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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of road safety awareness educational programmes in reducing accidents.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Road safety education includes a range of interventions including educational courses and publicity campaigns.

    The Department funds the THINK! road safety publicity campaign. We evaluate the campaign to ensure it is effective, that we continually improve performance; and that we ultimately deliver value for money for the taxpayer.

    Prior to each campaign we set communication objectives and key performance indicators. We measure progress against these by running surveys with our target audience before and immediately after the campaign. We have seen positive shifts in key performance indicators for the majority of our campaigns. All of our recent campaign evaluation reports are published on gov.uk[1].

    In the long run, positive changes in key performance indicators on campaigns such as speeding, drink driving and seatbelts have correlated with fewer drivers exceeding the speed limit, fewer accidents involving drink driving and higher seatbelt wearing rates; and ultimately to fewer road casualties.

    Publicity campaigns are part of the solution to reduce road casualties and work best when used alongside enforcement and engineering interventions. Due to the multiple factors affecting casualties (weather, road conditions, traffic levels, the economy etc.) it is difficult to demonstrate a causal relationship with a specific intervention. However, in 2012 the department commissioned an independent agency to evaluate the impact drink drive campaigns have had on casualties. They used econometric modelling to estimate that over a 30 year period, drink drive communication campaigns have saved almost 2,000 lives and prevented over 10,000 serious injuries[2].

    In 2013, the Transport Research Laboratory published[3] a review and synthesis of evidence on the effectiveness of pre-driver education and training for those under 17 years of age which was undertaken for the Coalition Government. The findings showed that very few interventions had been robustly evaluated and that the evidence base around pre-driver interventions was weak. The Government recently commissioned an evidence base review, to build on existing work, to help us to understand the effectiveness of a range of pre- and post-test behavioural and technological interventions for young drivers. The Government is currently also funding an evaluation of the effectiveness of speed awareness courses.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/think-communication-activity

    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drink-drive-30-years-of-communication

    [3] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/249282/novice-driver-research-findings.pdf

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the average operating speed for High Speed trains to Europe.

    Claire Perry

    Eurostar operate passenger trains from London into Europe at speeds of up to 186 miles per hour.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the annual budget for the Extremism Analysis Unit is.

    Karen Bradley

    The Extremism Analysis Unit (EAU) has been established with a remit to analyse extremism in this country, and abroad where it has a direct impact on the UK and/or UK interests. The EAU is a cross-government resource, with government departments able to commission research and analysis.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to extend bowel cancer screening to all people aged 50 and older.

    Jane Ellison

    Bowel cancer screening by faecal occult blood testing for men and women aged 50 to 74 was recommended by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) in July 2003. Following the UK NSC’s recommendation, bowel cancer screening in England was initially offered to men and women aged 60 to 69 years old. The original programme in England only invited people in their 60s because the risk of bowel cancer increases with age, with over 80% of bowel cancers being diagnosed in people who are aged 60 or over. In the pilot, over three times more cancers were detected in people aged over 60 than under 60, and people in their 60s were most likely to complete a testing kit. In addition there were issues about endoscopy capacity. The programme has now been extended to men and women aged up to 74. Men and women aged over 74 can self-refer for screening every two years if they wish.

    In 2011, the UK NSC recommended that screening for bowel cancer using bowel scope screening could be offered. The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is currently rolling out Bowel Scope Screening (BSS), an additional one off examination for men and women aged 55 with the aim of detecting and removing any adenomas (polyps) at an early stage to prevent bowel cancer from developing. We are on track to achieve the commitment of all local BSS screening centres in England being operational by the end of 2016.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the recognition of Palestinian statehood; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government reserves the right to recognise a Palestinian state bilaterally at a moment of our choosing and when it can best help bring about peace. We are clear that we want to see the creation of a sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian State, living in peace and security, side by side with Israel. Only a negotiated settlement can achieve this.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission an independent inquiry into the role of (a) her Department and (b) ETS related to allegations of English Language Test fraud.

    James Brokenshire

    The investigation into the abuse of English language testing in 2014 revealed extremely serious, large scale, organised fraud and it is right that the Home Office took decisive action in respect of those against whom there was evidence of cheating. We are disappointed by the decision of the Upper Tribunal and, once we have the full determination, we will consider our next steps carefully, including an appeal of this decision.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-04-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will increase UK aid to Nigerian international development projects, in particular those affected by recent violence involving Fulani herdsmen.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is acutely aware of the human suffering caused by inter-communal violence between cattle herders and farmers in Nigeria. Reports of violence involving Fulani herdsmen have increased in recent weeks. The conflicts between herders and farmers are economic in nature and largely driven by competition over land and resources, which is exacerbated by population growth and climate change.

    DFID has set up the £39 million Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Programme, which works across various conflicts in Nigeria, including herder-farmer tensions. This programme is supporting a number of economic initiatives that bring cattle herder and farmer communities together to work on projects which provide people with livelihoods and better economic opportunities. The programme also enables communities to agree on rules for land and water use, and provide them with mediation skills to prevent violent disputes.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people who qualify for personal independence payments on the basis of their need of use of aids and appliances have arthritis.

    Justin Tomlinson

    For claimants with Arthritis who were awarded the Daily Living component of Personal Independence Payment between April 2013 and October 2015, 52% gained all of their points from Aids and Appliances.

    The source of the data is the PIP computer system. This is unpublished data and, as such, it does not meet the quality standard required for official statistics publication. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.

    Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Law Officers’ Departments have taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps the Law Officers’ Departments plan to take in the remainder of 2016.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including the Attorney General’s Office, and a wide range of other interested parties.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the level of funding made available to the Department of Health in the 2016 Autumn Statement to the level requested by the Chief Executive of NHS England.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Spending Review last year set out clear spending plans for the rest of the Parliament. The NHS will receive an additional £10 billion per annum more in real terms by 2020-21 than in 2014-15 which is £2bn more than what the NHS asked for. The Government is committed to delivering those plans.