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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether new guidance has been issued to the police on female genital mutilation following the Serious Crime Act 2015, and if so, when.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.

    On 1 April we published multi-agency guidance on FGM for all professionals which we have put on a statutory footing for the first time. The guidance outlines the new measures to tackle FGM introduced by the Serious Crime Act 2015, and includes information specific to the police.

    The College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for the police on investigating FGM in March 2015. The APP includes guidance on how officers can spot the signs of FGM, the reasons why it is practised, how it is carried out and the role of the police in tackling it.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the level of financial reserves of local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Local authorities are responsible for managing their own finances. They are required by statute to have regard to the level of reserves needed for meeting estimated future expenditure when calculating their annual budget requirement.

    In making their assessment, they must have regard to the good practice guidance produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

    Where authorities have maintained significant revenue reserves, this will give them room to manoeuvre on their finances in future years.

    Authorities should consider dipping into their revenue reserves where it can be sensible to provide and protect front line services for local tax payers.

    My Department publishes statistics on the level of reserves held by each authority, based on reports from them, which are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2014-to-2015-individual-local-authority-data-outturn

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of finance options available to student nurses; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    From 1 August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health students will no longer receive NHS bursaries. Instead, they will have access to the same student loans system as other students.

    We intend that students studying nursing, midwifery and the allied health subjects as a second degree will also be able to get student loans.

    The change will only affect new students commencing their courses from 1 August 2017.

    We plan to run a consultation in early 2016 to ask how we can successfully deliver the reforms.

    Under the loans system, students on nursing, midwifery and allied health courses will receive around a 25% increase in the financial support available to them for living costs. The precise change for individuals will be dependent on their circumstances – for example, where they study, the length of the course, income and residency.

  • Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Pauline Latham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pauline Latham on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT on sunscreen, sun block and other sun safety products.

    Mr David Gauke

    EU VAT law does not specifically provide for a reduced rate for sunscreen, although there is a provision for a reduced rate of VAT for “pharmaceutical products of a kind normally used for health care, prevention of diseases and treatment for medical and veterinary purposes”.

    Not all sunscreen products are recognised as having a health benefit and the factor level necessary for adequate protection is a matter of contention.

    However, high-factor sunscreen is on the NHS prescription list for certain conditions and provided VAT free when dispensed by a pharmacist to patients.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they made of the costs of closing NHS Direct at the time of the decision, and what was the actual cost of closing NHS Direct.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS Direct NHS Trust’s Final Report and Accounts, published in June 2014, set out decommissioning costs of £69.2 million for 2012/13. The Trust’s business case, submitted for approval of the transaction for its dissolution which took effect on 1 April 2014, included an estimated cost of closure of £36.3 million in 2014/15. The Final Report and Accounts showed the decommissioning costs for this year to be £17.6 million.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many local authority-owned museums have closed down in each of the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Neither DCMS nor Arts Council England holds information on museums closures. However, there are just under 1800 accredited museums.

    Thanks to an excellent Spending Review settlement in November 2015, the Government is honouring its manifesto commitment to keep entry to the permanent collections of our national museums free.

    Through the Arts Council England, DCMS is increasing funding for 21 Major Partner Museums from £20.3m to £22.6 million. In addition to this, regional museums can bid for funds from ACE’s £10 million per year Resilience Fund. They can also bid for lottery funding from the HLF. We are also investing millions of pounds to boost local and regional museums, for example, £5 million towards a new South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum and £2.5 million to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the new junior doctor contract on recruitment to acute medicine.

    Ben Gummer

    Medicine is an extremely popular career choice and we expect that to continue.

    The new contract for doctors in training will have a positive impact on the working life of doctors and on the training they receive. It introduces stronger safeguards to ensure doctors are not required to work long, unsafe hours, enforced through contractual obligations on employers and external scrutiny of those hours by the Care Quality Commission and the independent Guardian of safe working hours.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what funding from the public purse was allocated to the event at the British Museum which he addressed on 9 May 2016.

    Mr David Cameron

    Costs are still being finalised. Details of my speeches are published on the gov.uk website.

  • Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Walmsley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Walmsley on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether x-ray equipment bought for a hospital trust by local fundraising efforts belongs to that trust or to NHS Property Services.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    On the abolition of primary care trusts in April 2013, former primary care trust land, buildings and related contracts transferred either to NHS Property Services or to National Health Service trusts, depending on the details of the individual transfer schemes. Clinical equipment was not generally transferred to NHS Property Services.

    Equipment donated after April 2013 directly to individual NHS hospital trusts and x-ray equipment bought for a trust by local fundraising efforts would belong to the NHS trust unless it has been specifically transferred to NHS Property Services under the terms of a particular transfer scheme.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of the Russian Federation about the medical condition and official treatment of Mr Ilmi Umerov and his family; and what response, if any, they have received.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have made very clear – both publicly and in representations to the Russian Government – our grave concern over the treatment of Mr Ilmi Umerov. This particular case is one example of the way in which the overall human rights situation in Crimea has deteriorated significantly since Russia’s illegal annexation. The UK Government will continue to press the Russian Government to allow immediate, unfettered access to Crimea for all international human rights monitoring bodies.