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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what direct steps the Government has taken to ensure the safety of Christians in countries where they are being persecuted for their faith.

    Mr David Lidington

    Freedom of religion or belief is a priority for this Government internationally. On 15 November 2014, the Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend, the right hon. Baroness Warsi gave a speech in Washington stressing the need for an international response to the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. The full text of her speech is available on our website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/an-international-response-to-a-global-crisis. We are concerned about the rising tide of persecution of individuals on the basis of their religion and belief. We regularly raise individual cases and discriminatory legislation with other governments and we support overseas programmes designed to overcome prejudice, discrimination and sectarianism. We also work in multilateral fora to ensure that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and belief is afforded the international legal protection that it deserves. Furthermore the Senior Minister of State has convened meetings of international leaders to generate practical steps to promote freedom of religion or belief and to fight religious intolerance within our societies.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the incidence of heart attacks among workers who work (a) 40 and (b) 60 hours a week.

    Jane Ellison

    Information onsurvival rates for patients who suffer an out of hospital heart attack or an out of hospital cardiac arrest are not collected centrally.

    The British Heart Foundation suggests that between 2-12% of people treated by the emergency services after suffering an out of hospital cardiac arrest survive to be discharged from hospital.

    The Department has made no assessment of the effect of stress on heart failure, nor has it made any estimate of heart attacks among workers who work 40 or 60 hours per week.

    However, researchers analysing data from the Whitehall II study observed that people who believed stress was significantly affecting their health had double the risk of suffering from coronary heart disease, compared to people who did not believe stress was having an impact.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to maintain the quality of services provided by children and adolescent mental health services in the UK.

    Norman Lamb

    NHS England has responsibility for commissioning Tier 4 (in-patient) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Tiers 1-3 CAMHS are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). There are a number of measures in place to ensure the quality of Tier 4 CAMHS provided by companies:

    – All providers of CAMHS need to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

    – National service specifications have been developed for Tier 4 CAMHS to which all service providers are required to adhere. These are used as part of the standard National Health Service contract. A copy of these documents can be found on NHS England’s website and accessed via the following links:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-c/c07/

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/c07-tier4ch-ado-mh-aut.pdf

    – All providers are monitored against the standard contract through evidence based contract meetings. NHS England and the CQC may also undertake visits to the units to assess the quality of service being delivered.

    – Where concerns or issues are raised about a particular unit, such matters are referred to the Area Team Quality Surveillance Group, chaired by Directors of Nursing, for consideration and discussion.

    – Where there is significant cause for concern, NHS England may restrict or stop referrals to a particular unit. In extreme circumstances, the CQC has the powers to de-register a provider from being able to provide CAMH Services.

  • Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tracey Crouch – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tracey Crouch on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential benefit of introducing a compulsory retirement programme for animals used in laboratories and scientific experiments; and if she will make a statement.

    Norman Baker

    European Directive 2010/63/EU which was implemented in the UK and other Member States on 1 January 2013 provides Member States with discretion to allow re-homing schemes. It also requires that where Member States have allowed re-homing, they will also ensure that a re-homing scheme is in place that ensures the socialisation of the animal.

    The Directive permits Member States to go beyond the requirements of the Directive, on the basis of animal welfare, only where the provisions were already in place in November 2010. The Directive does not provide legal grounds on which the UK can impose such a mandatory obligation of re-homing as part of licensing.

    The UK legislation allows re-homing. The requirements are provided for in licence conditions and by virtue of section 17A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

    On our acceptance of certain reassurances, relating to section 17A of the 1986 Act, authority may be given to re-home animals being held at an establishment. This applies to those animals that were bred or held for supply for use in regulated procedures, were intended for use in regulated procedures, or have been used in regulated procedures and are being kept alive under the care of the Named Veterinary Surgeon. This authority would relate to individually identified animals and records would be held at the establishment to confirm that such animals had been re-homed.

    Consideration is normally given to the release of animals from the controls of the Act if there is no scientific requirement for them to be humanely killed at the end of the procedures. Some animals are not released if veterinary advice indicates that they may not remain in good health, or that their temperament would not be suited to such an environment.

    Comprehensive guidance on setting free and re-homing is given in section 5.21 in the Guidance on the Operation of the 1986 Act. The Home Office intends to provide further advice about the re-homing of laboratory animals from licensed establishments where there are provisions in the legislation. Animals which have been born into, and lived all their lives under, laboratory conditions may not be able to adapt to a different lifestyle and may be very distressed by such change. There must be provision for careful individual assessment as well as a structured socialisation programme to ensure that re-homing is in the best interests of the individual animal.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will revise her Department’s guidelines to the Metropolitan Police on whether domestic violence cases should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service before prosecutions can be initiated by the police; and if she will make a statement.

    Norman Baker

    The Coalition Government takes the issue of domestic violence and abuse extremely seriously. That is why in 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned HMIC (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic violence and abuse and is chairing a National Oversight Group, on which I also sit, to oversee the delivery of HMIC’s recommendations. Following the publication of HMIC’s report, the College of Policing is updating its authorised professional practice for officers on domestic abuse.

    The Metropolitan Police Service uses national CPS guidelines when referring cases for prosecution. The Director of Public Prosecution’s Guidance on Charging clearly advises both police officers and prosecutors that the CPS will charge all domestic violence cases where the appropriate evidential standard has been met. The CPS is also currently revising its domestic violence policy – a revised policy was published for consultation on 14 May 2014. The CPS is also working closely with the police to assess how the criminal justice response can be improved together with the police consideration of the HMIC review.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Syria.

    Justine Greening

    The humanitarian crisis in Syria has reached catastrophic proportions. The UN estimates that 9.3 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid within Syria. At least 6.5 million people in Syria have been forced to flee their homes to other areas of the country and there are now over 2.8 million refugees in the region.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

    David Mundell

    Details of Ministers’ visits are published quarterly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

    “

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the sufficiency of the transport links in the Streatham area; what plans he has to improve transport in that area; what research his Department has done on projects that might improve transport within the Streatham area; and if he will make a statement.

    Stephen Hammond

    Under devolution, transport in London is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL).

    The Government is providing over £10 billion to TfL during this Parliament, to support a significant enhancement of London’s transport infrastructure.

    Network Rail is currently undertaking a Sussex Route study, to develop options for improvements on rail services in the Streatham area. It is due to report its findings next year.

    Residents and transport users in Streatham will also benefit from the higher capacity trains that will operate across the Thameslink network. Furthermore, as part of the new franchise, there are proposals to provide two additional trains in the peak.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide additional support to jobseekers whose jobseeker’s allowance is sanctioned because they experience a series of short illnesses.

    Esther McVey

    Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is a benefit for people that are available for, and actively seeking employment. It allows for two separate periods of sickness of up to 14 days within a 12 month period. Work Coaches take individual circumstances, including health into account when agreeing a Claimant Commitment. Claimants that are unable to meet their conditionality because of sickness can be signposted to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

  • Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Lazarowicz on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her health priorities are in discussions on the post-2015 development framework.

    Justine Greening

    The UK objective for post-2015 is to agree a simple, inspiring, measurable set of goals centred on eradicating extreme poverty that should finish the job that the millennium development goals started. The goal should be outcome focused, measuring reductions in preventable death and disease and giving women and girls sexual and reproductive health rights.