Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training staff in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West who handle NHS 111 calls receive other that the mandatory training covered by the NHS 111 Commissioning Standards.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not held centrally and is a matter for the local providers and commissioners.

    The NHS 111 commissioning standards issued in June 2014 state that all staff involved in handling NHS 111 calls must comply with the Licensing Requirements of the Clinical Decision Support Software used (NHS Pathways). Staff must also undertake training on: how to interact with urgent care services; the use of local Directories of Services; NHS Values; delivering excellent customer services; and safeguarding.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department is undertaking on the use and effects of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.

    Andrew Selous

    We do not tolerate drugs in prison. There is a wide-ranging programme of work being undertaken by NOMS and its partners to better understand and to tackle the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which have a particularly destructive effect in prisons.

    In April we will introduce widespread drug testing of prisoners for NPS, we are training sniffer dogs to detect NPS, and we are also working with Health partners and others to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison. We have a comprehensive range of security measures in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which consultants other than McKinsey bid for the tender to consider his Department’s BIS 2020 programme.

    Joseph Johnson

    Proposals to consider the Department’s BIS 2020 programme were received from McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions the Government has had with (a) the World Health Organisation and (b) other stakeholders on the response to the spread of the Zika virus in South America.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Department for International Development is working with the Department for Heath, who are leading the UK government’s response to Zika, and Public Health England and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This includes supporting the World Health Organisation in galvanising an effective international response.

    We are not only concerned exclusively by the spread of Zika in the Americas but are equally concerned by the possible spread to other parts of the world – in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia where countries have less capacity to cope with such a disease.

    The UK is supporting and commissioning research to better understand the Zika virus, its epidemiology and impacts, with particular focus on the risk to developing countries, and research into interventions to address this virus. This includes:

    • DFID and Wellcome providing funding to commission Zika research on specific topics including understanding the spread of the disease and variation between Zika strains, the effectiveness of new and existing approaches to vector control.
    • A general call for research proposals jointly issued by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and the Newton Fund for rapid turnaround projects. These studies will include disease surveillance, epidemiology, Zika transmission, research into Zika virus and clinical outcomes.
    • The Department of Health’s UK Vaccine Network funding the University of Glasgow to develop a Zika vaccine.

    DFID is in the process of allocating more resources to the WHO for disease control preparedness, including Zika and Yellow Fever, including £4 m for Africa, £1.3 m for the Caribbean and £4 m for the rest of the world. DH and DFID officials along with representatives from key agencies – European Commission Humanitarian Aid & Civil Protection (ECHO), Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Inst Pasteur, EU Research Brussels, Paul Allen Foundation, as well as Canada, Japan, France and Australia – participated in a WHO/Donor Teleconference on 20 April to further coordinate response to Zika.

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on City Deals in Scotland.

    Andrew Percy

    This Government has worked with the Scottish Government and local partners to deliver City Deals that drive local economic growth. The Aberdeen deal, for example, will deliver crucial infrastructure to support the oil and gas sector.

    Most recently, My Noble Friend Lord Dunlop met Keith Brown to discuss this agenda on 30 June.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of the common cold.

    Nicola Blackwood

    No estimate has been made of the annual cost of the common cold to the National Health Service. Although it is usually perceived as a single illness, the common cold is caused by a wide range of viruses.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The department does not hold record of this

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence the Government has had with Lloyds TSB on implementation of the Access to Banking Protocol and the (a) closure of branches and (b) reduction of banking services in the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, each participating bank has committed to carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. This includes establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting in place suitable alternative measures before a branch is closed.

    There is a commitment to review the operation of the protocol after one year. In August, the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise and I wrote to the Chief Executive of the British Bankers’ Association and requested an update on progress towards the appointment of an independent reviewer. A copy of the letter was also sent to the Chief Executives of the banks that are signatories to the Access to Banking protocol.

    Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy.

    Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

  • 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 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with UK airlines on passing reductions in fuel costs on to passengers.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government has regular discussions with the industry on a range of issues, and will continue to press for a fair deal for the travelling public.

    The airline industry is intensely competitive and there is no evidence of any market failure that would prevent cost savings being passed onto customers.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether marketing standards conformity certificates issued by Israel covering consignments of fresh fruit and vegetables grown in the occupied Palestinian territories indicate that the products they cover originate in Israel.

    George Eustice

    The Horticultural Marketing Inspectors have no reason to believe that these certificates do not contain correct information. In 2012, the European Commission announced that their research into Israeli/Palestinian export certificates “did not reveal any evidence of non-conformity regarding the indication of the country of origin”. The Commission also reaffirmed the requirement that the origin needed to be clearly indicated whether it was Israel or an Occupied Territory.