The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to make the Attiva device for the treatment of people with diabetes available on the NHS.
George Freeman
Medical devices are required to be CE marked under the European Union medical devices Directives and may not be placed on the market until this process is complete.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of manufacture was of the non-British steel used in the construction of (a) HMS Queen Elizabeth and (b) HMS Prince of Wales.
Mr Philip Dunne
Of the 82,000 tonnes of steel procured for the construction of the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers, 77,000 tonnes was sourced from Tata Steel using their UK steel mills and processed in the UK by Dent Steel. The remaining 5,000 tonnes of specialised steel, not available from UK steel plants, was procured from Turkey (4,500 tonnes) and Spain (500 tonnes).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances or opinions has he received from the government or constitutional bodies in (a) France and (b) Germany on whether the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016, would require a vote in the parliament of that country.
Mr David Lidington
It is for the relevant national authorities in France and Germany to determine their parliamentary proceedings.
The Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016 was agreed to by all Member States and is now a legally binding document that has been registered with the United Nations as an international treaty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.19 of the report, Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates, published on 16 March 2016, which technologies his Department is considering (a) adding and (b) removing from the list of qualifying technologies for the first-year allowance scheme for energy-saving and environmentally-beneficial technologies.
Damian Hinds
At Budget 2016, the Government announced changes to 100 percent enhanced capital allowances for energy-saving and environmentally-beneficial (water-efficient) technologies.
Each autumn, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consult manufacturers and suppliers. DECC and Defra then recommend to Treasury Ministers updates to the schemes.
Details of the changes will be set out in Treasury Order 2001/2541 for energy and 2003/2076 for water in the next few months. As is routine, an impact assessment will be published alongside the Order.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on expanding the Unduly Lenient Scheme; and if he will consult on any such changes before their introduction.
Jeremy Wright
The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is planned that the Government’s childhood obesity strategy will include targets for industry to reduce levels of (a) fat and (b) salt in food and drink.
Jane Ellison
Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will set out what more can be done by all.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to impose an embargo on the sale of arms between the UK and Israel.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. We do not believe that imposing a blanket arms embargo on Israel would promote the urgent progress towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which we want to see. We continue to monitor the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and take into account the latest circumstances when assessing licence applications. Israel, like any state, has the right to ensure its own security, as its citizens also have the right to live without fear of attack and we will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of proposed reductions in the level of community pharmacy funding on the support available for frail and elderly people to live independently in their own homes.
David Mowat
The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, under the National Health Service Act 2006.
Our assessments include consideration of the potential impacts on the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services, including the supply of medicines, access to NHS pharmaceutical services, supplementary hours, non-commissioned services, individuals with protected characteristics, impacts on other NHS services, health inequalities, individuals with restricted mobility and access to healthcare for deprived communities.
An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. We believe these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.
Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
We want a clinically focussed community pharmacy service that is better integrated with primary care and public health in line with the Five Year Forward View. This will help relieve the pressure on general practitioners and accident and emergency departments, ensure better use of medicines and better patient outcomes, and contribute to delivering seven day health and care services.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, Dr Keith Ridge has commissioned an independent review of community pharmacy clinical services. The review is being led by Richard Murray, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund. The final recommendations will be considered as part of the development of clinical and cost effective patient care by pharmacists and their teams.
NHS England is also setting up a Pharmacy Integration Fund to support the development of clinical pharmacy practice in a wider range of primary care settings, resulting in a more integrated and effective NHS primary care patient pathway.
The rollout of the additional 1,500 clinical pharmacists announced by NHS England will help to ease current pressures in general practice by working with patients who have long term conditions and others with multiple medications. Having a pharmacist on site will mean that patients who receive care from their general practice will be able to benefit from the expertise in medicines that these pharmacists provide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, under what timetable she will announce the mechanism for ensuring that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of sensitive areas.
Andrea Leadsom
On 4 November 2015, the Government set out proposals to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells drilled at the surface of specified protected areas. [1] The proposals are now subject to consultation with key stakeholders, including industry and non-governmental organisations.
[1] See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-licensing-rounds#surface-development-restrictions
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders of each offence type pleaded guilty to an offence during (a) the latest period for which information is available after 13 April 2015 and (b) the equivalent period of time before 13 April 2015 in (i) Magistrates Courts and (ii) Crown Courts.
Mike Penning
The proportion of defendants who were tried at the Crown Court and who pleaded guilty, by offence group, in England and Wales in 2014 can be viewed in the table.
Centrally held information does not include the plea of defendants proceeded against and handled entirely within the magistrates’ courts. This is held on individual court records, which could only be examined at disproportionate cost.
Final data for defendants tried at the Crown Court is only available up to the end of 2014.