UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Edward Garnier – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Edward Garnier – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Garnier on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 346W, on private investigations, when the terms and conditions for private investigator licences will be published.

    Karen Bradley

    The terms and conditions for licences to conduct private investigations will be
    issued by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) – the regulator of the private
    security industry – before the implementation of the new statutory licensing
    requirement.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what operational contingency plans he has made for future capability requirements in the event of further flooding.

    Mr Mark Francois

    This winter’s severe weather and consequent flooding represented a significant test of the nation’s civil resilience framework and demonstrated the effectiveness of military contingency planning. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) was able to generate a 5,000-strong taskforce and engage our specialist capabilities to fill gaps without detrimental impact to operations or significant training disruption. The MOD continues to plan against a broad range of civil emergencies in support of wider Government contingency planning.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will discuss the potential health risks of fracking with (a) medical professionals and (b) the Secretary of State for Health; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    Public Health England has carried out a review into the potential health risks from chemical and radiological pollutants from shale gas extraction processes. This review, published in October 2013, took account of available information published up to 2012. It is being updated to take account of new information.

    The review was conducted in response to requests to provide specialist advice to those responsible for public health protection, including local authorities and regulators. The review concluded that the risks to public health from exposure to emissions from shale gas extraction are low if operations are properly run and regulated. In the UK, shale gas developers and operators will be required, through the planning and environmental permitting processes, to satisfy the relevant regulators that their proposals and operations will minimise the potential for pollution and risks to public health.

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Bernard Jenkin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, appointments to which public bodies and offices to which Ministers make appointments are not regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, by appointing Minister.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The public appointments that are subject to regulation by the Commissioner for Public Appointments are governed by legislation – the Public Appointments Order in Council 2013. This lists the public bodies that fall within the Commissioner’s remit.

    The document is available to view online at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-appointments-order-in-council

    “

  • Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Bassam of Brighton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why European Union solidarity funding was not sought to assist with damage caused in the recent floods and cliff falls.

    Lord Deighton

    EU Solidarity Fund money is available to eligible States suffering from large-scale natural disasters but is subject to a number of eligibility requirements, including on the level of direct damages.

    Comparing the recent damage in the UK to the 2007 floods, and following contact with the Commission, the Government’s assessment is that we did not meet these conditions.

    However, the Government continues to explore external mechanisms, including through discussions with EU institutions such as the EIB, to support the existing package of UK Government support, which includes £130 million for flood recovery in the South West.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recommendations the Chairperson-in-Office and the Secretary General of the Organisation for Securityand Co-operation in Europe have made to the member states concerning Ukraine.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been at the forefront of the international response to the crisis in Ukraine over recent months. The crisis has been a regular topic of discussion on the Organisation’s agenda since the Permanent Council met to discuss it in special session on 3 March. Both the Permanent Council and the Forum for Security and Co-operation have discussed Ukraine on numerous occasions since then.

    The OSCE has launched a number of initiatives to contribute towards de-escalation of the crisis. On 21 March the Permanent Council agreed to the deployment of a Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. That Mission, which includes a UK Deputy Chief Monitor and nine UK staff, swiftly deployed across the country with a mandate to gather information, report on the security situation and assess how best to meet the concerns of all parties. The Mission is providing regular reporting and recently played a key role in the negotiation of the safe release of the Vienna Document unarmed military inspectors who had been detained in Slavyansk. In Geneva on 17 April the US, the EU, Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed that the Mission should have a role in verifying the implementation of agreed steps towards de-escalation. The Government fully supports this Mission’s work and is actively backing it with both finance and personnel. The UK has so far contributed over £1 million and is currently the second biggest contributor to the Mission’s core costs.

    In addition to the SMM, the OSCE has been active in Ukraine through the work of its autonomous institutions, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Representative on Freedom of the Media, while there has been a rolling programme of visits by unarmed military inspectors under the Vienna Document 2011. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is sending a large scale mission of 1000 observers to monitor the Ukrainian Presidential Elections on 25 May. The UK will be providing 10% of the total number of observers with 10 Long Term Observers and 90 Short Term Observers.

    There are no current plans for an OSCE Summit, while the next formal Ministerial Council is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014. However the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has been in regular contact with OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, most recently when they met in Vienna on 6 May, while the Minister for Europe, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), spoke by telephone to OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on the same day.

  • Lord Judd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 38 recommendations made by UNICEF in its March 2013 report on children in Israeli military detention have been implemented by the government of Israel; and what discussions they have had with that government on the number that are yet to be implemented.

    Baroness Warsi

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s most recent progress report on children in Israeli military detention, published in October 2013, indicates that Israel has taken some positive steps but does not give an assessment as to how many of the recommendations UNICEF consider to have been implemented.

    We continue to urge the Israeli authorities to take action on the recommendations made in the UNICEF report and the earlier independent report by senior British lawyers. Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Mr Robertson), wrote to the Israeli Attorney General on this issue on 31 March.

  • Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House of Lords

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Leader of the House, in the light of the answers on 6 May to written questions tabled by Lord Mendelsohn, what steps he will take to ensure that the replies to written questions answer the question which was put as fully as possible.

    Lord Hill of Oareford

    As Leader of the House, I have a particular responsibility to encourage departments to be punctual in answering written questions, but the content of each answer is a matter for the minister concerned. The Ministerial Code says that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”.

  • Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what steps the Government is taking to raise the number of people registered to vote.

    Greg Clark

    The Government is introducing online registration as of 10th June in England and Wales which will make it more convenient to register to vote.

    In addition, five national organisations and every Electoral Registration Officer in Great Britain are sharing £4.2 million funding aimed at maximising the rate of voter registration, as part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration. These organisations have received funding to find new ways of reaching a range of under registered groups such as young people and encouraging them to register to vote.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people (a) infected and (b) diagnosed with viral hepatitis in each of the last 10 years.

    Jane Ellison

    Hepatitis A, B, C and E are viruses that affect the liver. Where tests can differentiate acute from chronic infections data is presented as newly acquired infections and where not data is presented as newly diagnosed cases.

    Cases of confirmed newly acquired hepatitis A virus infection are reported by laboratories to Public Health England.

    Table 1: Hepatitis A laboratory reports (newly acquired infections) , England (2002-2012).

    Year

    Number of hepatitis A reports

    2002

    1,278

    2003

    999

    2004

    610

    2005

    469

    2006

    374

    2007

    344

    2008

    344

    2009

    341

    2010

    359

    2011

    252

    2012

    279

    Data on acute hepatitis B infections are reported both from laboratories and from Health Protection Teams to Public Health England. Reporting in this way commenced in 2008.

    Table 2: Reports of acute hepatitis B infections (newly acquired infections), England (2008-2012)

    Year

    Number of hepatitis B reports

    2008

    620

    2009

    597

    2010

    512

    2011

    589

    2012

    554

    Laboratory reports of newly diagnosed cases of hepatitis C are reported to Public Health England.

    Table 3: Laboratory reports of hepatitis C (newly diagnosed cases) , England (2002-2012)

    Year

    Number of hepatitis C reports

    2002

    4,809

    2003

    5,570

    2004

    6,240

    2005

    6,295

    2006

    6,961

    2007

    7,808

    2008

    8,407

    2009

    8,662

    2010

    7,882

    2011

    9,917

    2012

    10,873

    Notes:

    1. At present serological tests are not able to differentiate between acute and chronic cases of hepatitis C infection. Therefore, laboratory reports of hepatitis C contain both recently acquired infections and past infections. For this reason the data represent newly diagnosed cases of hepatitis C as opposed to newly acquired infections.

    2. Hepatitis surveillance data for 2013 will be available in August 2014.

    Laboratory reports of confirmed cases of hepatitis E are reported to Public Health England. Surveillance began in 2003.

    Table 4: Laboratory reports of hepatitis E (newly acquired infections) , England (2003-2012)

    Year

    Number of hepatitis E reports

    2003

    122

    2004

    145

    2005

    294

    2006

    239

    2007

    161

    2008

    168

    2009

    166

    2010

    258

    2011

    435

    2012

    530