Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain about the death of Syed Mahmood.

    Hugh Robertson

    We are concerned about the death of Syed Mahmood on 21 May. The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation and we await their findings. We urge the government of Bahrain to ensure the investigation is thorough, transparent and timely.

  • Mike Kane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mike Kane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2014-04-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Government is giving to credit unions to help extend access to fair credit.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is supportive of credit unions and has taken a number of steps to assist them, most recently including:

    • The Department for Work and Pensions investment of up to £38 million in an expansion project for credit unions. The project aims to help credit unions expand and grow, enabling them to provide financial services to more people.
    • From 1 April this year the Government increased the cap on the maximum interest rate a credit union can charge for loans from 2% to 3% per month. This will allow credit unions to make more loans to their members without making a loss. Even if they choose to charge the higher rate of interest the cost of borrowing from a credit union will still be significantly cheaper than many high cost lenders.

    The Government intends that these measures will help the credit union sector go from strength to strength, so it can be a viable option for financial services provision for an even wider range of consumers.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the results of the investigation of the recent death of babies due to bacillus cereus.

    Jane Ellison

    Bacillus cereus is a spore forming bacterium found widely in the environment in dust, soil and vegetation. There is limited prevention as it is a naturally occurring bacterium. However, the Food Standards Agency has published advice on their website which details information on potential food poisoning caused by Bacillus cereus.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) undertake inspections of manufacturing facilities with reference to the standards of Good Manufacturing Practice to verify that companies are producing medicines that are of the correct quality and safety. The manufacture of sterile products, such as Total Parental Nutrition, is subject to special requirements in order to minimise risks of bacterial contamination.

    In the case of medicines, the MHRA and Public Health England (PHE) are currently investigating what has caused the recent incident where Total Parenteral Nutrition became contaminated with Bacillus cereus . Based on the information we currently have, we believe this is an isolated incident and the appropriate immediate action has been taken to avoid a recurrence.

    The devolved administrations have been informed of the current incident involving Bacillus cereus. The investigations into the cause of this incident are still ongoing. The Department will continue to discuss matters with the devolved administrations for minimising Bacillus cereus infection.

    The investigations being undertaken by MHRA and PHE are in their advanced stages and preliminary findings will be published as soon as possible. While the MHRA and PHE are undertaking their own investigations, it would be normal practice for the Coroner to report on the individual case he is currently considering.

  • Nick Gibb – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Gibb – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Gibb on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the waiting time is for a routine new referral to Ophthalmology in the Western Sussex Hospitals Trust area; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Information on the median average waiting time for patients waiting to start consultant-led ophthalmology treatment for all National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts in England is shown in the following table.

    Latest data for February 2014 shows that the median average waiting time for patients waiting to start consultant-led ophthalmology treatment in the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is 8.6 weeks.

    Monthly Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times for incomplete pathways in ophthalmology, February 2014

    Provider Name

    Average (Median) Waiting Time (In Weeks)

    Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    4.7

    Airedale NHS Foundation Trust

    4.1

    Ashford And St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    4.9

    Barts Health NHS Trust

    6.2

    Bedford Hospital NHS Trust

    6.0

    Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    7.3

    Bolton NHS Foundation Trust

    5.5

    Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    4.9

    Brighton And Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.7

    Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

    10.2

    Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.7

    Calderdale And Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

    4.9

    Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.2

    Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.3

    Chelsea And Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.1

    Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    6.5

    City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

    5.1

    Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust

    4.7

    Countess Of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    6.4

    County Durham And Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

    6.8

    Coventry And Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust

    4.4

    Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

    4.9

    Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust

    5.3

    Doncaster And Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.0

    Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    6.9

    Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust

    8.8

    East And North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

    4.5

    East Cheshire NHS Trust

    6.1

    East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

    4.9

    East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.2

    East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

    6.0

    Epsom And St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.9

    Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    6.5

    George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust

    2.7

    Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    4.3

    Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    7.5

    Guy’s And St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

    4.2

    Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.7

    Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust

    5.5

    Heart Of England NHS Foundation Trust

    5.3

    Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust

    3.6

    Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    3.0

    Hull And East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.5

    Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

    5.1

    Isle Of Wight NHS Trust

    5.5

    James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    4.8

    Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.7

    King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    6.1

    Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    4.6

    Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.0

    Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.8

    Lewisham And Greenwich NHS Trust

    5.1

    Luton And Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.1

    Maidstone And Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

    6.3

    Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.6

    Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust

    5.7

    Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

    4.7

    Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.4

    Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    4.0

    Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.7

    Norfolk And Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    6.4

    North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust

    7.2

    North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

    6.0

    North West London Hospitals NHS Trust

    3.8

    Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

    4.2

    Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust

    5.5

    Northern Lincolnshire And Goole NHS Foundation Trust

    5.4

    Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.3

    Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust

    8.5

    Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.4

    Peterborough And Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.4

    Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.8

    Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.7

    Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.6

    Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    8.8

    Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

    6.7

    Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

    5.5

    Royal Devon And Exeter NHS Foundation Trust

    4.8

    Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

    6.8

    Royal Liverpool And Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.6

    Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.9

    Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust

    5.2

    Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

    4.0

    Sandwell And West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.5

    Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.6

    Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.6

    Shrewsbury And Telford Hospital NHS Trust

    10.4

    South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

    4.2

    South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    6.3

    South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust

    6.8

    South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust

    5.8

    Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.4

    Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

    4.4

    Southport And Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust

    3.5

    St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust

    7.0

    St Helens And Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.7

    Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

    6.7

    Surrey And Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

    6.2

    Taunton And Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

    8.3

    The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

    5.8

    The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    4.1

    The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    4.7

    The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

    5.4

    The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn, NHS Foundation Trust

    3.2

    The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

    2.1

    The Royal Bournemouth And Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.2

    The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

    4.5

    United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

    6.2

    University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    5.9

    University Hospital Of North Staffordshire NHS Trust

    4.8

    University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

    5.6

    University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

    5.3

    University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

    5.3

    University Hospitals Coventry And Warwickshire NHS Trust

    5.2

    University Hospitals Of Leicester NHS Trust

    5.8

    University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

    5.2

    Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

    5.5

    Warrington And Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    3.4

    West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust

    10.8

    West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

    3.1

    Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    8.6

    Weston Area Health NHS Trust

    5.6

    Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    6.0

    Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

    4.7

    Worcestershire Health And Care NHS Trust

    4.2

    Wrightington, Wigan And Leigh NHS Foundation Trust

    4.0

    Wye Valley NHS Trust

    5.6

    Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    3.0

    York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

    5.4

    Notes:

    1. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits.

    2. Median waiting times are not calculated for organisations (and treatment functions) with less than 50 pathways in the month.

    3. The following trusts did not submit any RTT incomplete pathway data for February 2014:

    – Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust;

    – Barking, Havering & Redbridge NHS Trust;

    – Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;

    – Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;

    – The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust; and

    – Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 19 January 2012, Official Report, columns 932-3W, how many companies hold licences for the manufacture or distribution of (a) Nitrazepam, (b) Flurazepam, (c) Loprazolam, (d) Lormetazepam, (e) Temazepam, (f) Clonazepam, (g) Medazepam, (h) Midazolam, (i) Zopiclone, (j) Zaleplon, (k) Zolpiden, (l) Eszopiclone, (m) SSRI antidepressants and (n) trycyclic antidepressants; and how many of those licences were issued in the last three years.

    Norman Lamb

    There are currently 15 products authorised in the United Kingdom containing nitrazepam and 15 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing flurazepam and one company authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing loprazolam and two different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently eight products authorised in the UK containing lormetazepam and four different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently 10 products authorised in the UK containing temazepam and six different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently six products authorised in the UK containing clonazepam and three different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently no authorised products in the UK containing medazepam.

    There are currently 22 products authorised in the UK containing midazolam and 10 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently 17 products authorised in the UK containing zopiclone and nine different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing zaleplon and one company authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently 21 products authorised in the UK containing zolpidem and 12 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently no authorised products in the UK containing eszopiclone.

    There are currently 238 products authorised in the UK containing SSRI antidepressants and 57 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    There are currently 16 products authorised in the UK containing tricyclic antidepressants and 11 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.

    One loprazolam, four lormetazepam, two clonazepam, two midazolam, three zopiclone, four zolpidem and 75 SSRI products have been authorised in the last three years.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people who are (a) employed on zero-hours contracts and (b) paid at a rate below that defined by the Living Wage Foundation as a living wage in Warrington North constituency.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to change (a) the classification of external communications for the purposes of interception and (b) other aspects of UK surveillance law.

    James Brokenshire

    External Communication is defined within the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 and the statutory Interception of Communications Code of Practice which was approved by Parliament and came into force on 1 July 2002. The Government has no present plans to amend the definition of external communication.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of (a) those in prison and (b) those in prison who self-identified as Muslim were (i) under the age of 18, (ii) aged between 18 and 21, (iii) aged between 21 and 25, (iv) aged between 26 and 30, (v) aged between 31 and 40, (vi) aged between 41 and 50, (vii) aged between 51 and 65 and (viii) aged over 65 years on 1 January 2014.

    Jeremy Wright

    Data are held centrally on the prison population in England and Wales on the last day of each month, so figures have been provided for 31st December 2013 (with the exception of PQ 197068 which has been answered as at 30 June 2013 – the latest available data for criminal history information).

    For PQ 197067, Table 1 below provides the number for the sentenced prison population by sentence length for self-declared Muslim prisoners and the total for all religions.

    For PQ 197068, Table 2 provides the number of offenders in prison on 30th June 2013 who identified themselves as Muslim and all other religions by the number of previous custodial sentences received.

    For PQ 197069, Table 3 provides the prison population by nationality for self-declared Muslims and the total for all other religions.

    For PQ 197090, Table 4 provides the prison population by age group for self-declared Muslims and the total for all other religions.

    Please note that the religion of prisoners is self declared and prisoners are under no obligation to declare their religion.

    These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, to how many Freedom of Information requests on aid projects her Department has declined to provide information in each of the last 12 months.

    Justine Greening

    The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes a quarterly statistics bulletin concerning FOI responses from all government departments including DFID. The bulletin includes tables showing how many requests were granted in full, or resulted in some information being withheld or all information withheld. The MoJ statistics bulletin can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the closed wings at (a) HM Prison Hull and (b) HM Prison Chelmsford were (i) closed and (ii) re-opened.

    Jeremy Wright

    We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer

    This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate. We will have increased the adult male prison capacity so that we have more places than we inherited from the previous Government.

    The retention of significant spare prison capacity over and above what is required is expensive and cannot be justified given the current financial climate. The mothballing of spare capacity at HM Prisons Chelmsford and Hull saved the taxpayer £3.6m in the financial year 2013-14. This compares to the significantly lower cost of maintaining this accommodation on a mothballed basis, so that it could be reactivated if necessary.

    We have reviewed the refurbishment requirements at both sites and believe that, with minor investment, they can now be reopened on a contingency basis without carrying out a full refurbishment. These costs are anticipated to be around £132k by the time they have reopened. From the end of March to date, around £12k has been spent on Chelmsford, and around £107k has been spent on Hull.

    The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Hull is around 65 members of staff – of which approximately 40 are uniformed. The indicative additional staffing requirement to reactivate the places at Chelmsford is around 30 members of staff – of which approximately 20 are uniformed grades. This means we are able to create additional places at an average cost of £7k per place (subject to final benchmarking review), as opposed to the average cost of a prison per place of £26,139.

    The staffing requirement will initially be met by short term detached duty from other prisons, before looking to redeploy staff permanently where surpluses exist – and if necessary through external recruitment.

    Subject to certification, Hull will create 282 places and Chelmsford 148 places, with prisoners due to start arriving this summer.

    The reactivation of these places is a prudent and good value for money response to an increased prison population. Under the previous administration, police and court cells were turned into temporary prisons, with over 50,000 prisoners held in these cells in 2007-08 alone.