Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effects on rural communities of disbursements from the community transport minibus fund.

    Mr Patrick McLoughlin

    The Community Transport Minibus Fund will provide over 300 organisations with a new minibus so that they can continue to provide vital services to help elderly residents, people with learning and physical disabilities and those who do not have access to a commercial bus service.

    Approximately one third of the organisations obtaining vehicles through the Fund are based in rural areas.

  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis will be made available on the NHS to people who have (a) been raped and (b) had underage sex.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has recently announced that it would make available up to £2 million over two years to enable access for high risk individuals through early implementer test sites. NHS England will work with Public Health England and the Department to confirm the criteria for patient access and assessment of expressions of interest from local authority areas to confirm successful sites. The criteria which will be used to determine the locations of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Test Sites have not yet been established.

    PrEP is an intervention in advance of sexual exposure, and therefore is not relevant for rape victims who may require post exposure prophylaxis after clinical assessment. With regard to those having underage sex, eligibility for treatment through test sites will depend on the clinical assessment of risk undertaken.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35770, what technical and practical barriers will prevent the Electoral Commission implementing a registration look-up tool before the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    As required by legislation, all applications to register to vote are assessed by Local Authority Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). There are around 360 EROs across the UK. EROs manage and maintain separate electoral registers for their areas on a variety of different software platforms. A national registration look-up tool would require access to all of these locally held and owned electoral registers, and, if it required the creation of a central national database, could require legislative changes and raise significant data protection concerns.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Department of Health’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England, published in March 2013, what steps they have taken to ensure that local areas know of all professionals who are part of their sexual health workforce, and that those individuals have received appropriate training.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is the responsibility of local authorities and clinical commissioning groups to commission appropriate services and for providers to ensure that their staff are appropriately trained to meet the needs of their local population.

    The Government has also mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service in England. In doing so, HEE has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas.

  • Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children subject to immigration control are not separated from their family or guardian during the process unless there are safeguarding or welfare concerns.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    For immigration purposes children may only be separated from their parents where it is necessary and proportionate to do so and after having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the children’s welfare.

    Decisions on family separations are taken in line with published guidance in the Home Office Enforcement Instructions and Guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-actions

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of codes of conduct protecting officers of local authorities from bullying and intimidation.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Bullying and intimidation are serious matters and all employers, including local authorities, should have in place arrangements to ensure employees can safely report this behaviour, including by those in a senior position.

    My Department does not collect information about incidents of bullying or intimidation of local authority staff, nor have we made any assessment of council codes of conduct to protect officers from such behaviour.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 will affect the level of funding for flood defences up to 2019-20.

    Rory Stewart

    In the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 we reiterated our commitment to invest £2.3 billion in more than 1,500 projects by 2021. This funding will help better protect 300,000 homes. We also announced our commitment to protect flood maintenance spending in real terms over this Parliament.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 15 December 2014 to Question 218111, what conclusions were reached by the Taskforce of business representations and government departments established to access how to limit the negative impact on business and jobs of the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal of 4 November 2014 in the case Bear Scotland and over v Mr David Fulton and others.

    Nick Boles

    The previous Government involved the Holiday Pay Task Force in discussions leading to the introduction of the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014. These regulations were introduced to limit backdated holiday pay claims to two years and have applied to Employment Tribunal claims for unlawful deductions from wages made on or since 1 July 2015. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) believes that the regulations are helping to limit the negative impact on business of the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Bear Scotland.

    BIS is continuing to monitor the impact of this and other court decisions relating to holiday pay. We regularly discuss the situation with a wide range of interested parties.

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the health benefits of cranberries and their role in preventing the incidence of urinary tract infections in women and children; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.

    The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.

    A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-03-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he intends to answer the letter dated 12 January 2016 from the Right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms S. Lyons, transferred by the Department for Work and Pensions.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HMRC officials are looking into this case and the Right hon. Member will receive a reply in due course.