Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with (a) disability charities and other third sector groups, (b) disabled people, their families and informal carers and (c) organisations led by disabled people on his Department’s planned white paper on improving support for disabled people and people with health conditions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The department regularly engages with disability charities and organisations, as well as disabled people and their families and carers, at both Ministerial and official level. We proactively seek stakeholder views on current health, care and employment services to understand what works and where improvements can be made through roundtables, focus groups and face-to-face meetings. These discussions inform and provide the opportunity to test our thinking as we being to develop proposals for the forthcoming White Paper, and we will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Universities UK on reviewing the Zellick guidelines.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government asked Universities UK to establish a taskforce to explore what more can be done by the higher education sector to prevent, and respond effectively, to incidents of violence and sexual harassment against women, hate crimes and other forms of harassment. The taskforce is expected to report its findings in the autumn.

    To date Universities UK have received 59 written representations from universities, plus additional evidence from a wide range of agencies and organisations.

    Universities UK has published an update of the recent taskforce meeting, which addressed the Zellick guidelines. The Government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report in due course.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Japanese and (b) South Korean counterparts on the development of nuclear weapons by those countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    While the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has discussed nuclear non-proliferation issues with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts this year, the specific issue raised in the question has not arisen: in joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as Non-Nuclear Weapons States, Japan and South Korea have undertaken legally binding commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons. Japan and the Republic of Korea have made clear public statements that strongly support the treaty as the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, to promote the safe and secure use of civil nuclear energy, and to pursue nuclear disarmament.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what tariff levels UK exports of goods and services would be subject to if the UK traded under WTO regulations with the remaining 27 countries of the EU, listed by category.

    Lord Price

    If the UK were to leave the EU without having negotiated a preferential trade deal, then under WTO rules neither the UK nor the EU could offer each other better market access than that offered to all other WTO members.

    The bound levels of access for goods and services into the EU under WTO rules are set out in the EU’s schedules of commitments and are publicly available on the WTO website.

    The bound levels of access for goods and services from the EU into the UK under WTO rules would be an issue for the government to consider in due course.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the NHS staff and recruitment needs for (a) the North East, (b) County Durham and (c) Easington constituency.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No estimate has been made by the Department. Health Education England (HEE), an independent arms-length body, has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead. The latest Workforce Plan for England, together with annexes detailing planned commissions by Local Education and Training Boards, is available at:

    https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/planning-commissioning/workforce-planning/commissioning-investment-plan-england-2016-17

    HEE is investing in the development of Local Workforce Action Boards (LWABs), which will provide strategic leadership in the development of local workforce strategies. HEE has been leading on the development of a LWAB for Cumbria and the North East. The LWAB will meet in October to agree priorities to support the local workforce.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on a link between social media and mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    Departmental Ministers meet with representatives from the Royal Colleges regularly and discuss a wide range of issues, including mental health. We know that social media may have an effect of the behaviour and attitudes of people in relation to mental health issues and we are specifically aware of its influence in relation to suicide and self-harm. We are working with the Samaritans and the National Suicide Prevention Alliance to better understand the effect of social media on suicide and self-harm prevention.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether opposition to the death penalty remains a key human rights priority for them, in the light of the UK’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our UN pledges renew our enduring commitment to promoting universal human rights. This includes work to abolish the death penalty. As I have said repeatedly in this House, this Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and we continue to call on all states to abolish it.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the What About YOUth survey, published 8 December 2015, what assessment he has made of the findings of that survey; and if he will commission further research on the health behaviour of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

    Jane Ellison

    We want all young people to have healthy lives, and reducing inequalities is central to our work. We have increased the National Health Service budget by £10 billion and introduced legal duties to ensure inequalities are taken into account when planning health services.

    Further research on the health of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people has not been commissioned. The data collected through What About YOUth survey is available on a dedicated tool on the Public Health England (PHE) Public Health Profiles webpage. Key indicators on this page can be viewed partitioned by different factors, such as sexuality, gender, ethnic groups and deprivation deciles.

    PHE has developed an action plan to address the health and wellbeing inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A strand of this work considers ways to reduce the risk of suicide experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and includes training for nurses in a range of health and community settings and in schools.

    The Department is aware of the difficulties experienced by some LGB patients in accessing primary care, in response to this the Department recently funded work by the Lesbian & Gay Foundation to develop a benchmarking tool to identify general practitioner surgeries that are fully committed to assuring that their surgery is fully accessible to lesbian, gay and bisexual people, including their young LGB patients.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the Department for International Development’s humanitarian aid package for Jordan is intended to meet the needs of Iraqi refugees in Jordan.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK’s humanitarian aid package for Jordan is not earmarked to a particular group of refugees, in line with international humanitarian principles of impartiality. Instead, it targets those most vulnerable and in urgent need, irrespective of nationality. In particular, DFID provides direct support to UNHCR’s protection mandate which serves all registered refugees and asylum seekers in Jordan, including the 53,756 registered Iraqis. DFID’s partners in Jordan subscribe to the same principles and operate an open door policy, providing health, protection services and basic needs support to all refugees, whether they be Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni or from elsewhere.

    DFID also support projects aimed at improving overall public services used by all people living in Jordan, such as water supply, sanitation services and solid waste management. As well as the fact that Iraqi refugees have been in Jordan longer and are therefore better established, it is important to note that the number being met with humanitarian services is lower due to the fact that there are nearly 12 registered Syrian refugees to every one registered Iraqi refugee.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 16 March (HL6672), whether the respective Codes of Conduct for (1) ministers, (2) officials, and (3) special advisers, allow them to draft letters to be signed by retired military officers or business people and then published in national newspapers.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The respective Codes of Conduct for Ministers, officials and special advisers make clear the role of these individuals in developing and implementing Government policies.