Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding has been provided to the (a) Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga, (b) Kurdish government in Northern Syria and (c) Yazidi community to (i) gather evidence of alleged acts of genocide and (ii) support displaced persons in refugee camps.

    James Wharton

    Since June 2014, DFID has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable internally displaced people in Iraq, including Yezidis and those living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. To date, the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region. Our support is reaching vulnerable and displaced Syrians, including those living in areas controlled by Kurdish groups.

    On 21 July the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK will lead a global campaign to hold Daesh to account for its crimes. In Iraq, the Foreign Office has funded projects to support the documentation of Daesh crimes and preservation of evidence. In Syria, UK funding supports a range of NGO partners to compile case files of evidence of atrocities approximating to International Criminal Court (ICC) standards.

    DFID has not provided funding to the Peshmerga, or to the governing authorities in Kurdish-dominated parts of Syria.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical commissioning groups on commissioning of off-patent drugs for use in new indications.

    George Freeman

    NHS England supports the national commissioning system in England, including the provision of guidance to the service, where appropriate.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not routinely appraise drugs outside their licensed indications. Where drugs are not appraised by NICE, it is the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to decide how drugs should be funded locally, in line with any guidance from NHS England. The Department has produced no guidance and had no discussions with CCGs on off-label drug use.

    Many thousands of patients benefit from the use of off-patent drugs, off-label, every day in the National Health Service. NICE publishes Evidence Summaries on unlicensed and off-label medicines. These provide a summary of the published evidence for selected unlicensed or off-label medicines that are considered to be of significance to the NHS, usually when there is no licensed medicine for the condition requiring treatment or no licensed medicines are appropriate for a significant proportion of people requiring treatment.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what remuneration is provider to the Chair of the Office for Tax Simplification.

    Mr David Gauke

    Angela Knight has been appointed as Chair of the Office of Tax Simplification, and will be paid £400 a day, in line with other public appointments.

    In 2011, the Treasury Select Committee held a post-appointment hearing for the Chair and Tax Director of the Office of Tax Simplification, and has done so for appointments to other bodies. Angela Knight is appearing before the committee, in her role as the new Chair, on 12 January.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific engagement they have had with the besieged people of the Syrian town of Madaya.

    Baroness Verma

    The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    On 11 January, the UN, Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed aid convoys had arrived in the hard to reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived. These convoys are expected to enable 40,000 people inside Madaya, and 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya, to survive. UK funding to UN agencies directly supported these convoys with food parcels and medicine. This is part of the UK’s ongoing support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria.

    The UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to besieged and hard to reach areas. They have the mandate, expertise and capacity to assess needs and deliver an appropriate, timely response. We continue to press for them to be granted full access to all areas in need.

    We will not stop in our efforts, whether through hard work on a political solution that will deal with the root cause of the problem or through humanitarian efforts, which provide immediate, life-saving relief. The shocking situation in hard to reach and besieged areas underlines the vital work of aid agencies and shows how important it is that they have the assurance of knowing that they have the resources to keep going.

  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people recovering from cancer have appealed (a) an employment and support allowance award and (b) a disability living allowance or personal independence payment award decision in the last five years; and how many such appeals were successful.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20339, how a longstanding mental health condition is taken account of in assessing whether a claimant is eligible for an advance payment of universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    When a work coach assesses a claimant’s financial need they will take into account all of the claimant’s circumstances including any health conditions and any vulnerabilities. The Work Coach is trained to maintain an on-going conversation with the claimant about their financial capability and build up a relationship of trust with the claimant over time.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent young people obtaining knives online.

    Karen Bradley

    Reducing violence including knife crime is a priority for this Government. In addition to our work with the police and other partners we are working closely with retailers to encourage the responsible sale of knives both in-store and online.

    There are already strict laws on the sale of knives and on how knives can be marketed. It is illegal to sell knives to anyone under 18 (except for folding knives with a blade that does not exceed 7.62cm). The Home Secretary chaired a roundtable with major retailers and the British Retail Consortium on 14 March to encourage them to sell knives more responsibly and discuss what steps they can take to ensure that they have strong age verification processes in place.

    On 23 March the Home Secretary announced agreement of a new set of principles with major retailers to prevent the underage sales of knives both in-store and online, together with commitments on staff training, safe displays, and sales in online marketplaces.

    The agreement is available online at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sale-of-knives-voluntary-agreement-by-retailers

    We will be working with the British Retail Consortium to promote and extend the principles to other retailers.

    “

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original projected in-service date was for the first Type 26 Global Combat Ship; and what the current projected in-service date is for first such ship.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    For equipment procurement programmes, the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, however, the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme has not yet reached that stage.

    As is normal practice for equipment procurement programmes, we have developed a planning assumption that the first Type 26 GCS would come into service in 2022.

    We are working with industry to develop an optimised schedule for the Type 26 GCS programme to implement the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. This work is ongoing and will inform the main investment decision.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the rate of VAT levied on over-the-counter medicines; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    VAT is a broad based tax on consumption, with the twenty per cent standard rate applying to most goods and services.

    A zero rate of VAT is applied to drugs provided on prescription and dispensed by a dispensing chemist.

    The Chancellor keeps all tax policy under review but has no plans to change the VAT treatment of medicines.

  • Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with (a) local authorities and (b) other organisations on which (i) key net roads and (ii) highway responsibilities could be devolved to the proposed Solent combined authority.

    Mr John Hayes

    DfT officials have had some early conversations with local authorities about the possibilities for coordinating/improving transport delivery across the Solent area as part of potential combined authority proposals. Discussions across Government are still ongoing.