Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why representatives of the cantons of Rojava were not invited to the recent conference of Syrian opposition groups in Riyadh, and whether they will call for their inclusion in any future meetings.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Kurds will play an important role in a political settlement for Syria. Members of all major communities of Syrian society participated in the Riyadh Opposition Conference. This included minorities such as the Kurds in the major political parties. Opposition representatives agreed to form a “High Negotiating Committee” to negotiate with the Syrian regime, under the auspices of the UN. The International Syria Support Group has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religious domination is fundamental. The UK will continue to advocate this, as the political discussions continue.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on public health of rising levels of alcohol consumption in England.

    Jane Ellison

    There has been a reduction in overall consumption in recent years which is welcome, but there is no room for complacency. Harms such as liver disease remain much too high.

    To help people understand how to keep health risks from alcohol consumption low, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers published new low risk alcohol guidelines on 8 January 2016.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for British farmers of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU.

    Separately, the UK continues to make the case for improvement to the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) so that it is simpler and more effective. Reducing the administrative burden of the CAP on farmers is a necessary part of increasing the competitiveness of our food and farming industries.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of Overseas Development Assistance funding the Government plans will be spent by (a) her Department and (b) other government departments in the current Parliament; and what measures are in place to monitor how that funding is spent.

    Justine Greening

    Between 2015/16 and 2019/20, DFID will spend 72% of UK ODA, other departments and funds 22%, and the remaining 6% will be non-departmental spend such as debt relief and gift aid. Departments are responsible for ensuring their ODA budget offers high value for money. DFID will provide advice and support where requested.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which consultants other than McKinsey bid for the tender to consider his Department’s BIS 2020 programme.

    Joseph Johnson

    Proposals to consider the Department’s BIS 2020 programme were received from McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) the World Health Organisation and (b) other stakeholders on the response to the spread of the Zika virus in South America.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Department for International Development is working with the Department for Heath, who are leading the UK government’s response to Zika, and Public Health England and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This includes supporting the World Health Organisation in galvanising an effective international response.

    We are not only concerned exclusively by the spread of Zika in the Americas but are equally concerned by the possible spread to other parts of the world – in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia where countries have less capacity to cope with such a disease.

    The UK is supporting and commissioning research to better understand the Zika virus, its epidemiology and impacts, with particular focus on the risk to developing countries, and research into interventions to address this virus. This includes:

    • DFID and Wellcome providing funding to commission Zika research on specific topics including understanding the spread of the disease and variation between Zika strains, the effectiveness of new and existing approaches to vector control.
    • A general call for research proposals jointly issued by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the Newton Fund for rapid turnaround projects. These studies will include disease surveillance, epidemiology, Zika transmission, research into Zika virus and clinical outcomes.
    • The Department of Health’s UK Vaccine Network funding the University of Glasgow to develop a Zika vaccine.

    DFID is in the process of allocating more resources to the WHO for disease control preparedness, including Zika and Yellow Fever, including £4 m for Africa, £1.3 m for the Caribbean and £4 m for the rest of the world. DH and DFID officials along with representatives from key agencies – European Commission Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (ECHO), Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Inst Pasteur, EU Research Brussels, Paul Allen Foundation, as well as Canada, Japan, France and Australia – participated in a WHO/Donor Teleconference on 20 April to further coordinate response to Zika.

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on City Deals in Scotland.

    Andrew Percy

    This Government has worked with the Scottish Government and local partners to deliver City Deals that drive local economic growth. The Aberdeen deal, for example, will deliver crucial infrastructure to support the oil and gas sector.

    Most recently, My Noble Friend Lord Dunlop met Keith Brown to discuss this agenda on 30 June.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of the common cold.

    Nicola Blackwood

    No estimate has been made of the annual cost of the common cold to the National Health Service. Although it is usually perceived as a single illness, the common cold is caused by a wide range of viruses.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what weighting has been applied (a) to the sparsity indicator within the children’s 0 to 5 services component relative to that for other components and (b) to address complex need within that component.

    Jane Ellison

    In the publication Public health grant: proposed target allocation formula for 2016/17, an engagement of behalf of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), ACRA proposed that there should be a sparsity adjustment to take account of the longer travel times to home visits by health visitors.

    The proposed sparsity adjustment is an index ranging between the values of 1.05 and 0.98 across local authorities, with an England average value of 1.00. The need weighted population for the 0-5 services component for each local authority is multiplied by this index to give the need and sparsity weighted populations.

    ACRA proposed in the engagement that the relative need weight per head for 0-5 children’s services should be based on the proportion of children in low income households. ACRA proposed that the weight per head should be four times higher for children in low income households than for other children. No further adjustment is prosed by ACRA.

    The engagement closed on 6 November and ACRA is currently considering the responses before providing its final advice to Ministers.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and in particular of Wasim Marouf at Ofer prison.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Although we have not raised Wasim Marouf’s particular case, we remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention and also have concerns about mistreatment 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.