Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the rate of compliance on routes from (a) Hull and (b) in the North Sea with lower sulphur dioxide emission limit for merchant vessels which came into force on 1 January 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are no figures for 2015.

    However, since 1 January 2016 the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has inspected 34 ships within the North Sea Sulphur Emission Control for compliance with the lower 0.1 per cent sulphur limit. Eleven of these ships had fuel samples taken and analysed, and one ship was found to be marginally non-compliant.

    The one ship that was inspected and had its fuel sampled at the port of Hull was found to be within the limit.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers she intends to extend to farmers in relation to the dredging of watercourses on their land.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 were laid before Parliament on 2 February. Subject to parliamentary approval, from April the Regulations will remove a number of low risk activities from the need for a flood defence consent permit from the Environment Agency, enabling it to focus on the highest risk activities. This includes allowing farmers to maintain ditches up to 1.5km long subject to a number of conditions.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The average days’ sickness absence per full time equivalent employed by DCMS during the last financial year was 2.0 days.

    The Civil Service takes a holistic approach to managing sick absence and improving wellbeing and we have focussed on specific actions to reduce the incidence of mental disorders, including stress related absence. This includes

    • early referral to occupational health experts, particularly for mental health, stress or musculoskeletal conditions,

    • early referral to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for CBT based counselling support for mental health issues,

    • workplace adjustments that help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening, whilst reducing the barriers to work for those affected by mental or physical impairments,

    • extensive training for managers and employees including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.

    Financial Year

    Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Proportion of total sick such sick leave was in the department

    Apr 14 – Mar 15

    1

    0.2%

    0.5%

    Apr 13 – Mar 14

    2

    0.5%

    0.9%

    Apr 12 – Mar 13

    3

    0.8%

    1.2%

    Apr 11 – Mar 12

    5

    1.1%

    2.1%

    Apr 10 – Mar 11

    6

    1.4%

    2.5%

    Background

    We have reported on the average sickness absence in the annual report (link) and do not specifically report on sickness absence due to stress.

    The DCMS sick absence data is low in comparison with the Civil Service average of 7.4 Average Working Days Lost. We do not have any evidence to know why this is. HR continues to remind all staff and managers of the importance of accurate and prompt recording on the HR system.

    Financial Year

    Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Department FTE

    Total sickness in department

    Percentage of staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absence

    Apr 14 – Mar 15

    1

    0.2%

    461

    203

    0.5%

    Apr 13 – Mar 14

    2

    0.5%

    381

    234

    0.9%

    Apr 12 – Mar 13

    3

    0.8%

    376

    259

    1.2%

    Apr 11 – Mar 12

    5

    1.1%

    457

    243

    2.1%

    Apr 10 – Mar 11

    6

    1.4%

    443

    242

    2.5%

    ¹Department FTE from DCMS Annual Report & Accounts 2010-11 and 2014-15

    “

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any ground investigation work has been carried out in Eddisbury constituency in relation to the High Speed 2 project.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No intrusive ground investigation work has been carried out at this stage. Some preparatory elements of ground investigation such as the study of available information and consultation with related stakeholders has been undertaken.

    Following a route decision in autumn 2016 HS2 Ltd will begin production of a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether elderly and disabled patents are being discharged from hospitals without adequate on-going care arrangements in place in order to free up beds for other hospital admissions.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No patient with on-going care and support needs should be discharged from hospital without appropriate arrangements for meeting those needs being put in place. We expect the National Health Service and local authorities to work together to ensure that patient safety and social care needs are taken into account when decisions are made to discharge patients from hospital.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the causes of regional variation in liver disease outcomes in England.

    David Mowat

    Public Health England (PHE) has developed and publishes liver disease profiles for all local authorities in England. The profiles provide support to local areas to understand liver disease and its risk factors in their area. They present key local statistics and highlight questions to ask locally about current action to prevent liver disease.

    The Local Authority Liver Disease Profiles demonstrate geographical variation in the main risk factors: alcohol, obesity, hepatitis B and C which explain some of the regional and local authority variations in outcome. Experts at PHE in these three areas regularly review these statistics and the evidence for intervention. The profiles demonstrate that there are widespread opportunities to reduce mortality from liver disease prevention.

    PHE is also updating the 2013 NHS Atlas of Variation in Healthcare for People with Liver Disease highlighting variations in risk factors, health services and outcomes.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the Education Funding Agency has spent to date on refurbishing the former East Ham Police Station; and how much of that sum was spent on demolition of the former accommodation for police officers.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department approved £599,470 for works to the East Ham Former Police Station of which £476,947 was for the demolition of the accommodation building at the rear of the site and the remainder was used for essential maintenance works to the Grade II listed building to ensure it was safe. The purchase of East Ham Former Police Station was completed on 4th February 2014.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the Euro-Atlantic integration process for Bosnia-Herzegovina, set out in the 2014 UN Security Council Resolution No. 2183.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government is a firm advocate of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Euro-Atlantic integration. The UK-Germany initiative, launched a year ago (and adopted by the EU), was designed to stimulate reform and energise BiH’s EU perspective. The entry into force of the EU-BiH Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 1 June 2015 marks an important initial step. On the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Government continues to encourage BiH to enhance its efforts to meet the requirements to proceed with its Membership Action Plan.

  • Paul Scully – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Scully – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Scully on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the plan for community pharmacists to access Summary Care Records; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is now working with stakeholders to develop guidance and the arrangements for deployment so that all community pharmacists in England have access to the Summary Care Record. As this continues to be rolled out, it will enable more pharmacies to provide increased clinical services, helping to reduce the burden on other health and social care providers.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has made of recent research suggesting that the eggs of older women can be rejuvenated through injections of mitochondria from other cells; what data collected from clinics the HFEA holds regarding the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, and what evidence it has received from (1) OvaScience, (2) Professor Simon Fishel, and (3) other sources, that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related exponential increases in oocyte aneuploidy; what published randomised trials the HFEA has been made aware of regarding the Augment technique, and what assessment it has made of those trials; and what assessment the HFEA has made of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advises that it does not hold data from clinics on the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, nor has it received evidence from OvaScience, Professor Simon Fishel or other sources that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related increases in oocyte chromosomal aneuploidy.

    The HFEA also advises that it has not been made aware of any published randomised trials regarding the Augment technique and has not made an assessment of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals. It is currently considering whether techniques, which involve addition of autologous mitochondria to eggs, would be legal in the United Kingdom (under the framework of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended). Part of this consideration involves considering the claims made for Augment by Ovascience.

    The HFEA has not received any formal applications for clinical use of the Augment technique, and has not made an assessment of the ruling by the US Food and Drugs Administration to which the Noble Lord refers.