Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the special appeals process for people infected with Stage 1 Hepatitis C as a result of receiving contaminated blood will be managed by (a) his Department or (b) the new single trust which will be established from 2017-18.

    Nicola Blackwood

    In 2017/18, we will introduce a special appeals mechanism for people currently at stage 1 of their hepatitis C infection, to apply for a higher level of payment, equivalent to the stage 2 annual payments of £15,500, details of which are still being considered. We envisage that the new single scheme administrator will administer and manage such a process.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department has provided to the EU election observation mission overseeing elections in Burma in November 2015.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The United Kingdom lobbied the EU to deploy an Election Observation Mission to Burma and we welcomed their deployment of a 136-person mission. The presence of international observers, including from the EU, was a key part of the United Kingdom’s strategy for deterring fraud in Burma’s elections on 8 November.

  • Baroness Northover – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Northover – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of global demographic change in which almost 24 per cent of women globally are aged 50 and over, what steps they are taking to ensure that sustainable development goal indicators on violence against women specifically include women over the age of 49, and to ensure that those women are not excluded from reporting mechanisms in the future.

    Baroness Verma

    Supporting robust indicators for Sustainable Development Goal 5.2 on violence against women and girls is critical. DFID is working with international partners including the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data to support the development of strong indicators and the development of rigorous, available national data that will enable measurement of progress to end violence against women and girls of all ages.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether he plans to issue a new Memorandum of Understanding under section 2(2) of the Justice and Security Act on the remit of the Intelligence and Security Committee in the current Parliament.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms West) on 21 January 2016, UIN 22720.

    By long-standing convention under successive Governments the Law Officers’ advice is not published. The legal basis for the airstrike against Reyaad Khan is set out in the Government’s Memorandum to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

    The Government’s legal position in relation to UK airstrikes against Daesh in Syria is reflected in my response to the Foreign Affairs Committee Report on the extension of offensive British military operations to Syria.

    The current Memorandum of Understanding together with the Justice and Security Act 2013 provides the necessary scope for the ISC to conduct robust oversight of those matters that are within its statutory remit.

    “

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice has been provided this Session for ministers or senior officials in the Department for Work and Pensions on whether to use secondary legislation or primary legislation for significant legislation.

    Lord Freud

    There has been no change in approach to the use of primary and secondary legislation since the General Election. Each piece of legislation is approached within the context of the policy and the existing legislative framework. There is no evidence of an increase in the number of statutory instruments　laid　since 2010　or since the General Election. Briefing produced by the House of Commons Library (CBP 7438) shows that　the　number of statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons peaked　at 1,885　in the 2005-06 session, compared to 1,378 last session and 540 so far this session.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in his Department have responsibility for examining the resilience of the UK’s infrastructure.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office role on infrastructure resilience is focused on providing a co-ordination and assurance function for infrastructure resilience. Other departments have staff working directly on infrastructure resilience according to sector.

    There are currently fifteen officials in the Cabinet Office who spend a significant amount of their time working on infrastructure resilience.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that UK aid spent in Africa supports small-scale organic farmers.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID’s Agricultural Policy Framework, published last year, sets out the approach and steps DFID will take to support agriculture. Depending on context and need, this is expected to include support to small scale organic, or smallholder, farmers in Africa. Our priorities include helping smallholder farmers to increase their productivity, and to better link them to markets to sell their produce so as to increase their incomes, improve their livelihoods and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.

    For example we are providing support to the International Fund Agriculture Development’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme. This will help smallholder farmers in Africa cope with the impacts of climate change by providing extension services to farmers, improving irrigation and infrastructure, and helping farmers to increase their harvests through improved seeds and better soil and land management practices.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make plans to use the statutory powers granted to him by section 128 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 to reform the Parole Board release test.

    Dominic Raab

    IPP prisoners are released where the Parole Board is satisfied that they can be safely managed in the community.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects the Competition and Markets Authority to report on its investigation on suspected anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical sector.

    George Freeman

    The Department is already referring cases to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). To strengthen our work in this area we are considering putting measures in place to routinely and systematically monitor significant price increases of generic medicines and take action where appropriate, including the possible referral of suspected excessive pricing to the CMA, while taking into account the potential impact of any such action on the availability of medicines.

    The CMA is currently conducting a number of investigations into anti-competitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry. It imposed fines totalling £45 million in one case (currently subject to appeal at the Competition Appeal Tribunal), and expects to reach a final decision by late summer in another. It opened two more cases in March and April 2016 in which it expects to decide in late summer whether there are grounds to take each investigation further.

    The CMA is also considering evidence of other potential cases of anti-competitive practices in the sector, and may well open further investigations in the coming months.

    The CMA is independent of Ministers and we cannot interfere in either the substance or the procedures of its decision-making.

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Commonwealth Secretary General about the Maldives.

    Alok Sharma

    The Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has not discussed the Maldives with the Commonwealth Secretary General. Senior officials in London and Colombo have discussed the Maldives with the Secretary General, her staff and her Special Envoy for Maldives, Dr Willy Mutunga.