Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lady Hermon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lady Hermon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress towards the establishment of a government in Libya; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We welcomed the announcement on 8 October by UN Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino Léon, of details of the final political settlement. A political settlement remains the best way to create the environment in which the Government of National Accord can bring peace and security to the Libyan people, regenerate the Libyan economy, and effectively tackle the terrorist threat. It is therefore disappointing that the House of Representatives failed to take a decision on the political agreement on 19 October. We will continue to urge all parties to the talks to seize this moment by endorsing and signing the political agreement as soon as possible, and to quickly realise the establishment of a Government of National Accord.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the quality of palliative care.

    Ben Gummer

    This Government is committed to improving the quality of palliative care. Earlier this year, the Review of Choice in End of Life Care made a number of recommendations on how to enable greater choice and improve quality in palliative and end of life care nationally, including on the provision of out-of-hour palliative care services.

    We agree with the vision set out by the Review and are working with NHS England and others to see how this can best be achieved. We intend to respond to the Review recommendations in due course.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (a) children and (b) adults meet NICE guidance in Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency.

    Alistair Burt

    In general NHS England is required to assess the performance of each clinical commissioning group (CCG) to ensure that CCGs are commissioning safe, high quality and cost effective services, to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Under the Health and Social Care Act (2012), NHS England makes an annual assessment of CCGs each financial year and publishes a summary report. The Secretary of State for Health keeps NHS England’s performance in discharging its functions under review, which includes NHS England’s assurance of CCGs. The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to CCGs where there is good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and to those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. The National Autism Programme Board will monitor reported progress from NHS England against the commitments in the Autism strategy including the implementation of NICE guidance.

    Newcastle Gateshead CCG is investing in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to provide improved services for adults with autism with an initial focus to reduce waiting times in line with NICE guidelines and then for further improvement to be made in the core service. Within 18-24 months the intention is for the autism pathway to be embedded in mainstream services with the addition of a specialist autism service which will provide training, support, liaison and assess more complex cases. By the end of this year, it is expected that all children’s services will have reached a 95% target for all referralsto be assessed and in treatment within 12 weeks and for 70% of referrals to be assessed and in treatment within six weeks.

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Colleen Fletcher – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account she has taken of the introduction of a dedicated specialist police line for professionals to report highly sensitive information about cases of known FGM under the Serious Crime Act 2015.

    Karen Bradley

    A mandatory reporting duty for regulated health and social care professionals and teachers will come into force at the end of October. We recently published guidance to support its introduction.

    The guidance sets out that reports can be made using the 101 service. The Government has opted to recommend the use of an existing cost effective, simple and clear reporting route for professionals rather than introduce a dedicated specialist police line. Calls to 101 are answered by trained police officers and staff in the control room of the local police force. All 101 call handlers are fully trained to handle all calls received and specific call-handling instructions on FGM will be issued to them by the National Policing Lead before the duty comes into force. Upon receipt of a report, the police will record the information and initiate a multi-agency response in line with local safeguarding arrangements. Police forces have responsibilities regarding the management of information, including a statutory responsibility to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.

    The College of Policing will also shortly update its Authorised Professional Practice Guidance on FGM with information and advice on the mandatory reporting duty.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to coordinate development and environmental sustainability agendas.

    Grant Shapps

    The new Global Goals provide a strong new framework for sustainable growth and poverty reduction, explicitly linking the development and environmental sustainability agendas. DFID is integrating environmental sustainability through development policy, research and investment, including investment of Climate Finance via the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF) which has helped 15 million poor and vulnerable people adapt to the effects of climate change and helped 2.6 million people to access to clean energy.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of global shipping tonnage was registered in the UK in each of the last five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The proportion of global shipping gross tonnage (GT) registered in the UK in each of the last five years is shown below:

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015 to July 2015

    World Fleet (million GT)

    959.2

    1036

    1094

    1134

    1175

    1193.0

    UK Fleet (million GT)

    17.5

    17.9

    17.6

    15.1

    13.8

    14.2

    UK % of World Fleet

    1.8%

    1.7%

    1.6%

    1.3%

    1.2%

    1.2%

    These figures are for ships over 100GT. Figures for the size of the world fleet are not recorded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and come from Clarksons.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people on the autism spectrum are in full-time employment; and what steps the Government is taking to support people on the autism spectrum into stable and well-paid employment.

    Priti Patel

    Government does not collect data specifically on employment rates for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC).

    The Government is acting to raise awareness regarding employment of people with autism and to support them to take up employment. The Government’s Autism Strategy, and the updated Statutory Guidance published in March 2015, sets out in detail how Government will support the autism agenda nationally.

    The Autism Strategy can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/think-autism-an-update-to-the-government-adult-autism-strategy

    The Statutory Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-autism-strategy-statutory-guidance

    “

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the sale of exotic animals as pets in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Existing legislation including the Pet Animals Act 1951, which regulates animals sold as pets, and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it an offence to fail to protect the welfare of animals, provide a number of important safeguards for exotic animals sold as pets. Defra is currently reviewing legislation on licensing animal activities, including the 1951 Act, and will shortly be consulting publicly on a set of proposals to make the licensing system more effective.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the funding of free school meals for infants schools will be protected in the forthcoming spending review.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The continuation of universal infant free school meals was a commitment in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto.

    The government is currently conducting a Spending Review across all of its programmes.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much surplus land owned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its agencies they estimate is suitable for building new houses on; how much has been released in each year since 2010–11; and how much they expect to release in (1) the current year, and (2) each year to 2020–21.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    During the last Parliament, the Government exceeded its ambition to release surplus land with capacity for 100,000 homes. The housing capacity of the land released by Government Departments and their arms length bodies is set out in the attached table.

    Over this Parliament, the Government is committed to releasing surplus public sector land with capacity for up to 150,000 homes by 2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government is working with Departments to review their land holdings in order to identify suitable surplus public sector and finalise disposal plans for this Parliament.