The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) mortgages, (b) leaseholds and (c) properties overall are registered with the Land Registry in (i) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency and (ii) London.
Anna Soubry
The information will take time to collate. I will place this in the Libraries of the House as soon as the information is available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which individuals and organisations his Department is consulting to inform the life chances strategy.
Priti Patel
As is customary in the development of any Strategy, we have engaged in discussions with a range of organisations and individual experts as we develop the Life Chances Strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote the Fast Track Giant Cell Arteritis pathway piloted by Southend University Hospital.
David Mowat
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for the provision of services for people with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Whilst it would not be appropriate for NHS England to direct CCGs to adopt a particular clinical pathway, it continues to ensure that the innovative approach developed at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (FT) is shared and made available to clinicians.
There are a number of clinical guidelines that are available to support the prompt diagnosis and referral of patients with suspected GCA, including one produced by the Royal College of Physicians, which Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta, who developed the GCA pathway at Southend University Hospital NHS FT, helped to produce. This guidance provides a framework for disease assessment, immediate treatment and referral to specialist care. Furthermore, both the British Society for Rheumatology and the British Health Professionals in Rheumatology published guidelines on the management of polymyalgia rheumatica, a related condition, for general practitioners and rheumatologists. These encourage the prompt diagnosis and urgent management of GCA, helping to minimise GCA related vision loss.
The Specialised Rheumatology Clinical Reference Group at NHS England has developed proposals to establish local rheumatology networks. These are being implemented over a three year period to support consistent access to clinically effective therapies and to share good and innovative practice across the country. In addition, NHS England’s innovation team has invited Professor Dasgupta to contribute to the NHS Innovation Exchange Portal to ensure that this knowledge is shared.
On 24 June 2016, NHS England recently facilitated a webinar presented by Professor Dasgupta, which aimed to show how the fast-track pathway has significantly reduced the number of patients suffering sight-loss as an avoidable complication of GCA and, in addition, presents a case that this model is cost-saving, results in an increased patient quality of life, and successfully reduces the time to diagnosis in line with established clinical guidelines. NHS England promoted the webinar across the musculoskeletal community as well as to CCGs and patient groups through a wide range of communications channels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the humanitarian situation in (a) Haiti, (b) Jamaica, (c) Cuba and (d) the Bahamas caused by hurricane Matthew.
Rory Stewart
The UK is committing up to £5 million of initial support to trusted UN, Red Cross and NGO partners to help thousands of people in Haiti affected by Hurricane Matthew. DFID prepositioned aid in Haiti to better prepare the country for natural disasters, and has a team in Haiti working with international partners and the Government of Haiti to address the humanitarian situation.
In Jamaica, no significant humanitarian need has been identified. In respect of Cuba, the Department is working closely with the International Federation of the Red Cross to ascertain their understanding of needs and potential response plans.
The Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office deployed the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessel Wave Knight to the Bahamas to provide aerial reconnaissance and support in the immediate aftermath of Matthew’s impact. The Department for International Development is working with the British Red Cross to deepen our understanding of the humanitarian situation in the Bahamas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the referrals made by the NSPCC human trafficking and modern slavery helpline between July 2014 and June 2015 were made to the police.
Karen Bradley
The NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline was launched in July 2014, as part of a wider awareness-raising campaign, to better support potential victims of modern slavery. For the period July 2014 to July 2015, £50,000 was made available to the NSPCC to run the modern slavery helpline. To support the launch of the helpline, training was provided by existing staff in the NSPCC child trafficking advice centre, the Metropolitan police’s human trafficking unit and the Modern Slavery Unit to NSPCC call-handlers at zero cost.
The NSPCC helpline routinely records the number of contacts made each month, how they are made, and by whom. The helpline also records the gender, age and nationality of potential victims, where that information is known or presumed. Between 31 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 the NSPCC modern slavery helpline received, in total, 849 contacts. These were comprised of 491 referrals, 107 advice cases and 251 enquiries. During the period 31 July 2014 to 31 July 2015 the helpline received a total of 57 contacts from potential victims themselves and in that same period the NSPCC made 272 referrals to the police. The NSPCC does not hold data on the number of contacts referred to the helpline by the police and other agencies that were subsequently referred back to those agencies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
My Special Adviser has accompanied me on four overseas visits since May 2015; three official visits to Dublin and one official visit to the USA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people of each gender work in her Department.
Mr Desmond Swayne
DFID provides quarterly reports to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The information provided at 31 December was as follows:
|
Gender |
Headcount |
|
Male |
914 |
|
Female |
1152 |
|
Total |
2066 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the contribution of the Employment Minister at 1 February 2016 Official Report: column 638, if he will make it his policy to ensure that all individuals receiving dialysis and in-work qualify for personal independence payment.
Justin Tomlinson
We have no plans to do so. Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is based on the effects of disability on a person’s life and not on any particular or specific disability, illness or treatment received. The PIP assessment is designed to treat all health conditions and impairments fairly, including for those with renal or kidney disease. If someone is found to be entitled to PIP they can continue to receive the benefit whether they are in or out of work.
The Government provides a range of employment support for disabled people or people with health conditions that affect the way they work, such as: Access to Work, which offers financial awards to pay for additional support beyond an employer’s statutory duty to make reasonable adjustments; Work Choice, which provides tailored support to help unemployed disabled people enter and retain work; and Specialist Employability Support, which focuses on helping disabled people who need intensive, specialist support to either enter work or engage in employment related courses or activities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they attach to acquiring and deploying autonomous underwater vehicles, and for what purposes they plan to use those vessels.
Earl Howe
The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.
It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of non-natural deaths (a) in police custody and (b) on the prison estate.
Mike Penning
Every death in police custody and on the prison estate is a tragedy and this is a priority area for the Government.
The Ministerial Council for Deaths in Custody looks at this issue across Government. The Council considers what lessons can be learnt following a death in custody and the development of a clear and robust legislative and policy framework to help prevent deaths in any state custody setting.
The Home Secretary announced a major review into deaths in police custody on 23 July. This review is being led by Dame Elish Angiolini who is working closely with victims, families and the police. At its heart will be the experience of the families of those who have died in custody. The review is scheduled to report in the summer of 2016. My officials also work closely with police forces, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the National Offender Management Service and other partners to take action to minimise the risks to detainees and prevent deaths from occurring in custody environments. Police forces are required to refer all matters concerning deaths in police custody to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who will decide whether the matter should be investigated and, if so, what form that investigation should take.
All deaths in prison are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) and a Coroner’s inquest. The Ministry of Justice works hard to learn lessons from each death, and has accepted and acted on the vast majority of recommendations from recent investigations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves, and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has put in place additional resources to undertake this safer custody work.
Health partners are engaged in supporting all prisoners’ physical and mental health and wellbeing, and play an important role in the identification and management of prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide.
On 17 December 2015 the Government published its response to the Harris Review into the deaths in custody of young adults and reaffirmed its commitment to reducing the levels of self-harm and self-inflicted deaths in custody.
NOMS has an extensive programme of work aimed at preventing self-inflicted deaths and reducing levels of self-harm.