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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to attach conditions to aid to Pakistan relating to the prevention of persecution of and discrimination against Christians.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Our aid relationship with any government is based on an assessment of their commitment to our Partnership Principles, which include human rights. The Government of Pakistan has publicly recognised the problems facing minorities, and the need to bring an end to religious persecution. We remain fully committed to working in partnership with them to achieve this.

    We raise these issues regularly with the Government of Pakistan; most recently the Head of DFID Pakistan raised this issue in October as part of the annual Bilateral Assistance Talks. Withdrawing aid would undermine our ability to protect the poorest, including many minority and excluded groups.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any decision has been made about the introduction of the new Long Service medal proposed by the Secretary of State for Defence in March.

    Earl Howe

    I can confirm that officials are currently working on the eligibility criteria for a new Long Service Medal. Details will be made available in 2016.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Jonathan Edwards – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on Tata Steel’s recent announcement on job losses.

    Stephen Crabb

    The recent announcement of job losses at Port Talbot is another hammer blow to the industry and the wider South Wales economy.

    I have had regular contact with the Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Science and Transport since the announcement. With the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise, I have offered the UK Government’s full commitment to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government.

    My Ministerial colleague, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, has also accepted an invitation from the Welsh Government to be part of a High Level Task Force charged with supporting everyone affected by the job losses at Port Talbot.

    Our immediate priority is to support those who have suffered job losses and to ensure the industry has a sustainable future in Wales.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the salaries are of the directors of each clinical commissioning group in Leicestershire.

    Alistair Burt

    Information about the salaries of the directors of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is published in each CCG’s annual report, which are available on the CCGs’ websites.

    East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG’s annual report can be found at:

    https://eastleicestershireandrutlandccg.nhs.uk/about-us/publications/reports-and-plans/

    West Leicestershire CCG’s annual report can be found at:

    http://www.westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk/page/corporate-documents

    Leicester City CCG’s annual report can be found at:

    https://www.leicestercityccg.nhs.uk/about-us/strategies-and-reports/

    “

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis have their first specialist appointment within the three weeks recommended by NICE.

    Jane Ellison

    National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Audits help drive improvement by providing local trusts with individual benchmarked reports on their performance against a range of measures, feeding back comparative findings to help participants identify necessary improvements for patients

    The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:

    www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory

    To help clinicians to identify the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and make prompt referrals to specialists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in 2009. This best practice guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and emphasises the need for early diagnosis with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of RA. For those diagnosed with the condition, the guidance also recommends they should be offered the opportunity to take part in educational activities, including self-management programmes.

    The NICE RA quality standard (QS), published in 2013, is based on the NICE guideline, and one of the seven quality statements recommends that people with suspected RA are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral. However, whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to these standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

    Regarding the establishment of early arthritis clinics, the configuration of services, including decisions to such arthritis clinics, is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that, as of November 2015, there were 563 full time equivalent rheumatology consultants employed in the NHS. This is an increase of 119 (26.8%) since May 2010. The recruitment and retention of staff is matter for local NHS services.

  • Victoria Atkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Victoria Atkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Victoria Atkins on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department is making on ensuring that funding is distributed fairly across schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The fair distribution of funding is a priority for this Government. A National Funding Formula will ensure that every school is allocated funding fairly and transparently according to need. The first stage of a two part consultation closed last week and we are currently considering the responses. It is important that we get such a significant change right and so we will publish our response to the first stage, and second consultation, later this year.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps the Serious Fraud Office is taking to address fraud by employees in large companies.

    Robert Buckland

    The role of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is to investigate and prosecute serious or complex frauds.

    The SFO is committed to investigating and, where appropriate, prosecuting such serious frauds, as seen in the conviction of Tom Hayes for offences related to manipulating LIBOR.

    The Government is consulting and will introduce a new criminal offence to apply to corporations who failed to prevent their agents from criminal facilitating tax evasion.

    The Government will also consult on extending the criminal offence of “failure to prevent” from bribery to other economic crimes such as fraud and money laundering so that firms are properly held to account for criminal activity that takes place within them.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much additional funding is being made available by his Department to meet the target of a 50 per cent reduction in prescription of antimicrobial drugs.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Government’s ambition to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics by half by 2020 will be achieved through financial incentives within the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation and Quality Premiums schemes. These schemes reward healthcare providers for improvements in the quality of the services that they commission or provide, that contribute to better patient outcomes.

    The National Health Service has already made good progress in reducing inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. Between April and December 2015, two million fewer prescriptions were dispensed compared to the same period in 2014. Overall, the NHS’ new programme to reduce prescribing went live in April 2016 and will offer hospitals incentive funding worth up to £150 million to support expert pharmacists and clinicians review and reduce inappropriate prescribing.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 July 2015 to Question 5695, on Defence Fire and Rescue Service pensions, what progress has been made in discussions with the trade unions.

    Mark Lancaster

    Her Majesty’s Treasury is reviewing the Enhanced Effective Pension Age and Effective Pension Age for Ministry of Defence Police Officers. We have since been advised that this review extends to Defence Fire and Rescue Service personnel. We are anticipating a decision by 30 November 2016. This means that discussions with the trade unions are on hold until the review concludes.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many miles of local authority road are in a poor structural condition in (a) England outside London and (b) London.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport does not hold information on how many miles of local authority roads are in a poor structural condition in England or London.