Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 28406, for what reasons the governments within the EU that support further political integration are not listed in that Answer.

    Mr David Lidington

    It is for other national governments to explain their own approaches to further European political integration. A government may, for example, be in favour of greater integration in some areas of policy but not in others. As I said in my responses to PQ 27033 and 28406, there is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices too. The Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016, makes clear that the Treaty references to an ‘ever closer union’ are “compatible with different paths of integration and do not compel all Member States to aim for a common destination”.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on expanding the Unduly Lenient Scheme; and if he will consult on any such changes before their introduction.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is planned that the Government’s childhood obesity strategy will include targets for industry to reduce levels of (a) fat and (b) salt in food and drink.

    Jane Ellison

    Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will set out what more can be done by all.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to impose an embargo on the sale of arms between the UK and Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. We do not believe that imposing a blanket arms embargo on Israel would promote the urgent progress towards the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which we want to see. We continue to monitor the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and take into account the latest circumstances when assessing licence applications. Israel, like any state, has the right to ensure its own security, as its citizens also have the right to live without fear of attack and we will continue to support Israel’s right to defend itself.

  • Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of proposed reductions in the level of community pharmacy funding on the support available for frail and elderly people to live independently in their own homes.

    David Mowat

    The Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered against the public sector equality duty, the family test and the relevant duties of my Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, under the National Health Service Act 2006.

    Our assessments include consideration of the potential impacts on the adequate provision of NHS pharmaceutical services, including the supply of medicines, access to NHS pharmaceutical services, supplementary hours, non-commissioned services, individuals with protected characteristics, impacts on other NHS services, health inequalities, individuals with restricted mobility and access to healthcare for deprived communities.

    An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

    Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. We believe these efficiencies can be made within community pharmacy without compromising the quality of services or public access to them.

    Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive. We are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared with others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    We want a clinically focussed community pharmacy service that is better integrated with primary care and public health in line with the Five Year Forward View. This will help relieve the pressure on general practitioners and accident and emergency departments, ensure better use of medicines and better patient outcomes, and contribute to delivering seven day health and care services.

    The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, Dr Keith Ridge has commissioned an independent review of community pharmacy clinical services. The review is being led by Richard Murray, Director of Policy at The King’s Fund. The final recommendations will be considered as part of the development of clinical and cost effective patient care by pharmacists and their teams.

    NHS England is also setting up a Pharmacy Integration Fund to support the development of clinical pharmacy practice in a wider range of primary care settings, resulting in a more integrated and effective NHS primary care patient pathway.

    The rollout of the additional 1,500 clinical pharmacists announced by NHS England will help to ease current pressures in general practice by working with patients who have long term conditions and others with multiple medications. Having a pharmacist on site will mean that patients who receive care from their general practice will be able to benefit from the expertise in medicines that these pharmacists provide.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of space in prisons is used for educational purposes.

    Andrew Selous

    Education is embedded in a wide range of regime activities which occur within a prison including classrooms, libraries and industries. No data is held centrally on the proportion of space at each prison (and this would incur disproportionate cost to calculate).

    The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 8th September a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates. The review will examine the scope, quality and effectiveness of current provision. It will consider the scope and range of the current curricula and identify the most effective teaching and delivery models. Stakeholders are being consulted and a Call for Evidence has been issued. A copy of the terms of reference are lodged in the library of the House and at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-prison-education-terms-of-reference

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the announcement by the Prime Minister at the UN climate change conference in Paris on 30 November, how much from the public purse has been allocated to Mission Innovation to accelerate clean energy investment and innovation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government set out plans in the Spending Review to invest more in clean energy research and development over the next five years as part of Mission Innovation. By 2020/21 we will be spending in excess of £400m under Mission Innovation.

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

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 8 January (HL4766), what is their assessment of the adequacy of railway links between London and South-West England.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The National Infrastructure Commission is not currently undertaking work on railway links between London and South West England.

    Network Rail assessed the adequacy of the rail links between London and the South West as part of the rail industry’s Long Term Planning Process. The Western & Wessex Route Studies form part of this process and develop options for future services and for investment in the rail network up to 2043.

    The options set out in the Route Studies are based on a regional and route based interpretation of the outputs and demand forecasts from previous market studies.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons the Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion and Belief was not re-established after the 2015 General Election; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    Since the General Election, we have adopted a new strategic approach to human rights, refocusing our work around three themes: democratic values and the rule of law; strengthening the rules-based international system; and human rights for a stable world. Our work on freedom of religion or belief is an integral part of each of these themes.

    The Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, as with our other former thematic human rights advisory groups, provided important contributions to our policy and activities. Under our new approach, our thematic advisory groups remain part of the expert constituency to which we turn when designing and delivering human rights initiatives. For example, we involved members of the former Advisory Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief in a workshop on Christians in the Middle East that we held in November 2015. We put forward another expert to form part of the Independent Review Panel of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund. We continue to convene regular meetings of the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights to discuss a range of topics of interest to its members.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 26819, what the job titles are of those people in receipt of paid car allowances.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England advises us that there are seven post holders in receipt of a car user allowance:

    – Regional Director

    – Director of Commissioning Operations

    – Director of National Stakeholders – Primary Care Support

    – Managing Partner

    – Locality Director

    – Head of Health and Justice

    – Head of Primary Care Policy and Contracts

    The Care Quality Commission advises that the Occupational Car User Allowance is paid to eligible staff in the following roles who use their personal vehicle to visit services and commissioners in order to undertake regulatory decision making.

    ― Children’s Services Inspector

    ― Children’s Services Team Leader

    ― Clinical Specialist

    ― Controlled Drugs Officer

    ― Corporate Provider Compliance Inspector

    ― Corporate Provider Compliance Manager

    ― Enforcement Advisor

    ― Health and Justice Inspector

    ― Health and Justice Manager

    ― Inspector

    ― Inspection Manager

    ― Integrated Care Manager

    ― Medicines Inspector

    ― Mental Health Act Reviewer

    ― National Safeguarding Advisor

    ― National Pharmacy Manager

    ― Pharmacist Inspector

    ― Pharmacist Specialist

    ― Registration Inspector

    ― Registration Manager

    One Deputy Chief Inspector also currently receives a car allowance.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advises that the five employees receiving a car allowance all have the job title of Implementation consultant.