The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what humanitarian aid they are providing to injured and displaced persons in North Korea following the recent flooding in that country.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK supports organisations such as the UN through core contributions. UN agencies are delivering humanitarian assistance to people affected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) wildlife crime investigations and (b) wildlife crime prosecutions the National Wildlife Crime Unit has been directly involved with since it was formed.
Rory Stewart
This information is not held centrally. The Government does however recognise the important work the National Wildlife Crime Unit does to help tackle wildlife crime, including through its work in gathering and developing wildlife crime intelligence and in providing direct specialist support for police forces throughout the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what (a) presentation and (b) other documentary contribution her Department has made to the World Climate Summit held in Paris alongside the UN COP21.
Andrea Leadsom
The important COP21 negotiations and related events did not allow time for representatives from the Department to attend the World Climate Summit event.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for the proliferation of nuclear weapons of the underground test of a nuclear device by North Korea on 6 January.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK strongly condemns the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 6 January, in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and international norms. This provocation endangers regional and international security. We are currently working with other UN Security Council members on further measures in a new Resolution, while continuing to urge the rigorous implementation of sanctions by the international community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kwasi Kwarteng on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will provide assistance to farmers in Zimbabwe who are forced from their land by the policies of the government of that country.
James Duddridge
I share My Right Honourable Friend’s concerns about the devastating impact of land seizures in Zimbabwe. The British Embassy in Harare frequently raises land security – and the importance of upholding the rule of law – with the Government of Zimbabwe. Most recently, they highlighted the British Government’s serious concerns that the seizure of the land of Zimbabwean farmer, Mr Philip Rankin, did not follow the provisions of the Zimbabwean constitution. The British Government has always said that it would support a fair, transparent and pro-poor land reform programme in Zimbabwe. This is vital if Zimbabwe is to realise its great economic and social potential.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NICE quality standards on rheumatoid arthritis, what steps he has taken to ensure patients with early inflammatory arthritis are referred from their GP to rheumatology services within three days.
Jane Ellison
Quality standards (QS) are important in setting out to patients, the public, commissioners and providers what a high quality service should look like in a particular area of care. Whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) QS in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.
The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis, commissioned on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), was published on 22 January 2016. This report, which includes data from 1 February 2014 to 30 April 2015, assesses the quality of care by specialist rheumatology services using criteria derived from sources, including the rheumatoid arthritis quality standard, published by the NICE in June 2013. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care.
More information can be found at the following link:
www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the freedom to receive information inside North Korea, and (2) the number of South Korean and US radio broadcasters that tailor and transmit programming to North Korean citizens.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea found that North Korean citizens are denied the right to access information from independent sources and all media is heavily censored. There are a number of US and South Korean broadcasters that are currently transmitting programming into North Korea, or have recently, including Voice of America and Korean Broadcasting System Korea Global Radio.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect that the proposals in the Education excellence everywhere White Paper, Cm 9230, will have on (a) Church of England and (b) Roman Catholic schools.
Edward Timpson
We value the important and longstanding role played by the Church of England and Catholic Church in our education system. Around 1,200 Church schools have already become academies. The White Paper is clear that Church schools’ role and their religious character will be protected as more become academies. We continue to work closely with the National Society and Catholic Education Service and recently published Memoranda of Understanding to provide a strong basis for our ongoing relationship with Church schools and their dioceses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2015 on the proportion of blood cancer patients who visited their GP more than twice before being referred to secondary care for diagnosis; and what support and guidance his Department has provided to GPs to enable them to identify the symptoms of blood cancer.
Jane Ellison
It is important that people with cancer have the best possible experience throughout their cancer pathway and are treated with dignity and respect.
The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes – A Strategy for England 2015-2020 in July 2015, and identified a key priority of establishing patient experience as being on a par with clinical effectiveness and safety. In May 2016 the National Cancer Transformation Board published Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: Taking the Strategy Forward outlining the detailed steps being taken to make this a reality.
In September 2015, the Government announced that by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. The packages will be individually designed to help each person, including those with blood cancer, live well beyond cancer. In April 2016 NHS England published guidance for commissioners on commissioning and implementing the recovery package effectively.
In order to continue to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated suspected cancer referral guideline in June 2015. The guideline includes new recommendations for haematological cancers. NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold. Following publication of the updated guideline, the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has worked in collaboration with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) on a programme of regional update events for GPs to promote the new guideline. RCGP and CRUK have also worked to develop three summary referral guidelines for GPs to enable them to adopt the guideline. These are available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Zimbabwe.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government’s view is that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has worsened in recent weeks. We have been particularly concerned by police violence in response to recent protests and demonstrations. As set out in the EU Statement of 30 August, the freedom to demonstrate and present petitions is enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution, along with other fundamental human rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly and association.
This Government made a 2015 manifesto commitment to stand up for the rule of law and human rights in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe remains one of the 30 UK Human Rights Priority Countries, where we monitor and report regularly on human rights and support programmes designed to make abuses less likely. We regularly call, both bilaterally and in partnership with others, for an end to human rights abuses and the restoration of internationally accepted standards.