Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many manufacturing companies in the UK employing more than 500 people are foreign-owned; and what is their assessment of the implications of such ownership for the development of indigenous management.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Draft Answer

    There are 320 manufacturing enterprises in the UK with more than 500 employees that are foreign owned (i.e. have over 50% foreign control). This is 61% of manufacturing companies with over 500 employees. The UK welcomes foreign direct investment and enjoys the benefits of jobs and skills that it brings and UK manufacturing continues to be globally attractive and competitive. However, the Government is not aware of any evidence which indicates that foreign-owned companies treat UK management any differently to British-owned companies.

    We are taking a number of steps to increase indigenous management skills and capability. Apprenticeships standards are now available or being developed in senior level and management occupations. These include degree level qualifications and cover such areas as Manufacturing Engineer, Chartered Manager and Project Manager.

    The apprenticeships levy will come into effect from April 2017. It will apply to all UK employers with a pay bill in excess of £3 million and incentivise them to train their apprentices in the technical and professional skills their businesses need, including quality management and leadership.

    The Government is also supporting work being undertaken by senior industry leaders to examine ways to increase manufacturing productivity in the UK, which is part of the business-led action referenced in the Government’s Productivity Plan published in July 2015. This work will look at how indigenous performance could be improved in areas such as leadership, management and employee engagement, and will also consider what steps could be taken to develop a stronger culture that embraces innovation and new technologies such as digitisation. We will consider the findings when they are produced by industry later in 2016.

  • Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to promote improvement in standards of mental health globally.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID’s principal approach is to strengthen health services, improving coverage, access and quality so that services better address all major causes of ill health including mental health. We also support research, together with specific work on mental health in some countries.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with Irish Ministers on the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on relations with Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Government Ministers have regular discussions with Ministers from the Government of Ireland on a range of issues, including co-operation on security and other matters.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for the capacity of the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure safety at airshows of the findings of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report on the 2015 Shoreham Airshow crash relating to the recommendations of the AAIB’s report on the 2007 Shoreham Airshow crash which were not implemented.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has recently consulted the air display community on amendments to its charging scheme for air displays. The revised charges will fund an additional four people to implement actions the CAA has already identified as part of its ongoing review of airshow safety for the 2016 air display season.

    The majority of recommendations in the AAIB’s latest bulletin cover areas where the CAA has already taken action as part of its review, and these actions will further enhance the safety of UK civil air displays.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with Chief Crown Prosecutors on the decision not to prosecute any individuals for suspected electoral and financial fraud committed in Tower Hamlets during the mayoral election there in 2014.

    Andrew Selous

    The Ministry of Justice has not had any discussions with Chief Crown Prosecutors on this matter.

    Decisions on whether to charge or to prosecute individuals suspected of electoral and financial fraud in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are matters for the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. I refer my Honorable Friend to Mr. Marcus Jones’ response to Parliamentary Question 29350.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to support the electric car industry.

    Anna Soubry

    It has not proved possible to respond to my hon Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to update the national maternity commissioning framework, and if so, whether it will include information about multiple pregnancies.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Saving Babies Lives care bundle covers all types of pregnancy, including multiple pregnancies. The care bundle will be evaluated so that it can be developed and refined to ensure that it continues to reflect best practice.

    The Maternity Transformation Programme Board will drive forward the implementation of the National Maternity Review, Better Births, published in February this year. It will also include work to reduce the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths in England. The formation of the Board marks a clear step forward towards delivering the vision laid out in the National Maternity Review, ensuring that key organisations work together to improve maternity services. Better Births makes recommendations on the use of data including the development of a set of national indicators to aid data comparison. NHS England and its delivery partners are developing plans to implement this and the report’s other recommendations, and as part of this are considering the case for a national dashboard. A copy of both Better Births and the Saving Babies Lives care bundle are attached.

    The Board held its first meeting on 8 June 2016 and is chaired by Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chief Executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Birmingham Women’s Hospital. The Board members and the organisations they represent are detailed in the following table.

    NHS England and its delivery partners are developing plans to implement the vision set out in Better Births, the report of the National Maternity Review. These plans are likely to include commissioning guidance.

    Person

    Organisation

    Sarah-Jane Marsh

    Chair

    Jane Cummings

    Senior Responsible Officer, Chief Nursing Officer

    Keith Willett

    Deputy Chair, Medical Director for Acute Care, NHS England

    Matthew Jolly

    Clinical lead (obstetrics) / workstream lead (data)

    Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent

    Clinical lead (midwifery)

    Dame Julia Cumberlege

    Stakeholder Reference Group Chair / Clinical Commissioning Group Improvement and Assessment Framework Panel Chair

    Flora Goldhill

    Department of Health / workstream lead (best practice for safer care)

    Wendy Reid / Bill Irish

    Health Education England / workstream lead (workforce)

    Viv Bennett

    Public Health England / workstream lead (public health)

    Ruth May

    NHS Improvement (Director of Nursing)

    Mike Durkin

    NHS Improvement (Director of Patient Safety)

    Jimmy Walker

    Care Quality Commission

    Lauren Hughes

    NHS England /workstream lead (local transformation)

    James Sanderson

    NHS England / workstream lead (choice and personalisation)

    Simon Medcalf

    NHS England / workstream lead (perinatal mental health)

    Tom Denwood

    NHS Digital / workstream lead (technology)

    Martin Campbell

    NHS England / workstream lead (pricing)

    David Richmond

    Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

    Cathy Warwick

    Royal College of Midwives

    Nigel Acheson

    Regional delivery lead / Regional Medical Director, South

    Roz Lindridge

    Clinical Networks maternity lead / East Midlands Associate Director, Clinical Networks and Senate
  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has (a) had discussions with and (b) made referrals to the International Criminal Court on investigating possible (i) acts of genocide, (ii) war crimes and (iii) crimes against humanity in Syria and Iraq by radicalised UK citizens.

    Alok Sharma

    As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson MP), said to the UN Security Council on 21 September, we are working with our partners in the international community to do everything we can to support the gathering of evidence which could be used by courts to bring Daesh to justice. On 19 September, the Foreign Secretary launched at the UN General Assembly an international campaign to bring Daesh to justice. As a state party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Rome Statute and strong supporter of the ICC, the UK has regular discussions with the court on a range of issues. Any decision to refer to the ICC must be made on the basis of what will be the most effective means to bring perpetrators of atrocities and those who have assisted them to justice. In her press statement of 8 April 2015, the ICC Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh, including foreign fighters who are nationals of from ICC states parties. When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the regulation of nurses and midwives remains appropriate for the health and social care environment as it evolves.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is taking forward a Section 60 Order (of the Health Act 1999) which will remove statutory midwifery supervision from the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) governing legislation.

    The Department is also in discussions with the NMC on what other reforms may be achieved through the Order.

    The Orderwill be subject to a full public consultation early next year.

  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Ethiopia in the wake of reported deaths following demonstrations in and around Addis Ababa.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government is deeply concerned about the demonstrations in Oromia and reported deaths of a number of students. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), raised our concerns with the Ethiopian deputy prime minister on 11 December and urged the authorities to exercise restraint. Our chargé d’affaires repeated this message with the Ethiopian state minister for foreign affairs on 15 December. Our Ethiopia travel advice was updated on 18 December to reflect our concerns about the security situation in the affected areas. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and raise our concerns with the Ethiopian government, including on the use of force.