Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting times for therapeutic services through referral pathways was for sexual assault referral centres which do not directly provide therapeutic services for children under 18 in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has set out care pathways for adult and child Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services in its `Commissioning Framework for Adult and Paediatric Sexual Assault referral Centre (SARC) Services’, published in August 2015. Pathway services are wide-ranging, including safeguarding, social care, housing, other medical support and therapeutic counselling. The framework is now being rolled out across England and outlines the expected core service.

    Data on waiting times into care pathways or therapeutic services in SARCs or referred to by SARCs, is not collected centrally.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid is being provided in each region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The DRC is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the provinces are bigger than other DFID focus countries and there is a huge difference between the mineral-rich plains of Katanga in the south and the tropical rainforests of Equateur in the north, between the conflict-affected east and the megacity of Kinshasa in the west.

    Our current approach to working in provinces was shaped in 2012. At that time we decided to focus on six strategic partnership provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu, Kasai Occidental, Katanga, Equateur and Kinshasa. Of these, our greatest area of focus has been the conflict-affected east of the country, which receives one third of our budget and hosts our only sub-national office in Goma. DFID programme design also takes into account need, geographic and logistical constraints, conflict, political issues, and presence of other donors. Whilst we increasingly focussed on the six provinces, we deliberately preserved some flexibility. Some activities, for example addressing humanitarian crises, do not observe provincial borders.

    The regional picture in the DRC became more complex in September 2015 as the country’s 11 provinces were divided into 26, in a process called decoupage. In response to this radical change in the country’s geography, DFID DRC is reappraising its provincial focus and calculating its contribution in each province. The new approach will be set out in DFID DRC’s refreshed country business plan in May 2016.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on the 20 January (HL4935), (1) what is the timeline for the development of the written policy for future capability requirements, development, integration and use of unmanned systems, (2) what form of consultation is proposed, and (3) whether the written policy proposed will include a position statement on the use of drones by the Her Majesty’s Government (a) in domestic airspace, and (b) for collective and individual self-defence abroad.

    Earl Howe

    Defence policy on use of remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) is currently being drafted. This work is still in an early stage and is currently scoping the policy with the aim of producing a substantive document towards the end of the year. It is our intention to consult widely during its production, both across Government and with our international allies.

    This work will be supported and underpinned by the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre’s (DCDC) revision and update of Joint Doctrine Note 2/11 "The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft Systems" and through its work on the Future Air and Space Operating Concept; both of which are currently being written and will be available before the end of 2016. The DCDC will then commence work on the next edition of Joint Doctrine Publication 0-30 "UK Air and Space Doctrine" which it expects to publish in first quarter 2017.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward proposals to require private landlords to fit carbon monoxide alarms in any property that contains a fuel-burning appliance.

    Brandon Lewis

    Since 1 October 2015, landlords have been required to install carbon monoxide alarms in any room used as living accommodation which contains a solid-fuel burning appliance.

    We regulated for rooms with these appliances as they are responsible for a disproportionate number of carbon monoxide deaths and injuries compared to other combustion appliances.

    The Government therefore has no current plans to regulate further. These regulations are still very new and need time to bed in. A full review will be conducted in October 2017.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether President Anastasiades’ approach to President el-Sisi on the basis of strategic military co-operation, to President Putin on similar issues, and to Israel on oil exploration, while claiming commitment to bilateral negotiations with Turkish Cypriots are a contravention of that procedure.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    It is for the Republic of Cyprus to decide on its external relations. Given the threats facing the Eastern Mediterranean, the need for improved co-operation across the whole region remains crucial. A Cyprus settlement would provide an important boost for regional stability. The UK commends President Anastasides and Mr Akinci for their positive leadership in the Cyprus settlement talks. As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made clear during his visits to Cyprus last year, the UK will continue to do whatever we can to support the efforts of both communities, and their leaders, to seize the historic opportunity that exists to reunite Cyprus.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will list by name and contract value the contracts that are currently being reviewed in the light of the review by David Stout into the causes of the termination of the Uniting Care Partnership contract.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This is a matter for NHS England. The Department understands that information on other contracts is in the process of being collated.

    NHS England advises that it will need to review this before making decisions about sharing any of this information.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether data gathered from border exit checks will enable her Department to distinguish between short and longer-term overstaying of visas.

    James Brokenshire

    Exit checks were introduced in April 2015. They will, over a period of time, provide us with a range of insights into the behaviours of migrants and how they comply with restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK.

    Data collected from exit checks is a record of cross border movement. It may in the future help inform but will not in itself answer questions on emigration.

    The Home Office has announced that it is considering the use of exit checks data for statistical reporting and intends to publish an initial evaluation of the use of exit checks for this purpose. The evaluation will be a technical assessment of the analysis carried out thus far and of the further analysis necessary to better understand short, medium, and long term opportunities.

    The initial evaluation of the use of exit checks will be published on 25 August to coincide with the next quarterly immigration statistics release.

    Publication of the initial evaluation on the use of exit checks will be on the GOV.UK website

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has received on trends in life expectancy in Syria; and if she will make a statement.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    Syria is the world’s biggest and most urgent humanitarian crisis. 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and four in five Syrians live in poverty. The UN estimates that since the crisis began life expectancy among Syrians has dropped by more than 20 years, from 79.5 years to 55.7 years. Significant contributory factors include death rates due to the conflict (including increased death rates among younger people); destruction of health care facilities and difficulties in delivering routine childhood vaccinations; and an increase in poverty.

    The UK is at the forefront of the response to the crisis. UK support is reaching hundreds of thousands of people affected by it in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. The UK has pledged over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are also mobilising the international community. We co-hosted the “Supporting Syria and the Region” conference in London on 4 February, which secured pledges of more than $12 billion, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Of this, over $6 billion was pledged for support in 2016 and a further $6.1 billion for the coming years until 2020. This money will save lives, give hope and give people a chance for the future

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European GNSS Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    As we leave the EU, our country is embarking on an important negotiation. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already said, we are not going to provide a running commentary on every twist and turn of the negotiation.

  • David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the most recent national security direction under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 was made; and what the number of UK citizens was from whom data was collected under that direction.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has been briefed on the use of directions under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

    In accordance with section 94 subsection (6) of the Telecommunications Act 1984, money may be provided for the purpose of compensating for any losses that are sustained by reason of compliance with directions.

    On 13 January 2015, the Prime Minister asked the Interception of Communications Commissioner to oversee directions issued under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act. The Commissioner will report on his findings, including on the statistics and wider information that can be published about the use of the power without damage to national security, in his next report.