The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons ministerial returns for his Department for quarters two and three of 2014 have not yet been published.
Kris Hopkins
Updated detail of Ministerial hospitality, overseas travel and meetings with external organisations will be published in due course on the same day as other government departments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Paice on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to bring the ETSU-R-97 assessment methodology for calculating the noise impact of wind turbine generators in line with current World Health Organisation guidelines.
Amber Rudd
The Government takes seriously the impact of noise from wind turbines. Potential noise impacts are considered within the planning process in accordance with ETSU-R-97, and taking into account any guidance on good or best practice that the Government has published or endorsed, before any decision is taken whether or not to grant consent to a project. The Government believes that wind farms built in accordance with current guidance should not have significant impacts on those living or working within the vicinity of these sites, and has no plans to revise ETSU-R-97.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) benefits for and (b) risks to patient care of NHS foundation trusts and trusts being financially penalised for failing to meet performance targets in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
Patients have a right to National Health Service care in line with performance standards set out in the NHS Constitution. We believe it is correct that there should be financial incentives for providers of NHS services to achieve these important standards for their patients, and the NHS Standard Contract has for many years included such incentives.
Commissioners are able to apply sanctions where a provider misses one of these national quality standards, and retain the funding for re-investment in front line services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2015 to Question 222395, what proportion of UK Official Development Assistance was allocated to fragile and conflict-affected states in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12.
Justine Greening
The most recent available figures for UK official development assistance (ODA) show the following proportions were spent in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS):
|
Year |
% UK ODA Spent in FCAS (Bilateral and multilateral) |
|
2010 |
39% |
|
2011 |
44% |
|
2012 |
42% |
|
2013 |
43% |
ODA spend is calculated on a calendar-year basis; provisional figures for 2014 UK ODA spend will be published in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the justification for the Ministry of Justice’s refusal to permit visits to any prisons by a reporter from The Guardian.
Lord Faulks
The External Communications team at the Ministry of Justice receives a significant number of requests by local and national media for access to prisons. For operational reasons and resource implications it is not possible to facilitate all requests.
Each request is considered on its own merit, with careful thought over the subject area, resource and security implications, victim impact, and value to the taxpayer. In a similar way to the police or the NHS, there are operational considerations to be made when filming or reporting in prisons. When facilitating media access we must ensure that the needs of victims are met, which may involve concealing identities, carrying out relevant checks and liaising directly with victims about the access request. We must also ensure that media access does not breach any security restrictions, for example filming keys or locks. Consideration is also given to protecting the identities of prisoners and staff.
We are committed to providing open and transparent access to prison and regularly provide access to journalists for news items, features and documentary programmes. We aim to provide a range of access to different journalists covering both print and broadcast media, local, national and online media.
Since the beginning of January 2015 we have provided access to a range of media outlets, a few examples are listed below:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a list of all free schools that are planned to open in September 2014 that still have places available before they reach their planned admission number; and how many places at each such school are currently available.
Mr Edward Timpson
Information about the number of children on roll in free schools will be collected during the January school census and published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that West Nile virus is not introduced from the United States to Ascension Island.
Mark Simmonds
At the present time, Ascension Island Government (AIG) assesses that there is a low risk of West Nile virus being introduced to Ascension Island from the United States. AIG continues to monitor the situation, and will keep its precautionary measures under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will investigate whether any UK manufactured weapons or components have been used by Israeli military forces during Operation Protective Edge.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We continue to monitor the situation in Gaza and Israel carefully to ensure that all our licensing decisions on weapons and components to Israel remain consistent with our human rights commitments and all applicable criteria. We currently have no plans to undertake a more comprehensive investigation into whether any UK manufactured weapons or components have been used by Israeli military forces during Operation Protective Edge.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will investigate the alleged misallocation of the specialist spinal injury beds at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the use by non-spinal cord injury patients.
Jane Ellison
NHS England’s Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) service specification clearly sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. It sets a core requirement that each specialised SCI Centre (SCIC) can demonstrate they have a minimum of 20 beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of SCI patients. Specialised SCI Services encompass all activity for SCI patients provided by the host trust of the SCIC, including any readmission or attendance for SCI-related care, wherever the treatment is located in the trust. A copy of the specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d13-spinal-cord-0414.pdf
NHS England is aware that a number of beds in one ward at Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit are being used as escalation beds by medical specialties to assist with patient flow. It is planned for these beds to re-open as specialist spinal beds from September 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and which private sector companies awarded NHS contracts have subcontracted work from NHS hospitals and surgeries to prisons in England; and which prisons are involved in such contracts.
Norman Lamb
This information is not collected centrally by NHS England.