The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Prime Minister, under which conditions he can order the killing of a UK citizen resident abroad.
Mr David Cameron
The Government will always act in defence of the UK and in accordance with our legal obligations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff are employed by Network Rail to deal with contractual interface issues.
Claire Perry
Network Rail has 68 positions based across its eight routes with various responsibilities for managing commercial and regulated relationships with industry customers (the various operators). These roles are important in ensuring effective partnerships between Network Rail and the wider industry in order to meet the needs of passengers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes and procedures are in place when benefit claimants report having suicidal thoughts.
Priti Patel
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes seriously any declarations of intention to attempt suicide or self harm that are made by its customers. There is a clear, detailed action plan that staff must follow if a customer declares an intention to kill or harm themselves. DWP also provides guidance to help its staff deal with these incidents. The policy, procedures and guidance are reviewed regularly to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives and to identify areas for improvement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what basis his Department took the decision to remove from the NHS Constitution the phrase ‘psychological therapies’ from the drugs and treatments that have been recommended by NICE; and what discussions his Department has had with NICE on steps to address the lack of parity in the way interventions for mental and physical health are addressed.
Alistair Burt
There has never been a specific reference to psychological therapies in the NHS Constitution.
For the most recent update, we did consult on whether to include a right to psychological therapies, as part of the wider right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). However, the right to drugs and treatments reflects the legal funding requirement that applies to interventions recommended by NICE technology appraisal guidance. NICE has not been asked to undertake a technical appraisal of psychological therapies, so we decided that the most sensible outcome was to not include the phrase “psychological therapies” in the Constitution as it would otherwise risk confusion.
There have been no specific discussions with NICE on parity of mental and physical health interventions. The majority of new drugs and significant license extensions, including for mental health conditions, are referred to NICE for the development of technology appraisal guidance. Ifin the future psychological therapies are recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance and consequently mandated for use in the NHS, we will consider consulting once again on including a right to psychological therapies within the Constitution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in the UK are currently in possession of Security Industry Authority licences; and how many such licences were obtained since January 2010.
Mike Penning
There are currently 326,144 individuals who hold Security Industry Authority licences. Since 2010, 765,022 licences have been issued.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by his Department were in 2014; and to whom such payments were made.
Mr Shailesh Vara
It would incur disproportionate cost to obtain this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will experience an increase in the effect of noise as a result of the current plan to modernise London’s airspace; what assessment his Department has made of the geographical extent of that increase; and what effect the proposed Heathrow expansion would have on those estimates.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government has not undertaken any such an assessments.
Proposals for airspace change in the UK are subject to the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Airspace Change Process. A key part of this process is the requirement for airspace change sponsors to consider the potential noise impacts of their proposal and to consult those who may be affected. The CAA takes full account of the potential noise impact when making its decision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Merriman on 2015-10-12.
To ask the Attorney General, how many times the Law Officers have referred a criminal sentence to the Court of Appeal for review because it was felt to be unduly lenient during the last twelve months.
Jeremy Wright
In the year to 31st December 2014, the Law Officers personally considered 469 cases and referred 128 offenders to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. 86% of those offenders had their sentences increased, which included some of the most serious violent and sexual offences, including murder, rape and sexual assault. The full statistics for 2015 will be published early next year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what advice the Government has received on Government intervention in the steelworks in Redcar and European Community state aid rules; and what discussions his Department has had on this issue.
Anna Soubry
I received advice from Departmental officials on the legality of supporting a steel company in difficulty. The state aid rules on giving rescue and restructuring aid to steel companies are clear and all such interventions are prohibited.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Government has spent on promoting its statement of principles for online retailers.
Nick Boles
None, the Government published the UK wide Statement of Principles on Gov.UK. These endorse the principles drawn up by Citizens Advice Scotland, Citizens Advice and the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland. The statement of principles has been promoted by those organisations to both retailers and consumers and a copy placed on their websites.