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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 223119, how many times the Minister-led working group set up to identify evidence of poor practice in the park homes sector has met to date; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    The working group held its first meeting on 10 February and agreed its terms of reference and membership. The next meeting will be held in March.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to adopt the measures contained in the Football Governance Bill.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    In recent years, the football authorities have introduced greater independence to the FA’s main Board, stricter rules around club ownership, and improved financial transparency and reporting rules to ensure clubs are sustainably run.

    Government is allowing the football authorities more time to make the necessary reforms to the game themselves

  • Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which were the 10 jurisdictions into which closed bank accounts held in Switzerland by United Kingdom residents were transferred according to information provided to them by the Swiss National Bank.

    Lord Deighton

    HL4893

    Under the Swiss Agreement HMRC received a list of the top 10 destinations to where funds were moved in the period before the Agreement came into force. They are using this information together with information from compliance work to follow the proceeds of tax evasion.

    As with Lichtenstein agreement signed in 2009, HMRC is legally restricted by the Agreement’s terms from publishing the information provided.

    HL4896

    Where there is evidence of collusion in tax evasion or other wrongdoing, the relevant law enforcement agency would assess that evidence and decide whether to pursue an investigation.

    HMRC received the data from the French in April 2010 under very strict international treaty conditions, which limited its use to tax purposes only and prevented HMRC from sharing the data with other law enforcement authorities for investigating other potential offences.

    HMRC first asked for the conditions to be relaxed in August 2010. Following a number of more recent representations, the French authorities gave written confirmation on 23 February 2015 that they were lifting restrictions on the use and sharing of the data with other law enforcement agencies and regulators for the purpose of investigating criminal offences.

    As a result, HMRC has recently held a multi-agency meeting to discuss how the stolen HSBC Suisse data can be shared with them.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of providing Phase two training for the Royal Air Force Music Services at the Headquarters Music Services, Northolt in 2013-14.

    Anna Soubry

    The requested detail for Financial Year 2013-14 is provided below:

    Number of personnel who

    completed Phase Two training

    Cost of providing Phase

    Two training

    Royal Marines School

    of Music (Portsmouth)

    22

    Information is not held

    centrally and could be

    provided only at

    disproportionate cost

    Royal Military School of Music (Army, Kneller Hall)

    66

    £2.8 million (approx)

    No personnel undertook phase two training with the RAF Music Services. The RAF recruits are fully trained musicians who undertake a rigorous audition process and are only admitted once their playing ability is proven.

  • Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2015 to Question 222434, what consideration his Department has given to deployment of the UK Reapers in storage for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance in Iraq.

    Mr Mark Francois

    As with all platforms and capabilities not deployed on operations, the deployment of additional Reaper aircraft currently in storage in the UK is kept under constant review.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to give the responsibility for traffic speed enforcement on roads with a 30mph limit to local authorities.

    Baroness Kramer

    Her Majesty’s Government does not plan to give responsibility for traffic speed enforcement to the local authorities. These decisions on where to apply speed limits are taken by local authorities in conjunction with the police force for the area in question, whose role it is to properly enforce these.

  • Gregory Barker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Gregory Barker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Barker on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions he or his officials have had with their counterparts in UK Trade & Investment, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the Bangalore/Mumbai Economic Corridor; what recent progress has been made on UK participation in that project; and if he will make a statement.

    Amber Rudd

    DECC Ministers and officials meet regularly with Ministers and officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UKTI to discuss a range of issues. Her Majesty’s Government continues to engage with India on the Bangalore/Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC). BMEC was most recently discussed on 11 February in a meeting between Chief Executive of UKTI, Dominic Jermey, and Indian Commerce Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. We are looking forward to seeing the outcome of the BMEC perspective plan.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s report, Hepatitis C in the UK, published in July 2014, what steps he is taking to approve for use new treatments for people with hepatitis C-related liver damage.

    George Freeman

    The Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to clinically and cost effective treatments, including those for hepatitis C.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for providing advice to the National Health Service on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of health technologies.

    NICE is currently appraising a number of new drugs for use in the treatment of hepatitis C under its technology appraisal process. These are shown in the following table.

    Drug/indication

    Expected date of final guidance

    sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) for treating chronic hepatitis C

    February 2015

    simeprevir (Olysio) for treating genotype 1 or 4 chronic hepatitis C

    February 2015

    ledipasvir-sofosbuvir (Harvoni) for treating chronic hepatitis C

    June 2015

    daclatasvir (Daklinza) for treating chronic hepatitis C

    August 2015

    ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (Viekirax) with or without dasabuvir (Exviera) for treating chronic hepatitis C

    September 2015

    More generally, we have launched an Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review of the pathways for the development, assessment, and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technology. This review will consider how to speed up access for NHS patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices.

    The review will examine the pathway from ‘first in human’ trials, through licensing and health technology appraisal, to commissioning and clinical practice. It will set out both short and long-term options for action by Government and relevant bodies, including NICE, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS England, and mark a major contribution to the policy debate.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the rates of people being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

    Norman Lamb

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance Multiple sclerosis: management of multiple sclerosis in primary and secondary care, updated in October 2014, states that around 100,000 people in the United Kingdom have multiple sclerosis (MS). Estimates from studies on annual incidence are more uncertain, and vary between 2,500 and 6,000 newly diagnosed cases each year. About 85 out of 100 people with MS have relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) where periods of stability (remission) are followed by episodes when there are exacerbations of symptoms (relapses). About 10 to 15 out of 100 people with MS have primary progressive MS where symptoms gradually develop and worsen over time from the start, without ever experiencing relapses and remissions.

    The guidance sets out a range of initial assessments a clinician should make including testing of vision and blood tests before referral to a consultant neurologist who can confirm or exclude a diagnosis of MS, subject to investigation. The guidance makes a range of recommendations on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of MS. NICE has recommended a number of drugs for the treatment of MS and is currently appraising Nerventra (laquinimod) for RRMS and ilenya (fingolimod) for primary-progressive MS. In addition over 18,000 patients have benefitted from disease-modifying treatments through the MS risk sharing scheme, established by the Department in 2002.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) chief constables and (b) organisations dealing with violence against women on the training requirements for police officers when coercive control becomes a criminal offence; and if she will make a statement.

    Lynne Featherstone

    We are committed to ensuring the police and other frontline agencies have the
    tools they need to respond effectively to domestic abuse. That is why on 18
    December, the Home Secretary announced her intention to create a specific
    offence of domestic abuse.

    The offence will not come into force until frontline agencies are properly
    trained to operate it effectively. An implementation plan, which will consider
    funding issues, is currently being developed with the police and College of
    Policing. The College is working with CAADA (Co-ordinated Action Against
    Domestic Abuse) to pilot an intensive programme of training including domestic
    abuse and coercive control. An evaluation will be carried out following the
    pilot to ensure that the training will make a significant contribution to long
    term improvements to policing of domestic abuse and will be an important factor
    in driving a culture change in the police so that domestic abuse is treated as
    the serious crime that it is.

    The new offence of ‘coercive and controlling behaviour’, as well as the wider
    issue of training for police officers on domestic abuse, has been discussed
    at the National Oversight Group on domestic abuse, established and chaired by
    the Home Secretary. The purpose of the group is to implement and monitor activity
    against the recommendations coming out of HMIC’s review of domestic abuse and includes
    both Chief Constable and Third Sector representation.