Tag: Parliamentary Question

Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what role the Information Commissioner’s Office has in (a) the trial of the Aeroyn Skyranger drone around Gatwick Airport and (b) any other use of other surveillance aircraft operated by Government departments, agents or public bodies in the UK.

Simon Hughes

The Information Commissioner’s Office has no specific role in the trial of the Aeryon Skyranger drone around Gatwick Airport. Members of the Information Commissioner’s staff sit on the Cross-Government Working Group on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. They advise on any data protection compliance issues that arise.

In addition the ICO is currently consulting on its revised CCTV code of practice which includes a section on remotely operated vehicles, or drones:

http://ico.org.uk/about_us/consultations/our_consultations

“

November 1, 2022
Oliver Colvile – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the changes in the level of access to prostate cancer treatments since 2010.

Jane Ellison

The NHS England Specialised Commissioning team introduced nationally developed service specifications for a range of areas, including prostate cancer, during 2013-14. Prior to 2013, prostate cancer was routinely commissioned by primary care trusts, and as such an assessment of the changes in the level of access to prostate cancer treatments since 2010 is not technically feasible.

Routinely commissioned treatments for prostate cancer are: (i) radical prostatectomy; (ii) radical external beam radiotherapy; and (iii) radical brachytherapy. In addition, NHS England routinely commissions systemic treatments for prostate cancer, including hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published technology appraisal guidance which recommends docetaxel (Taxotere) for hormone-refractory prostate cancer and abiraterone (Zytiga), in combination with prednisolone or prednisone, for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with one docetaxel-containing regimen. NICE is also currently developing technology appraisal guidance on a number of other drugs for prostate cancer.

National Health Service commissioners are legally required by regulations to fund those treatments recommended by NICE in its technology appraisal guidance.

Five-year survival rates improved from around 42% in the late 1980s to 79.7% in 2007 (currently 80.2% according to data for 2006-2010 published in October 2012) due in part to the effects of increased Prostate Specific Antigen testing and earlier detection. However, survival rates in England are still lagging behind comparable countries in Europe.

Cancer Research UK has estimated that men with advanced, incurable prostate cancer treated in trials or under drug access schemes at the Royal Marsden Hospital survived on average 41 months, compared to between 13 and 16 months 10 years ago.

The Government’s Mandate to NHS England sets out an ambition to make England one of the most successful countries in Europe at preventing premature deaths from all cancers, including prostate cancer. Cancer indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the Public Health Outcomes Framework will help NHS England to assess progress in improving cancer survival and mortality for men with prostate cancer.

November 1, 2022
Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-06-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help Malpas to develop a dementia friendly community.

Norman Lamb

The dementia friendly communities recognition process was launched by Alzheimer’s Society in September 2013 and 55 communities have already signed up. We have therefore increased our original ambition of 20 communities committed to work to become dementia friendly, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, to reach 75 communities by March 2015. In addition, 59 local authorities are members of local Dementia Action Alliances.

The Department has worked with Alzheimer’s Society to develop the recognition process for dementia friendly communities. Malpas has signed up to the recognition process and is receiving support in its work to become dementia friendly. The Department is also working with Alzheimer’s Society and the British Standards Institute to develop a code of practice for dementia friendly communities, which will help communities to continue in their work to become dementia friendly.

November 1, 2022
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in relation to suppression of the marking of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations by the government of China.

Baroness Warsi

We are concerned at reports of detentions in relation to the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square and raised our concerns about this with the Chinese authorities during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 20 May. The Minister of State, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised this issue with the Chinese authorities on 19 May and made a statement on this issue on 21 May. We also fully support the EU statement of 28 May calling for the release of all those imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their views. We were pleased to see that on 5 June, the Chinese authorities released a number of those arrested after attending an event to commemorate the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.

November 1, 2022
Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the first Contracts for Difference auction to take place; when they expect the Offtaker of Last Resort to be operational; whether those dates have changed from the dates given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013; and if so, why.

Baroness Verma

The policy design of the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) is at an advanced stage, and the detail of the proposals has been recently consulted on. We are on track to deliver the final policy and introduce enabling regulations ahead of first allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD) expected in October 2014, with regulations on schedule to be in place when the first CfDs are signed towards the end of 2014 or in early 2015. Consequently, CfD applicants will have a high degree of clarity about the arrangements for OLR, in advance of the first auctions. This is consistent with the commitments about the timing of the OLR given to Parliament during the passage of the Energy Act 2013.

November 1, 2022
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2014-06-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the logbook loans industry.

Lord Deighton

The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, including logbook lenders, by transferring responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

The Government is very concerned about evidence of consumer detriment in the logbook loan sector, as highlighted in the FCA’s recent research paper.

The FCA has identified logbook lenders as a higher risk industry, and as such they will be in the first phase of firms to require full authorisation. Logbook loan providers are also required to meet the FCA’s binding rules, and the FCA has said that it “won’t hesitate to take action” if they do not put their customers first.

In addition, the Government has asked the Law Commission to look at how to bring the highly complex legislation underpinning logbook loans up to date.

November 1, 2022
The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government for how many projects they provided funding under the Human Rights and Democracy Programme in 2013 for work associated with freedom of religion and belief.

Baroness Warsi

In the 2013-14 financial year the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 218 proposals for funding. Seventeen of these proposals were for work associated with Freedom of Religion and Belief (FORB), representing 7.8% of proposals received. Six projects were ultimately funded, to the value of £214,029. This represents 3.3% of the total resource available.

The programme is keen to see more good quality project bids on this theme in future bidding rounds, and have actively encouraged more quality bids for the 2014-15 financial year.

November 1, 2022
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost of the special administration process in relation to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust.

Earl Howe

The appointment of Trust Special Administrators (TSAs) to Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in April 2013 was made by Monitor. The TSAs’ final proposals were accepted by Monitor in January 2014, and by the Secretary of State in February 2014.

In an announcement on 13 March 2014, Monitor stated that the costs of the process to date had been £7,250,000, with an additional £250,000 incurred by the team of administrators in expenses.

Following the Secretary of State’s acceptance of the proposals, the TSAs have remained in post to continue with the day to day management of the Trust and to work on implementing the proposals.

In the announcement Monitor anticipated that the overall cost of the TSA contract for the lifetime of the project would be between £12 million and £15 million.

Monitor’s announcement can be found on its website at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/mid-staffs-monitor-announces-next-steps

November 1, 2022
Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how personal histories of recognised special educational needs will be taken into account when making assessments of eligibility for the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There are no proposed changes to the current process of assessment. All applicants for the Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) will undertake a study needs assessment and independent study needs assessors will provide recommendations, giving due regard to personal histories of recognised special educational needs, where these have been provided. The support and strategies recommended by assessment centres will be provided by a combination of reasonable adjustments by Higher Education Institutions and DSAs.

November 1, 2022
Lord Quirk – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have observed any correlation between bad behaviour in schools and the absence of a specified dress code for (1) pupils, and (2) teachers.

Lord Nash

The Government does not have any evidence of any correlation between bad behaviour in schools and the absence of a specified dress code for pupils and teachers.

The Department for Education has issued advice that strongly encourages schools to have a uniform, as it can play a valuable role in contributing to the ethos of a school and setting an appropriate tone. However, it is for the governing body of a school (or the academy trust in the case of academies and free schools) to decide whether there should be a uniform policy and other rules on appearance. This flows from the duties placed upon all governing bodies by statute to ensure that school policies promote good behaviour and discipline among the pupil body.

Dress codes for teachers are a matter for employers to determine, whether that is the governing body, academy trust or local authority. As part of the general terms and conditions of employment agreed with employees we would expect schools to consider an appropriate dress code, relevant to the individual setting, taking into account the requirements of the post.

November 1, 2022