The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will provide funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016.
Rory Stewart
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Gerald Jones, on 19 November 2015, PQ UIN16385.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to implement the review of staffing and deployment agreed with trades unions in February 2014.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) regularly shares staffing data with the Trade Union Side (TUS) and has met them on many occasions since February 2014 to discuss matters including, but not limited to, staffing and deployment. A timeline was agreed with the TUS for these discussions to conclude on 23 September 2015 in order for them to ballot members on the position reached. Despite the final position on these talks being rejected by the TUS DVSA offered to continue discussions, on an ongoing basis, about staffing and deployment.
DVSA is currently engaged in talks via ACAS with the Prospect Union, who have suspended industrial action, and hopes to be able to do the same with the Public and Commercial Services Union.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22430, if his Department will consider new collaborative funding proposals for further research into rehabilitative therapies for veterans with Gulf War illnesses.
Mark Lancaster
As stated in my answer to Question 22430, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has funded extensive research into Gulf War Illness, including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms. There are no plans to fund any further research.
The MOD has no plans to issue guidance on treatment best practice to healthcare professionals or partners in the military charity sector in respect of veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict. Neither do we have any plans in January 2016 to communicate the findings of independent research on the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict, published in the UK or overseas, to UK veterans.
There is a wide range of support already available to veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. This can be accessed through MOD’s Veterans UK website and free help line.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which, if any, ministers and officials have met representatives of the Institute of Economic Affairs since May 2012 to discuss proposals that resulted in the change announced on 6 February to the terms and conditions attached to all grant agreement letters issued by public-sector grant providers to recipients of grant funding.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Information of all government meetings is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The details of ministerial meetings are provided in transparency documents available on Gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27240, on family courts: domestic violence, when his Department last reviewed the security standards referred to in that Answer.
Caroline Dinenage
Family Courts are subject to Security Standards, which provide a framework for security measures at each individual court.
Security standards are under continual review by each local court. In practice this comprises each court undertaking reviews of all significant incidents trends/lessons learned, findings from risk assessments, engagement with inter-agency partners, feedback following complaints and regular local inspections. This is to ensure adequate protection measures are in place to protect court users.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of expansion of Gatwick Airport on seat capacity on northbound trains into London terminals in (a) 2030 and (b) 2040 during weekday morning peak periods.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Airports Commission analysed the likely surface access impacts of a second runway at Gatwick Airport in 2030. Its analysis concluded that the second runway does increase forecast crowding on the Brighton Main Line but not to significant levels.
At the time its work was carried out, the Airports Commission felt it was not plausible to carry out detailed surface access analysis for 2040 and beyond because of the difficulty in making assumptions about the likely state of the transport network and background growth at that time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of glyphosate usage in farming and crop production; and what her policy is on the European Commission’s proposals to re-approve that use for the next 15 years.
George Eustice
Glyphosate is an important element of effective and economic weed control in crop production. It is also of value in other sectors, such as the maintenance of roads and railways.
The Government recognises the importance of effective pesticides and believes that they should be authorised where the scientific evidence shows they do not pose unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate met these standards and UK experts agree. The Government therefore considers that glyphosate should be approved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Elmore on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to local communities of rail electrification in South Wales.
Claire Perry
The Government recognises the value to the Welsh economy and local communities that improved services from rail electrification, both to and in Wales, will bring in the form of regeneration and jobs. That is why we are prioritising the Great Western Mainline electrification and providing a £125m contribution to the electrification of the Valley Lines. The Valley Lines now forms part of the wider South East Wales Metro project which will transform travel in the Cardiff capital region. This project is the responsibility of the Welsh Government, and is further supported by a wider Cardiff Capital Region Investment Fund announced as part of the March 2016 City Deal.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hospital-borne infectious diseases were recorded in England in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010 and (d) 2015.
Mr Philip Dunne
In April 2013, Public Health England took over the mandatory surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), formerly undertaken by the Health Protection Agency.
The total number of trust apportioned cases of HCAIs can be found in Table 1. For the purposes of answering this question trust apportioned cases can be considered “hospital-borne” infections.
Data for the years 2000 and 2005 are not available.
Table: Counts of trust apportioned HCAIs by financial year in 2010 and 2015:
|
April 2010 to March 2011 |
April 2015 to March 2016 |
|
|
Meticillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) |
ND |
2,910 |
|
E.coli |
ND |
7,692 |
|
Clostridium difficile infection (patients aged 2 years and over) |
10,417 |
5,164 |
|
Meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) |
688 |
297 |
Notes:
– The location where the specimen was taken is given as ‘acute trust’ or is not known;
– The patient was either an ‘In-patient’, ‘Day-patient’, in ‘Emergency assessment’ or is not known.
– Patient’s specimen date is on, or after, the third day of the admission (or admission date is null), where the day of admission is day 1 (for MSSA or E. coli bacteraemia)
Or
– Patient’s specimen date is on, or after, the fourth day of the admission (or admission date is null), where the day of admission is day 1 (for Clostridium difficile infection).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is giving to Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen its border security with Liberia.
James Duddridge
Through our commitment to the UN Peacekeeping Budget, the UK contributed £23 million to the UN Operation in Côte D’Ivoire (UNOCI) and £19.5m to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) in financial year 2014/2015, both of which help secure the Côte D’Ivoire-Liberia border. The UK has supported UN Security Council Resolutions 2226 and 2239 extending the mandates of both Missions into 2016.
Despite incidents early in 2015, neither UN commander has reported any recent security concerns along the border region. We welcome the improved security situation and greater stability in Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire. We expect both governments to assume increased responsibility for the security of their shared border as the two UN missions begin to draw down.