Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the extent of financial and operational links between the social housing sector in Scotland and England.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has made no such formal assessment. The Social Housing Regulator for England’s Regulatory Framework only applies to registered providers of social housing in England. Responsibility for housing is a devolved matter.

  • Lord Hoyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Hoyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether steel produced in Britain will be used for the electrification of the Manchester to Blackpool train route.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The electrification of the Manchester to Blackpool train route is still in the design phase and the steel has not yet been purchased.

    Network Rail already sources 95% of its steel rail from the UK. Steel for electrification projects has typically been procured by principal contractors from a variety of sources, but Network Rail is currently seeking to aggregate volumes wherever possible and procure materials directly. Total forecast requirement of steel for electrification projects is forecast to be around 175k tonnes over the next 6 years. Network Rail’s strategy is to source this from the UK wherever possible, and the electrification of the Manchester to Blackpool train route will also be in accordance with this.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle disparities in broadband coverage in (a) London and (b) the UK.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is working with commercial broadband providers to encourage them to fill the remaining gaps in superfast broadband coverage in London. BT has announced £50 million of investment in new commercial coverage, much of which will be aimed at London, and Virgin Media has announced a demand led investment programme of £3 billion over the next few years. Other suppliers are also active in London.

    As a result of commercially-led delivery and public funding in areas which are not commercially viable, superfast broadband coverage across the UK now reaches almost 90% of premises, providing access to speeds of more than 24Mbps. Coverage is on track to increase to 95% of premises by December 2017. The Government has also announced proposals for a Universal Service Obligation to enable all premises to request a broadband speed of at least 10Mbps, with the aim of implementing it in this Parliament. A basic broadband scheme has also been introduced across the UK allowing all premises with speeds below 2Mbps to gain access to speeds above this level through a subsidised satellite broadband connection.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps are being taken to improve the mutual supply chain of goods and services between the Mount Pleasant Military Base and small and medium-sized enterprises and the Chamber of Commerce in the Falkland Islands.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Secretary of State discussed these issues with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses when he visited the Falkland Islands in February. British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) will continue to work with the local commercial sector, including the Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce, to develop opportunities for local supply of good and services including by small and medium-sized enterprises, within the legal and regulatory constraints that govern the Ministry of Defence’s commercial activity. For example, we have recently put in place arrangements for the supply of locally generated renewable energy to BFSAI and to employ local companies for infrastructure work.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s contribution of 9 September 2013, Official Report, column 700, what the evidential basis is for the statement that none of the UK’s overseas territories or Crown dependencies are tax havens.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Islington North (Mr Corbyn), on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 344-345, and to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Moray (Mr Robertson) on the same day, Official Report, column 347.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in a high-risk group for contracting HIV.

    Jane Ellison

    The PROUD trial was launched in 2012, coordinated by the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit and Public Health England (PHE). The number of people enrolled in the trial, was 544.

    Based on evidence from the PROUD study, PHE has made an assessment that of the 100,000 men who have sex with men who attend genito-urinary medicine clinics annually, 8,000 can be identified as being at ‘high-risk’.

    The Department has not yet made its own assessment.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of heart failure patients who have access to heart failure specialist nurses.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England is working with key partners to ensure better co-ordination and integration of all services with the aim of delivering person-centred and coordinated care which is tailored to the needs and preferences of the individual, their carer and family.

    In particular, to encourage better practice in the caring for heart failure patients, NHS England has established a best practice tariff for acute heart failure. It is also working with Health Education England to explore ways of improving the provision of and increasing access to echocardiography, which is used for the diagnosis of heart failure.

    To help the NHS understand what a good quality service looks like, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) publish quality standards which define best practice within a topic area and it has published quality standards for acute and chronic heart failure. NHS England expects all commissioners and providers to take account of quality standards in the services that are delivered to patients.

    NICE has developed a commissioning toolkit for the use of natriuretic peptides assessment in primary care for suspected heart failure. It has also produced guidance on acute heart failure and chronic heart failure, both of which cover the use of natriuretic peptides.

    NICE guidance and quality standards are published online only, but due to the complexity and length of their content, they cannot be included as attachments.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Simon Kirby’s resignation from HS2 Ltd on achieving the 2026 target date for opening phase one of High Speed 2.

    Andrew Jones

    Simon Kirby has built a high calibre team and leaves HS2 Ltd in excellent shape. Sir David Higgins remains as chair and a new CEO will be appointed as soon as possible. The 2026 target date for opening phase one of HS2 is not affected.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to respond to the IPCC’s proposals on governance reform as set out in its Annual Report and statement of accounts 2014-15, HC 286.

    Mike Penning

    In August, the Home Secretary commissioned Sheila Drew Smith OBE of the Committee on Standards in Public Life to undertake an independent review of the governance proposals first set out in the IPCC’s response to the Home Office’s Triennial Report, which was published by the IPCC on 12 August 2015. The independent review will assess the fitness for purpose of the IPCC’s proposals, and will report to the Home Secretary before Christmas. After the conclusions of the independent review have been considered, the Government will announce the next steps.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) joint Anglo-French and (b) solely French experiments have been conducted using (i) laser and (ii) hydrodynamics facilities at Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston to date.

    Michael Fallon

    I am withholding details of such experiments as their disclosure would prejudice national security and could prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and another State.