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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) mental and (b) physical health risks to young people of social media and technology.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no formal assessment of the risks to mental or physical health presented to young people by social media and related technologies. However, the Department, working with Xenzone (a provider of online counselling services) has funded the development of an online risk module for health professionals, designed to give them an understanding of the digital world, so that they can learn to distinguish between ‘normal online behaviour’ and potentially dangerous activity.

    The Department has commissioned the Health and Social Care Information Centre to carry out a survey of the mental health of children and young people. Public consultation on the content of that survey called for the inclusion of questions on the impact that social media may be having on the mental health of children and young people. A national report on the findings of the survey will be published in 2018, the first such survey since 2004.

    The clearest physical health risk arises from the fact that children and young people who spend long periods online are not exercising during that time. The four Home Country Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) published United Kingdom-wide guidelines for the amount of physical activity required across the life-course (including children and young people) in July 2011. The CMOs also included advice to restrict sedentary behaviour (long periods of sitting) including use of computers, for all age groups.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports of new rules of engagement for Israeli police allowing the use of live ammunition in response to stone throwing.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made representations to the Government of Israel on this specific issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities in order to understand their rules of engagement and express our concerns where necessary.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of contested cases have been successfully defended by the NHS Litigation Authority.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In 2015/16 the NHS Litigation Authority took 124 contested cases to trial and won 75 of them, giving a success rate of 60%.

    Source:

    http://www.nhsla.com/AboutUs/Documents/NHS_Litigation_Authority_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2015-2016.pdf

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken and plans to take to ensure that out of city areas are adequately defended and protected from a repetition of the recent attacks in Paris.

    Mr John Hayes

    Since the attacks in Mumbai in 2008 the Home Office has worked with the Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health and the police and security and intelligence agencies to develop a strong, police-led capability to deal with large-scale firearms attacks in the UK. We have also improved joint working between the emergency services to deal with the particular challenges of this type of incident so that specialist joint police, ambulance and fire teams are now in place in key areas across England (including London), with equivalents in Scotland and Wales. Firearms police are trained to respond to a marauding firearms attack and fire and ambulance teams are trained and equipped to manage casualties in higher risk environments. Under the Spending Review, the Government has also committed to protecting police spending in real terms and to further strengthen police firearms resource to protect citizens from terrorism. New funding is also available to the security and intelligence agencies to provide for an additional 1,900 officers to better respond to the threat we face from international terrorism, cyber-attacks and other global risks.

    We are reviewing our response to firearms attacks of the type seen in Paris, to see if there is anything we can learn.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there will still be a main gate decision for the Vanguard-class replacements.

    Earl Howe

    In 2016, we expect to approve the next stage of the programme to replace the Vanguard Class submarines and to commit to further investment to demonstrate the ability of the submarine enterprise to deliver the programme to time and cost. Long lead materials procurement continues within the on-going Assessment Phase.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff employed in each secure training centre are qualified speech and language therapists.

    Andrew Selous

    The information is not held centrally. However, certain roles within Secure Training Centres (STC) must be filled by qualified social workers. Qualification requirements for staff in Secure Children’s Homes (SCH) are set by the Department of Education.

    All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding. STC and SCH providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the Justice Secretary Michael Gove’s letter to the Justice Select Committee chair dated 19 February regarding errors in the processing of warrants, how many staff have been suspended or have had disciplinary action taken against them as a result of such errors.

    Lord Faulks

    To date formal disciplinary action has been initiated against eight members of staff in Greater Manchester. Two of the eight have been suspended pending the formal disciplinary proceedings.

    These are inexcusable errors, for which we sincerely apologise. HMCTS is conducting a full investigation and will take appropriate disciplinary action. Immediate steps have been taken to ensure that proper procedures are now being followed.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many jobs were lost in the North Sea oil industry in each of the last two years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    According to figures taken from Oil and Gas UK’s latest Economic Report, it is estimated that over the course of 2015 there was a 15% reduction in jobs to 375,000 across the entire employment spectrum, including direct, indirect and induced jobs. For the previous year OGUK estimated that around 440,000 jobs were supported by the sector.

    The Government is committed to supporting industry to avoid further redundancies and helping those who have unfortunately lost their jobs. We are working with the Scottish Energy Jobs Task Force to ensure that employers support those at risk of redundancy helping them to access future opportunities through training, education, and employment. In addition to this, my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in January a new Inter-Ministerial Group on oil and gas that will publish a UK Oil and Gas Workforce plan in the Spring.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of airstrikes that have been conducted by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK has a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers to Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. The UK is not a member of the coalition and the release of operational data is a matter for the coalition.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent guidance his Department published to commissioners on meeting excess treatment costs for clinical trials.

    George Freeman

    In November 2015, NHS England published new guidance to help clarify the rules and expectations on the funding of excess treatment costs incurred during a non-commercial research study. The guidance is provided for clinical commissioning groups and commissioners of specialised services.