of pupils in Key Stage 1 classes of more than 30 and 35 pupils in each region of England relating to the academic year beginning September 2015 can be found in table 11 of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2016’ statistics[1].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016

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  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable the prosecution of people who promote the use of miracle mineral solution as a cure for autism.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued advice that Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) is not safe and should not be sold for human consumption. It has been working with local authorities across the country to share knowledge, investigate and disrupt the sale of MMS and other similar products.

    The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit has secured the removal of MMS products from major marketplace websites, and has shared information internationally through the National Crime Agency, alerting authorities in specific countries to the risks relating to known proponents of the use of MMS in this manner.

    Therefore, the Government has no plans to bring forward legislation in this area.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to eliminate the gender pay gap.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The gender pay gap currently stands at 19.2%, the lowest on record. We are determined to accelerate this progress. To eliminate the gender pay gap within a generation, the Government is requiring larger employers to publish information about the pay and bonuses for men and women; extending our plans for gender pay gap reporting to the public sector; and working with business to have 33% of women on boards by 2020 and eliminate all-male boards in the FTSE 350.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the difference between the public finance forecasts for 2015–16 and the actual financial figures available to date, and what assessment have they made of the reasons for the difference.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) jointly with HM Treasury publish the public sector finances statistical bulletin on a monthly basis, which provides the latest available estimates for key aspects of Public Sector Finances.

    The latest release was published on 22 December covering the November 2015 public sector finances.[1]

    Borrowing for the 8 months to November is £6.6 bn less than the same period last year against an Autumn Statement forecast of a £15.7bn full year fall. It’s clear that there is no shortcut to fixing the public finances. That’s why the Chancellor used the Autumn Statement and Spending Review to set out our plan to finish the job and build a resilient economy.

    The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are responsible for producing the forecasts of the public finances. They have published a detailed commentary on 22 December, which assesses the latest estimates included in the bulletin against their latest forecast[2].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-sector-finances-bulletin

    [2] http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/wordpress/docs/Dec-2015-Commentary-on-the-Public-Sector-Finances-release.pdf

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  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they received from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute during the set-up phase of Genomics England regarding the appropriateness in cases of cancer of using comparisons of tumour to normal whole genome sequencing at moderate sequence coverage, as opposed to focused actionable gene panel testing at deep sequence coverage; and what current technology is used by Genomics England.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The set up phase of the 100,00 Genomes Project was based on advice from Expert Working Groups which included experts from across the United Kingdom, including the Sanger Centre. The Working Group concluded that a more fundamental understanding of cancer would be delivered by whole genome sequencing compared to gene panels. This approach is part of the wider aim of the 100,000 Genomes Project to transform the National Health Service diagnostic pathway for patients and to build a dataset which will enable new scientific research. Adopting whole genome sequencing has already catalysed a fall in the costs which was also anticipated by the Expert Working Group.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of offences under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 related to abortions in each year since 2009-10.

    Mike Penning

    Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (only applies in England and Wales) makes it an offence to intentionally procure a miscarriage, including for a woman to procure her own miscarriage.

    The Abortion Act 1967 creates exceptions to the offences of procuring a miscarriage. The Act makes an abortion legal where the pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner and where two registered medical practitioners agree that the grounds specified in the Act are satisfied.

    The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences relating to sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861, in England & Wales, from 2009 to 2014 (the latest data available) can be viewed in the attached table.