Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) guidelines, (b) regulations and (c) EU directives are in place which restrict the use of antibiotics for livestock.

    George Eustice

    The rules governing the authorisation and use of veterinary medicines are set at the European level through an EU Directive and these apply to all Member States. All antibiotic veterinary medicines in the UK are available only on prescription by a veterinary surgeon, who in turn is only permitted to prescribe to animals under their care.

    The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), an executive agency of the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), published the ‘Code of Practice on the responsible use of animal medicines on the farm’ in December 2014. The guidance makes it clear that the Government does not support the routine preventative use of antibiotics, or the use of antibiotics to compensate for poor animal husbandry.

    A number of UK veterinary and farming organisations have well established guidance on the prescription and use of veterinary medicines, including antibiotics.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the ability of a privatised Green Investment Bank to address market failures in the low carbon economy.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government’s position on this matter was set out in paragraphs 31 – 36 of our November 2015 policy statement on the future of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) which can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

    This makes clear that GIB’s remit has always been to invest in green projects on fully commercial terms to help demonstrate green investment can be profitable and attract additional private sector investment into green sectors from mainstream finance providers. GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership.

    There are other Government policy mechanisms in place aimed at promoting investment in more high risk projects and early stage technologies.

  • 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 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for financial system resilience of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed rules on ringfencing; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is confident that the Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed rules on ring-fencing are beneficial for financial system resilience. These are fully consistent with the Banking Reform Act (2013), and are necessary to ensure the full and timely implementation of the legislation.

  • Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the plans of NHS England for provision of mandated research in the NHS.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health formally holds NHS England to account on its delivery against the research objective in the NHS Mandate, a process which will be rolled forward during 2016/7.

    Progress has been made in the areas of participation of National Health Service organisations in research, with 98% of NHS trusts recruited into National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network Portfolio studies during the course of 2014/15, and 78% of NHS trusts recruiting to commercial contract studies in the same year. In addition, recruitment of participants into such studies increased in 2014/15 compared to the previous year to 618,453 participants. Recruitment into commercial contract studies is at an all-time high, with 34,885 participants in 2014/15; a 35% increase from 2013/14.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) military and (b) civilian UK personnel are currently deployed in Tunisia; and in what capacity such personnel are deployed.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence has 10 military and no civilian personnel currently deployed in Tunisia. Two personnel form the enduring British Embassy Defence Section, comprised of the Defence Attache and his assistant. The remaining eight personnel are deployed on a temporary basis, subject to regular review, and are either coordinating or delivering training to Tunisia’s security institutions or supporting UN and EU missions in-country.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle increases in energy costs for manufacturing companies in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is ensuring the continued international competitiveness of energy intensive industries in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom by providing relief to mitigate the impact of energy and climate change policy on electricity bills. In addition to the £160 million of compensation already provided since 2013, Government began paying compensation to eligible companies for renewable energy policy costs earlier this year, following state aid clearance. Companies in Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for this compensation. A Great Britain-wide consultation on replacing this compensation with an exemption was launched on 1 April and the Northern Ireland Executive will consult separately on this in the future.

    We are also acting to reduce electricity costs at the most fundamental levels through both short-term cost control measures and investment in new energy infrastructure.

  • Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still intend to publish the consultation on the future of Sure Start, which they promised to initiate in July 2015, and if so when.

    Lord Nash

    This Government is committed to improving social mobility and extending opportunity so that everyone has the chance to realise their full potential.

    Our approach to improving life chances will focus on tackling the root causes of poverty such as worklessness, educational attainment and family stability and we will consider future policy on children’s centres as part of this. We will make it clear how stakeholders and members of the public can contribute in due course.‎‎

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent in England on NHS Continuing Healthcare in each of the last five years.

    David Mowat

    Primary care trusts held statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare until 31 March 2013 and the cost of funding such packages was not captured specifically in their audited accounts. From 2009, the Department collected information on the total cost of NHS Continuing Healthcare packages through a financial information management system1. The annual costs (England total) from that date were as follows:

    2011/12 – £2,324,655,000

    2012/13 – £2,762,532,000

    From 1 April 2013, statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare transferred to clinical commissioning groups and to NHS England. The annual costs from that date (England total) are as follows:

    2013/14 – £2,647,176,411

    2014/15 – £2,824,041,529

    2015/16 – £3,062,102,151

    Note:

    1 This is management information and is not audited for Departmental accounts.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to set targets for measuring progress towards the goal of halving the disability employment gap.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Progress against the disability employment gap commitment is a key factor in progress towards full employment. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’. The annual report on progress towards full employment will include an update on the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.

    Disability is defined in the Equality Act 2010: “A person has a disability if (a) [they] have a physical or mental impairment, and (b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

    Employment in the UK is measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Statistics on disabled employment are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics, based on internationally agreed definitions.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Care Quality Commission on collection and publication of data on mortality rates of over 75s in mental health trusts.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department’s ministers and officials meet with representatives of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including mental health.

    Currently, the CQC monitors various aspects of the mortality rate for over 75s. This age threshold was applied to take account of age within the analysis of indicators which relate to deaths that may have resulted from physical health problems, given that deaths due to natural causes are likely to increase with age.

    The CQC are planning further work in 2016 to develop its approach to monitoring mortality among people in contact with trusts that provide mental health services.