The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted on the health benefits and risks of male circumcision.
George Freeman
The Department has not conducted or commissioned any specific research on the health effects of male circumcision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will take steps to ensure that the House of Commons Commission’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.
Tom Brake
The House of Commons procurement policies operate within the parameters set out by the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
The House has a Sustainable Purchasing Policy which, amongst other things, requires contracts that are particularly suitable for SMEs to be highlighted as so being, contracts to be divided into lots and processes to be as simple and proportionate as possible to encourage SMEs to participate in our competitions. Further, the policy requires contracts that are suitable for Social Enterprises to be identified at an early stage and that market engaged to ensure their participation.
More generally, the House supports British industry and agriculture by:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total value of their support to disabled people in developing countries.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK’s global leadership and commitment to disability inclusive development has been increasing. Through the Sustainable Development Goals, the promise to Leave No One Behind, and DFID’s Disability Framework, we have committed to promoting disability-inclusive international development through a twin-track approach. This means that, guided by our Framework, we aim to mainstream disability in all of our policies and programmes as well as supporting programmes that target disability specifically.
We do not currently track spend on disability inclusion, but a review of progress in December last year told us that we are doing more to support people with disabilities than ever before. Key disability-specific programming includes funding to important partners such as ADD International and the Disability Rights Fund, and Bridging the Gap – a research project to identify gaps between disability policy formulation and implementation. But people with disabilities also directly benefit from spending across our geographic and thematic portfolios. To make it increasingly possible to determine if programmes are reaching and successfully serving people with disabilities globally, the international development system must get better at disaggregating data by disability status. In response, DFID has produced guidance to inform programmes and policies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of people in receipt of the Carer’s Allowance and (b) the total cost of the Carer’s Allowance scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Justin Tomlinson
Benefit expenditure and the number of people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance at a Great Britain level are available in our published expenditure tables which are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the NHS has to make use of (a) information technology and (b) informatics to improve the delivery of healthcare.
George Freeman
The Government’s policy for using information technology to improve the delivery of healthcare and transform outcomes for patients and citizens was set out in the National Information Board Framework for Action: Personalised Heath and Care 2020, published in November 2014. The document is available from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personalised-health-and-care-2020
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the changes in leadership in the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency, whether they remain confident that the regulation of the siting, design and construction of the Geological Disposal Facility, and of other nuclear plant construction and commissioning, is and will continue to be sufficiently staffed and supported with the necessary level of expertise and resources to fulfil their supervisory responsibilities.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department meets regularly with the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency to review their current and planned resources to deliver their programme of work. Based on these agreed project and workforce plans, I am confident both regulators will continue to have the resources they need across all disciplines to carry out their current and planned future programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.26 of the National Audit Office report, Implementing reforms to civil legal aid reports, published in November 2014, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the number of litigants in person in family courts for cases involving contact with children on the quality of child arrangements orders made in families known to have a history of domestic abuse.
Caroline Dinenage
The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. Where domestic violence or abuse is admitted or proven, any child arrangements order put in place must protect the safety and wellbeing of the child and the parent with whom the child is living, and not expose them to the risk of further harm. In particular, the court must be satisfied that any contact ordered with a parent who has perpetrated violence or abuse is safe and in the best interests of the child.
Where the court concludes that direct contact is safe and beneficial for the child, it can impose conditions such as supervised contact to protect the child.
The Ministry of Justice has improved funding for support and advice projects led by advice, voluntary and the pro bono sector to assist litigants in person and provide them with the information and skills to effectively represent themselves in court. Further, a person who has evidence of domestic violence or abuse, or the risk of such violence or abuse, can still obtain legal aid for advice and legal representation in the family court for a protective order or to deal with other family matters, such as a child arrangements order. This is to make sure that actual or potential victims of domestic violence or abuse are given the protection they need to keep them and other family members, including children, safe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which of the (a) 108 structures funded by the EU or its member states in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and demolished by the Israeli authorities in 2015 and (b) 104 such structures demolished in the first six weeks of 2016 have been funded by her Department (i) directly and (ii) indirectly.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 14.5%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-04-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why school pupils self-harm, and what measures they propose to tackle that problem.
Lord Nash
Good mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for this Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential both academically and in terms of their mental wellbeing.
Self-harm occurs in relation to a wide range of personal problems, emotional turmoil and psychiatric disorders. The Department of Health commissions the MultiCentre Study on self-harm. This provides essential information on self-harm in the population to inform clinical responses and preventative activity. New data coming on stream through the Public Health Outcomes Framework and the forthcoming prevalence survey for children and young people will help to further improve this assessment and treatment.
To help schools to draw on specialist support where needed, we have contributed to a £3m joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to test single points of contact in schools and mental health services.
While teachers are not mental health specialists, schools can play an important role in building good mental wellbeing and supporting pupils where they have issues. We have taken a range of actions to help them to build a whole-school approach to good mental wellbeing. We funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE – which covers teaching about self-harm; training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them.
We have also recently revised and updated our blueprint for effective school-based counselling. This provides practical, evidence-based advice, informed by experts on how to ensure school based counselling services achieve the best outcomes for all students, including vulnerable children and young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the UK has provided in development aid to Bangladesh in each year since 2000; and what information her Department holds on what proportion of total development aid to Bangladesh UK aid represents in each of those years.
Mr Desmond Swayne
|
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
|
|
UK ODA (USD Millions) |
103 |
124 |
102 |
260 |
253 |
203 |
139 |
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
246 |
253 |
250 |
228 |
369 |
311 |
425 |
343 |
Total ODA from all donors to Bangladesh can be found here: https://stats.oecd.org/qwids/
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