Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he made of the potential merits of expanding the monitoring of healthcare-associated infections.

    Ben Gummer

    Public Health England undertakes monitoring of healthcare associated infections, which includes the mandatory healthcare associated infections surveillance system. These arrangements are regularly reviewed and changes introduced in 2015 include enhanced surveillance for very antibiotic resistant infections (carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae).

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to provide British pensioners living overseas with the same annual uprating of their state pension as British pensioners who are resident in the UK.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK state pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have bilateral agreements. There are no plans to change this.

    Not uprating where there is no legal requirement to do so frees up about £0.5 billion a year which can be used to fund Government priorities in this country.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Summer Diversity Internship Programme weekly training allowance is taxed.

    Matthew Hancock

    We have been working closely with the Civil Service Commission to provide a mechanism for fast tracking those who have been on the internship to the Fast Stream assessment centre, based on positive appraisal of the intern’s placement performance and completion of the initial internship selection testing.

    This initiative is therefore for interns who are successful during the internship programme and we are currently working through the implementation plan.

    In the last 5 years 778 have undertaken the programme (2011 – 73; 2012 – 115; 2013 – 161; 2014 – 173; 2015 – 256), with a further 300 anticipated this year. The estimated conversion rate into Fast Stream is 10-15%. Accurate tracking of success into Fast Stream will be achievable for 2016, using an updated applicant tracking approach.

    A number of criteria are used to measure socio-economic status, however the metric that is now used to designate lower socio-economic background is parental occupation (aligning with Office of National Statistics methodology). This approach is currently under review following a recent social mobility research study by the Bridge Group.

    This internship allowance is taxable and the amount of tax paid will depend on which tax code the intern is put on before they start.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department has allocated to fund support for victims of domestic abuse in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is providing £80 million of dedicated central government funding over the course of this Parliament to tackle violence against women and girls. In 2016/17 the Home Office will continue to fund a network of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs), Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) co-ordinators. We will continue to fund national helplines until 2020.

    From April 2017 until 2020, local domestic abuse service provision will be supported through a new Home Office VAWG Service Transformation Fund, as part of the £80 million of dedicated funding. Full details of the how the fund will be administered and the criteria for applications will be published in due course.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received from (a) Healthwatch England, (b) Healthwatch Enfield and (c) other patient groups on the decision by NHS Royal Free Foundation Trust to grant Google DeepMind access to NHS patient records.

    George Freeman

    The Department has received no representations from patient groups on this subject.

  • Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region to ensure that aid convoys are permitted and facilitated, and that humanitarian workers, journalists, and staff of relief and aid organisations are permitted entry into the region of Northern Syria and Rojava.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has raised the issue with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Presidential Office, and strongly encouraged the free movement of humanitarian aid. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and to do all we can to ensure the provision of humanitarian access.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the strategic military importance of Gibraltar to the UK and her allies.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 September 2016 to Question 45163.

    Our assessment of Gibraltar’s strategic importance is shared by our allies and partners, a number of whom make regular use of the military facilities there.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of foreign national offenders deported between July 2014 and August 2015 who returned to a country other than their country of nationality.

    James Brokenshire

    Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11080, that there had been 13 successful appeals, the additional data requested is not available. Such data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean these questions could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the European Regulation on a European Single Market for Electronic Communications on blocking access to child sexual abuse material online.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    My Department supports the blocking of access to child sexual abuse material by industry and we are actively seeking to ensure that all European regulation, including the electronic communications framework – which is currently under review – does not impede this. The Government’s primary concern during negotiations on the Connected Continent (or Telecoms Single Market) Regulations was that the Internet Watch Foundation’s (IWF) ability to block access to illegal images of child abuse was protected, and we are confident we have ensured this. Going forward, we will continue with our aim to ensure any future European regulation allows the blocking of such content.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Laos on the treatment of the Christian minority in that country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We raise human rights concerns on a regular basis with the Lao government both bilaterally and through multilateral fora. As part of Laos’ Universal Periodic Review process starting in January 2015, and the EU-Laos Human Rights Dialogue in November 2015, we raised concerns regarding restrictions on the right to freedom of religion or belief. We will continue to look for opportunities to work with the Lao government to implement its human rights obligations and commitments, including those regarding respect for the rights of religious minorities.