The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what investigations were undertaken into the deaths in training of armed forces recruits aged under 18 years in the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
There have been no deaths in training of Armed Forces recruits under the age of 18 in the last three years, and therefore no such investigations have taken place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which (a) Sri Lankan government representatives and (b) Sri Lankan non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations (i) were invited to and (ii) attended the Global summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict that the Foreign Secretary is co-hosting with the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 10-13 June 2014 will turn the political commitments contained in the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict into practical action. All governments that have endorsed the declaration have been invited. We have invited the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to London to attend as an observer, as Sri Lanka has not yet endorsed the Declaration. We have invited a range of Sri Lankan civil society representatives and hope that their expertise of the situation on the ground will contribute to the discussion of the issues at hand.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles have been found to be in breach of rules about tinted windows in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each of the last five years.
Stephen Hammond
The Department has information broken down relating to the enforcement by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for the most recent year. The following prohibitions were found in the year to March 2014, a) 710 in England, b) 62 in the North West and c) 37 in Lancashire. National totals for the previous 4 years were, 2013 – 720, 2012 – 663, 2011 – 1617, 2010 – 2364. The Department does not have the Police data for this offence at this time. Enforcement of Construction and Use regulations is a matter for both DVSA and the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he or officials in his Department have had with counterparts in the Royal Canadian Navy or the US Navy on personnel of those navies undertaking conversion training at HMS Sultan to fill current vacancies in suitably qualified and experienced personnel positions.
Anna Soubry
There have been no such discussions with the Royal Canadian Navy or the United States Navy. However, we work closely with many nations and provide opportunities for their personnel to serve with the Royal Navy through a range of schemes including exchange and liaison postings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Annette Brooke on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will issue guidance on the safe use of bicycle trailers to provide a minimum level of safety for children being towed by bicycles on the roads.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department has no current plans to issue guidance on the safe use of trailers on bicycles. However children should be transported safely and securely and trailers should be in a roadworthy condition before being used on the highway.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much in public subsidy he expects to allocate to the proposed wind farm at Navitus Bay.
Gregory Barker
The Government set out the Allocation Framework for Contracts for Difference (CfDs) on 13 May 2014, which has the potential to improve value for money, encourage new entry and drive innovation.
Indicative CfD budgets will be published in July. CfD allocation rounds will then determine which projects are successful and receive CfD contracts and at what level of support. It is not possible to say in advance which projects will receive support and at what level.
Offshore wind projects, classified as ‘less established’ technologies, are able to receive support in this Delivery Plan period (2014/15-2018/19) at the administrative strike prices published on 4 December 2013, unless there is insufficient budget in a CfD allocation round to satisfy all bids then an auction (competitive allocation) will apply. Those technologies would then have to compete against each other on price whereby each project is paid the clearing price for its delivery year within the auction, capped at its administrative strike price.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the effective implementation of regulations (a) relating to storage of slurry and (b) in general for safety in farm yards.
George Eustice
Implementing safety regulations in farm yards is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The HSE recognises agriculture as a priority industry and has a programme for measurable and sustainable changes to the industry’s health and safety performance.
The regulation of slurry storage is a devolved matter. In England it is controlled by the Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) Regulations 2010 (the SSAFO regulations), with the Environment Agency as the main regulator. From this year the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is including slurry storage in its cross compliance inspections. Both the RPA and Environment Agency work closely with the HSE on farm safety.
Slurry storage and management in England has been reviewed recently by a Joint Industry and Government Working Group and this included a review of the SSAFO regulations. The Group’s report was published on 21 November 2013 and is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/slurry-management-and-storage-joint-government-and-industry-report.The report recognised the risks involved in managing slurry and included a recommendation about developing regular assessment of the condition of slurry stores to provide assurance that stores both prevent environmental pollution and meet health and safety requirements.The Government and industry continue to work in partnership to implement the recommendations.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings he has had with world leaders to discuss the situation in Yemen since 1 January 2013.
Hugh Robertson
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), as well as other FCO Ministers, have regular discussions on Yemen with their counterparts, particularly with those from the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Friends of Yemen Ministerial Group, which the UK hosted in London most recently on 29 April.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the out-of-hospital survival rates are for patients who suffer a heart attack in each year since 1984 for which information is available.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 10 June 2014, Official Report, column 896W, on hospitals, what progress his Department has made at Medway NHS Trust since it was placed in special measures in 2013.
Jane Ellison
Medway was recently re-inspected by the Chief Inspector, who will be publishing the results of the re-inspection shortly alongside his recommendation as to whether the foundation trust has made sufficient improvement to exit the regime.
The Trust is making good progress in the majority of areas reviewed in 2013 by the Keogh team. However, since the Keogh review the Trust has received warning notices from the Care Quality Commission in relation to its Maternity services (October 2013) and Emergency services (March 2014) indicating continuing quality concerns in other areas.
Since the Keogh review the Trust has created 29 additional medical posts and 115 additional nurse and nurse support staff posts. It has struggled to recruit sufficient numbers to these posts with the result that it remains highly reliant on locum and agency staff.