The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal College of Midwives and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service on time limits for abortion.
Jane Ellison
No discussions have taken place with either organisation on this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-07-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Maritime Intelligence Centre has any command and control authority over assets available for security of UK territorial seas.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) facilitates information exchange between government departments and agencies. Command and control of assets is administered by the respective organisations that are represented in the NMIC.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will reform the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme to ensure that the surplus is used to benefit former mineworkers.
Jesse Norman
The Department cannot unilaterally amend the terms of the scheme, though we would be willing to consider proposals put forward by the Scheme Trustees. Scheme members have already benefitted from surpluses through increases in benefits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average household bill for water was in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) Enfield, (c) Greater London and (d) the UK in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2015.
Rory Stewart
Customers in Greater London are served by one water and sewerage company (Thames Water) and three water only companies (Affinity Water, Essex & Suffolk Water and Sutton & East Surrey Water). Customers of the water only companies receive sewerage services from Thames Water.
Customers in both the London Borough of Enfield and the Enfield North constituency receive water services from one of two companies, Affinity Water or Thames Water.
The following table sets out the average water and sewerage charges for each of the companies and for England and Wales in 2010 and 2015.
|
Company |
2010 |
2015 |
|
Affinity Water – Central region1 (water) |
£156 |
£172 |
|
Essex & Suffolk Water (water) |
£183 |
£229 |
|
Sutton & East Surrey Water (water) |
£162 |
£184 |
|
Thames Water (water) |
£189 |
£197 |
|
Thames Water (sewerage) |
£114 |
£171 |
|
England and Wales (water) |
£165 |
£182 |
|
England and Wales (sewerage) |
£174 |
£203 |
1 Affinity Water was established in 2012, through the purchase of Veolia Water.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department gives to mental health trusts on (a) reducing did not attend cases and (b) ensuring risk assessments are carried out when young people fail to attend.
Alistair Burt
NHS England has issued guidance through the Local Transformation Plans for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing: Guidance and Support for local areas (published August 2015) that states that services should set out a clear plan to transform the design and delivery of a local offer of services for children and young people with mental health needs in line with the Future in mind report.
Future in mind was clear that services should monitor attendance and actively follow up families and young people who miss appointments, and that it may be necessary to find alternative ways to engage the child, young person or family. The Local Transformation Plans present an opportunity to make a step change in how agencies support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, especially the most vulnerable. This includes those who – for whatever reason – find it more difficult to engage with traditional models of service delivery and would instead benefit from seeing a clinician in a less conventional setting. Missed appointments should not lead to a family or young person being discharged from services, but instead be considered as an indicator of need and actively followed up, where necessary finding alternative ways to engage the child, young person or family.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any restrictions on the supply of gas or electricity to Gaza, and if so, what representations have been made to the government of Israel by them or the EU on behalf of its member states.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Less than 50 percent of Gaza’s basic electricity needs are currently being met. This is a result of the limited capacity of the existing power lines from Israel (providing approximately 120 Mega Watts (MW) at present) and Egypt (approximately 32 MW), and of the Gaza power plant (60 MW). The plant is not run at full capacity because of damage sustained in past conflicts and restrictions on the amount of diesel allowed into Gaza. Officials at our embassy in Tel Aviv regularly urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on Gaza and to facilitate improvements in electricity infrastructure. On 10 September, during Israeli Prime Minister Mr Netanyahu’s visit to the UK, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), emphasised the need for Israel to do more to improve conditions in Gaza. They discussed electricity, as well as water and exports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the grant awarded to the organisation Action on Smoking and Health in the current financial year in the light of the announcement by the Cabinet Office on 6 February in relation to charity funding.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are set out in the grant award letters, including a specific clause in the grant award letter which makes explicit that the award has been made under the provisions of Section 64 and may not be used for lobbying.
ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at the grant monitoring meetings held between the Deputy Director of tobacco control and representatives from ASH as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any controls exist over the operation of unmanned ground vehicles (1) on highways, and (2) in other public spaces; whether controls exist over the use of such vehicles on pavements and other walkways, cycleways and bridleways; in the event of an accident or other event involving such a vehicle on a highway, who is responsible (a) for assessing responsibility, and (b) for paying any compensation that might be due; whether such vehicles must display information identifying the owner or controller; whether traffic police have any jurisdiction over such machines when being used on a highway; whether the police or other authorities have any powers to deal with such machines in the event of them causing a public nuisance; and whether insurance is required for the use of such machines.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
All vehicles, including connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), must be used in line with UK road traffic law. Failure to comply with UK law may well result in enforcement agencies taking action.
The Pathway to driverless cars: a regulatory review, published in February 2015, sets out how current laws apply to CAVs, and points to where the position is not clear and should be reviewed further. For example, chapter 13 deals with insurance, and Annex B looks at innovative personal transport.
In addition, to secure the safe development and introduction of CAVs in the UK, the Pathway sets out a number of action points. The government is working on these, including having published the Code of Practice for testing automated vehicles in July 2015, to ensure that British citizens and businesses will benefit from CAVs in the short and long term.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to introduce driving tests for drivers who have previously passed that test (a) who are over 70 year old and (b) every 20 years.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport considers that medical fitness and practical competence, not age, are the relevant factors in deciding if a driver can continue to hold a licence. The rules for drivers renewing a license at the age of 70 are designed to be fair and proportionate, and there are no plans to change them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times the Mental Capacity Act 2005 has been found to have been wrongly applied to exclude a relative of a resident from visiting a care home.
Alistair Burt
The information requested is not collected centrally.