Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are sufficient obligations on local authorities to inspect food production companies, and on retailers, to ensure that no food crime or mislabelling is occurring.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Food labelling rules are set at European Union level and provide a framework for mandatory information to be provided on food labels as well as ensuring that food information is not misleading. This Government has pressed for better information for consumers during negotiations relating to food labelling in Europe.

    Food businesses are responsible for ensuring their products are safe and accurately labelled. The Government backs this up with risk-based checks carried out by local authorities. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs develops validated testing methods under its Food Authenticity programme to check for mis-description and fraud. These methods are used by public analysts and local authorities to support food law enforcement.

    The majority of food law enforcement is delegated to local authorities throughout the United Kingdom who carry out checks of food businesses in their area to ensure compliance with food safety, traceability and labelling requirements. To support this, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) makes funding available to UK Enforcement Authorities for sampling and surveillance of food to help ensure risk-based, targeted checks on food products throughout the food chain.

    The Government has set up the National Food Crime Unit to increase the capacity to identify, disrupt and prevent food crime. It does this in part by developing intelligence packages and passing these either to the police service or to a local authority to take forward the investigation.

    Measures to co-ordinate food standards enforcement across Local Authorities are kept under continual review by the FSA to improve effectiveness of delivery, working with local authorities and trading standards professional bodies.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the Trident missile renewal programme on international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

    Michael Fallon

    As set out in the 2006 White Paper "The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994) the UK will participate in the US life extension programme for the Trident D5 missile which will extend the life of the missiles until the early 2040s. As a responsible nuclear weapons state and party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), we are committed to trying to achieve a world without nuclear weapons and we recognise our obligations under the NPT. I am entirely satisfied that this life extension programme is fully consistent with our NPT obligations.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the Police Innovation Fund was allocated to police forces in financial years (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Mike Penning

    The Police Innovation Fund 2014/15 allocated £53m to Police and Crime Commissioners (and their equivalents) in 2014/15 and 2015/16. The Police Innovation Fund 2015/16 allocated over £71m to Police and Crime Commissioners (and their equivalents) in 2015/16 and 2016/17.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what outcomes her Department is aiming to achieve at the Supporting Syria and the Refugee Conference in February 2016.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 29 January to Question number 23764.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to include additional road surface noise reduction measures, a sound barrier and home noise insulation measures in the contract specifications for the M60 smart motorway extension through Denton.

    Andrew Jones

    The M60 Smart Motorway project near Denton is currently in its early design stage and the scope and boundaries of the project are still being defined. By the nature, of this type of project, Highways England expect that the scheme will mostly be within the existing motorway footprint. This could include a quiet road surfacing or sound barriers.

    However, any compensation arrangements will be the same as for all such improvement schemes. If properties in the nearby area of the scheme qualify for noise insulation under the Noise Insulation Regulations, then appropriate offers will be made.

    The environmental impact will be assessed as part of the design and any necessary actions will be considered during the detailed design. One year after the completion of the scheme, local property owners may apply for compensation under Part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 and such claims will be assessed under the terms of that Act.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding in the report from the Boston University School of Public Health in Cortex that research clearly and consistently” shows that exposure to pesticides and other toxins caused Gulf War Illness; and what bearing that report will have on the treatment of sick Gulf War veterans.”

    Earl Howe

    The Government greatly values the service of all 1990-91 Gulf War veterans. We have long accepted that the ill-health of some veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War may be associated with their service in the Gulf. In such cases, and where a link is proven, compensation may be claimed under the War Pensions Scheme, with appropriate medical care provided by the National Health Service across the UK.

    The Department has funded extensive research into Gulf War illness including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms. Our strategy on research topics and studies has been informed and overseen by independent scientific experts nominated by the Medical Research Council, taking account of published peer-reviewed international literature and international studies. We have no plans to undertake further research on Gulf War issues. We continue to monitor any Gulf War research that is published around the world, including in the United States.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for developing and updating clinical guidance on the treatment of men with erectile dysfunction in England.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has included guidance on erectile dysfunction in the following guidelines:

    – Chronic heart failure in adults: management (CG108) published in August 2010;
    – Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management (NG17) published in August 2015; and
    – Type 2 diabetes in adults: management (NG28) published in December 2015.

    Copies of these documents are attached.

    It is for NHS England to commission NICE to develop a specific clinical guideline on the management and treatment of erectile dysfunction.


  • Paul Scully – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Scully – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Scully on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness and adequacy of mental health support available to stroke survivors.

    Jane Ellison

    Access to stroke specific psychological support is vital to diagnosing and managing many of the unseen effects of stroke. The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme has recently conducted an audit of the provision of services to people with stroke once they have left hospital. The audit found that around 42% of Early Supported Discharge teams and 44% of longer term community rehabilitation teams had some access to psychologists. There are also physiotherapists, nurses and occupational therapists on these teams who often address psychological issues.

    We know that there are improvements to be made in providing psychological support for stroke survivors. Clinical commissioning groups are encouraged to consider how the needs of these patients might be met when commissioning services.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to begin its review of driving sentences and penalties.

    Dominic Raab

    The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation before the end of the year which will look at driving offences and penalties.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to reunite with their families the 387 child refugees in Calais camps identified by Citizens UK who are eligible to come to the UK.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.

    We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

    We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.

    It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.

    A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.