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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Rehman Chishti – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to encourage local media and regional broadcasting in Kent and Medway.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Government recognises the important role local media plays in communities, and has created the foundations for new local TV services to establish themselves and enrich UK television with quality local news and programming. Ofcom has received applications for a local TV licence in Maidstone, and we expect an award to be made soon. More widely, 25 local TV services have been licensed to date, and further launches will take place over the summer and autumn.

  • Jeremy Browne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jeremy Browne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Browne on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the performance of the children and families department in Somerset County Council.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Ofsted inspected Somerset County Council’s arrangements for the protection of children between 24 June 2013 and 3 July 2013 and published their findings on 5 August 2013. Ofsted judged the authority’s performance as ‘inadequate’.

    My officials met with representatives of Somerset County Council on 20 August 2013 to discuss the Ofsted judgement, the Department’s proposed course of action and the Council’s immediate plans for improvement.

    I wrote to the leader of Somerset County Council, John Osman, on 13 September 2013 to underline my concern at the Ofsted judgement of performance and set out my intention to issue the council with an Improvement Notice.

    I issued a 12-month Improvement Notice to Somerset County Council on 22 November 2013, requiring the council to institute an improvement board headed by an independent chair to drive improvement and hold partners to account. The improvement board has sat monthly since October 2013 and I am represented at each Board by my officials.

    I plan to visit Somerset County Council to assess improvements for myself. My officials will also undertake a review of progress in June 2014 and report findings to me. I will then assess progress against the Improvement Notice and Ofsted recommendations and decide whether to intervene further.

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what preliminary tests his Department conducted to assess whether it was feasible to recruit and train the required number of reserves within the necessary timescale envisaged by the Army 2020 proposals.

    Anna Soubry

    Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review, a three month exercise was undertaken which examined a range of force structure options which built upon analysis undertaken during the review. These options were then tested for their efficacy against a wide range of scenarios. The options were then assessed by a senior judgement panel, chaired by the Vice Chief of Defence Staff. Included in this panel were the Assistant Chiefs of Staff for the Royal Navy, Army and royal Air Force. The panel took decisions collectively and all members were fully involved and consulted.

    In July 2011 an Independent Commission to Review the UK’s Reserve Forces, chaired by my hon. Friend, the member for Canterbury and Whitstable (Julian Brazier) and General Sir Nicholas Houghton, then set a target of 30,000 for a trained Army Reserve. This judgement was reached in the knowledge that the strength of the Territorial Army had been over 70,000 in the 1980s.

    Subsequent work was then undertaken to establish the timescales to build the trained strength of the Army Reserve to 30,000. This was set out in the Written Ministerial Statement and paper placed in the Library of the House by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) on 19 December 2013 (Official Report, column 124WS).

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of prong collars on the welfare of dogs.

    George Eustice

    The Government has made no specific assessment on the use of prong collars on dogs. However, it would be an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to cause any unnecessary suffering to a dog by using a prong collar. Such an offence would be punishable by a fine of up to £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many recruits are expected to commence Phase 1 training at ITC Catterick in financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of recruits programmed to start training at AFC Harrogate and ITC Catterick in financial year 2014-15 is shown in the table.

    Establishment

    2014-15

    AFC Harrogate

    1,450

    ITC Catterick

    2,750

    Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in ‘5′ are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

  • John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Spellar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Latvia, (b) Lithuania and (c) Estonia about strengthening defence and security relationships with those countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    On 24-25 March 2014, I travelled to both Latvia and Lithuania and met with the Latvian Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Foreign Minister, and the Lithuanian Foreign Minister and Vice-Minister of Defence. The focus of this visit was the situation in Ukraine. I will visit Estonia on 28-29 April and hope to meet the Estonian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, with whom I will discuss security and defence issues. Our defence relationship, led by the Ministry of Defence, with all three Baltic countries is strong and we cooperate on a wide range of areas.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 May (WA 322), what form the review of asylum support rates will take; and which stakeholders will be consulted.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The review is an internal Home Office one, to ensure that the payments provided to destitute asylum seekers are sufficient to cover their essential living needs consistent with the judgement of 9 April. The Home Office has met with represenatives of "Still Human Still Here", a coalition of organisations with an established interest in the issue. The review will take full account of both their views and the details of the judgment of 9 April.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage international collaboration in research and the sharing of best practice on quality of life for patients diagnosed with brain tumours.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has made a recent assessment of the sufficiency of access to information about support and services for people diagnosed with a brain tumour through its Peer Review Programme (PRP). This programme includes measures that require all brain and central nervous system multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) to demonstrate the availability and adequacy of patient information. The outcome of the 2013-14 assessment of compliance with these measures indicated that out of 91 MDTs and 36 treatment centres, 84% were compliant with the patient information measure at the most robust level.

    There is a programme of work aimed at improving the care and experience of people living with a diagnosis of cancer, developed in collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Support which draws from a wide range of evidence based good practice.

    The National Cancer Intelligence Network runs a brain and central nervous system- related cancers Clinical Reference Group, which works closely with a brain cancer charities. In addition to this, the PRP measures participation in drug trials and research internationally.

    The Department works closely with its cancer research funding partners through the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI). The NCRI is a strategic partnership of 22 government, charity and industry cancer research funders, together with patients. The NCRI is a member of the International Cancer Research Partnership (ICRP), which includes cancer research funders from USA, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. The ICRP is a unique alliance of cancer organisations working together to enhance global collaboration and strategic coordination of research. Researchers can search the ICRP database to avoid duplication and identify collaborators in specific areas of cancer research including brain tumour research.

  • Lord Eames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Eames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Eames on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to review pensions currently paid to former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    There are no plans to review pensions currently paid to former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health following the launch of the MindEd e-portal; and what steps it is taking to accommodate that increase.

    Norman Lamb

    The Department has not made an estimate of the increase in demand for child and adolescent mental health following the launch of the MindEd e-portal on 25 March 2014.

    We know that many schools want to do more to help children who are, or may be, experiencing mental health problems. Many now have their own programmes and mental health support – such as a school-based counsellor, whilst others have whole school approaches to mental and emotional health. We want to ensure that such programmes offer the best support possible, but also that schools are better able to identify mental health problems in their pupils sooner.

    The Department funded the MindEd website which will help anyone working with children, including all school staff, to spot the signs of mental health problems in children and help them get the support they need. Spotting the signs of mental health problems early in children and young people is essential to prevent problems from escalating and continuing into adulthood.

    The Chief Medical Officer has recommended better data on children and young people’s mental health. The Department, with arms lengths bodies (ALBs) and other key partners, is currently looking at the options available for arranging a survey of children and young people to look at prevalence of mental health conditions. We are seeking advice from colleagues in the Department’s Health and Social Care Information Centre to consider options for the survey, and what such a survey would be able to tell us.