Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost of the badger cull was in 2015; how much of that cost was for policing that cull; and what proportion of that cost was spent in (a) Somerset, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) Dorset.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB is the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Based on current expenditure it will cost the taxpayer £1 billion over the next decade if we do not take rigorous action now. The Government is delivering a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries. This includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity, and badger control in areas where TB is rife.

    Total Government costs for the 2015 badger culls have not yet been finalised.

    Policing costs for 2015, which will be funded by Defra, were as follows:

    (a) Avon and Somerset: £555,514

    (b) Gloucestershire: £553,005

    (c) Dorset: £694,728.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for refugee family reunion from each country of nationality of such applicants were (a) submitted, (b) decided and (c) granted in 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    The published statistics relate to the ‘Family: other’ category, the vast majority of which are for family reunion. Data for applications, decisions, of which grants and refusals, withdrawns/lapsed, and grants by nationality, is given in the attached tables.

    The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, October-December 2015’, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what targets his Department has set to increase early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.

    Jane Ellison

    As services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally information on the costs associated with laboratory testing and treatment of late stage Lyme disease is not collected centrally. Nor is information collected centrally on the average time to diagnose cases of Lyme disease.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing a clinical guideline on Lyme disease and reports progress on its website. NICE recently consulted on a draft scope for the guideline, and expects to publish final guidance in July 2018.

    Public Health England and NHS Choices publish information on their websites to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection. Given the need to maintain public awareness these or similar mechanisms are expected to continue beyond 2018. Increased awareness is likely to encourage early consultation but no information on the time taken to seek medical advice is available.

    There are no plans to set targets for diagnosis and treatment as most cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed empirically by general practitioners using their clinical judgement rather than relying on a laboratory test, thus treatment can start immediately. Diagnosis of patients with late or complicated Lyme disease can be difficult and the National Health Service will continue to provide care taking account of the existing evidence base.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32639, how much of the investment in energy efficiency measures referred to was spent on (a) administrative costs and (b) targeted energy efficiency schemes; and what estimate she has made of the amount that will be spent on administrative costs relating to such planned investment in the current Parliament.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Of the £7.4bn spend last parliament, around £350m was spent by energy suppliers on administration and the remainder (around £7bn) spent on delivery.

    Of the £1.8bn estimated to have spent between May 2015 and the end of March 2017 (when ECO is due to end), around £160m is expected to be spent on administration, with the remaining £1.6bn spent on delivery.

    The Government has yet to consult on the design of the future supplier obligation replacing ECO, so it is not possible to estimate the administration costs beyond March 2017. However, the consultation is expected to include provisions designed to reduce the cost of administration relative to ECO, freeing up more of the estimated £1.9bn for delivery.

    The administration costs are proportionately higher under this parliament, as ECO strengthened the monitoring and reporting requirements for suppliers relative to those under CERT and CESP (which were in operation during the last parliament), to allow more detailed and timely monitoring of suppliers’ progress against their obligations.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on community-based policing.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I meet the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on a regular basis to discuss a range of security issues.

    Community-based policing in Northern Ireland is an operational matter which rests solely with the Chief Constable.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is of retaining each of his Department’s 15 golf courses.

    Mark Lancaster

    This information is not held.

    The money spent on running golf courses is not separately identifiable from the operating costs of the site as a whole.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will respond to the Cabinet Office funded report relating to early deaths among people with mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    We know that people with severe mental illness can die 15-20 years earlier than the general population and that for too long this particular health inequality has had insufficient attention paid to it. We have committed NHS England through the NHS Mandate to take action to reduce premature death for people with mental illness. We are also investing more than ever before in mental health services, we have put into legislation that mental health should have equal priority to physical health and we are improving access to services by implementing the first ever waiting times for mental health services.

    We will consider the findings of the report and respond in due course.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there would be new trade barriers between the UK and the Republic of Ireland in the event of the UK ceasing to be a member of the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), believes Britain’s best future lies within a reformed EU. He is focused on addressing the concerns of the British people and is confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Liddell-Grainger on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the three most common causes of global child mortality were in each of the last five years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    According to the latest estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the 5.9 million deaths in children under five that occurred in 2015 about half were caused by infectious diseases.

    The three main killers in 2015 were; pneumonia (17 percent), preterm birth complications (16 percent) and neonatal intrapartum- related complications (11 percent). Others included; diarrhoea (8 percent), neonatal sepsis (7 percent) and malaria (5 percent). These causes of death have remained consistent over the last five years, despite an overall reduction of deaths worldwide. Almost half of all under-five deaths had malnutrition as an underlying cause and more than 80 percent of newborn deaths (deaths in the first month of life) occur among newborn infants of low birth weight in the highest burden settings.

    Given the multifaceted nature of child health DFID promotes a multi-sectoral approach to address causes of child mortality. This includes supporting interventions to address the direct; the intermediate; and the underlying causes of death. Examples include large (over £1.32 bn from 2011-15) financial contributions to GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, as well as more specific programmes to reduce childhood malnutrition, provide better care for newborns and promote clean water and sanitation. Our GAVI contribution has immunised 67.1m children. Other direct programmes to tackle child mortality have saved the lives of over 200,000 lives of children between 1 month and 5 years of age in the last five years. Many countries have seen dramatic changes for example, Ethiopia experienced a drop in child mortality of two thirds since 1990.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the UK is taking to prevent a refugee crisis in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is the 4th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has committed £85 million. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis, providing food, medical supplies, water and emergency shelter to those most in need. A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and end the current conflict. We are actively supporting the UN facilitated peace process and are working closely with the UN to encourage parties to engage in good faith and without preconditions in future talks.