Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that scientists and technicians working in the health sector should be registered with a professional body such as the Science Council.

    Ben Gummer

    There are no plans to require scientists and technicians working in the health sector to register with a professional body such as the Science Council. While voluntary registration schemes, such as those overseen by the Science Council, provide an important mechanism for assuring the standards of professional staff, it is a matter for individual staff and their employing organisation as to how they make use of the assurance provided by voluntary registration schemes.

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

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conducted any research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook; and if not, whether they plan to do so.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department does not itself conduct research, but funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department’s Policy Research Programme (PRP). The NIHR and the PRP have not funded specific research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook and have no plans to commission research on this topic. In 2014-15 (the latest year for which data is currently available), the NIHR invested £72.6 million in research in mental health, including the mental health of children.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) status and (b) latest estimated or final cost is of each of the 19 road schemes announced in December 2014 for the Midlands.

    Mr John Hayes

    The current status of the 19 schemes announced in December 2014 for the Midlands is given in Highways England’s Delivery Plan for 2016-2017, which is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/highways-england-delivery-plan-2016-to-2017

    Overall schemes which are under construction are coming in or under budget. For schemes under development we would expect some movement in timescales or costs but overall Highways England is on course to deliver its commitments within the allocated funding.

    “

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to promote steps to tackle HIV/Aids; and if she will make a statement.

    Grant Shapps

    The UK remains firmly committed to the Sustainable Development Goals agreed in New York in September, including the target to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. We are already working towards this goal not only through our substantial support to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, but also through our work with UNITAID and the Clinton Health Access Initiative to make testing and treatment more accessible and affordable.

    We will continue to concentrate on the critical gaps in reducing new infections, particularly among women and girls and key affected populations while continuing to address the barriers that limit access to treatment. These include strengthening health systems and tackling the broader structural drivers of the HIV epidemic such as stigma and discrimination, and gender inequality.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote the availability of loans to part-time students.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has developed marketing materials and information aimed at part time students and these are made available online and through schools and further education colleges as part of the annual Student Finance Tour. Since the new non-means tested part time fee loans were introduced in 2012 the number of students taking out loans has risen from 34,000 in 2012/13 to 55,000 in 2013/14.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseekers allowance claimants in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland who have been sanctioned found work within six months of that sanction being imposed.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The information that is available, on the number of sanction referrals and adverse sanction decisions, in respect of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), is published and available at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:

    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

    http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken in primary schools to address obesity.

    Edward Timpson

    A number of measures are already helping to address obesity in primary schools in England. The Government has committed over £600 million per year to funding free school meals for all pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2, providing nutritious meals every day and helping to form good eating habits early. The School Food Standards, introduced in 2015, ensure that healthy food is provided throughout the school day and severely restrict fat and sugar. We will continue to invest £150 million per year until 2020 to improve the quality of PE and sport in primary schools. PE is compulsory at all four key stages in the national curriculum for maintained schools.

    The Government will launch its childhood obesity strategy shortly. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will also set out what more can be done by all sides, including schools.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the proposals contained in the report, Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform, published in November 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    A search of the Department’s central correspondence system shows that the Department received 22 representations that made direct or indirect reference to the report `Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform’ since it was published in November 2015.

    The Government has no current plans to change the legislation in respect of surrogacy arrangements.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29390, what definition of principle of humanity his Department uses to assess whether an incident counts as a violation of international humanitarian law.

    Penny Mordaunt

    International Humanitarian Law is founded in customary international law but now extensively codified in international agreements, most notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols. The UK’s interpretation of the principles of proportionality, military necessity, humanity and distinction is set out in the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Service Publication (JSP) 383, the Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, which is available online (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jsp-383).

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department routinely collects on the nationality, gender and pass rate of applicants for the Life in the UK and Knowledge of Language test; and if she will make it her Department’s policy to publish data providing a breakdown of such data by nationality, gender and pass rate.

    James Brokenshire

    Pass rates for the Life in the UK Test are already published quarterly under transparency arrangements. The most recent are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-and-permanent-migration-data-february-2016

    As part of the registration process each applicant’s nationality is recorded. Information is not recorded with regard to gender. There are no plans to include a breakdown by nationality or gender in future publications.

    Pass rates for language tests are held in individual approved supplier systems and are not currently published. There are no plans to publish this data.