Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who supervises and audits public funding of universities in the UK.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Responsibility for higher education is devolved.

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has responsibility for oversight of the higher education sector in England.

    For Higher Education Institute’s that receive HEFCE funding, the individual HEI’s external auditor is required to provide a statement in their audit report that public funding has been used for the purposes for which it was provided. HEFCE also seeks a range of other accountability returns from each HEI and carries out periodic ‘HEFCE Assurance Reviews’ of all HEIs.

    Similar arrangements are in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BIS is responsible for “alternative HE providers”, which includes some private universities, who are not in receipt of funding from HEFCE.

    Individual public bodies (such as Government Departments and Research Councils) are separately accountable for any public funding that they distribute.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether British military advisers have been present in control rooms of the Saudi-led coalition engaged in conflict in Yemen.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers in Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process – whether it be the selection, decision making or directing.

    British personnel are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information relating to infertility and its treatment is available to those affected.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have a statutory duty to publish information for patients and donors about fertility treatment and the clinics that it licenses. The Authority is currently reviewing the information published on its website following extensive research and is working with NHS Choices to make sure that all patients are directed to the right information at the right time.

    Individuals with fertility problems can discuss these issues with their general practitioners and ask to be referred to a fertility specialist to discuss the difficulties that they are having in conceiving and the options that are open to them.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assistance the Government has provided to the Nigerian government in the search for the Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped in April 2014.

    James Duddridge

    In response to the abduction of the Chibok girls the UK, together with the US and France, provided a range of military and intelligence support to help the Nigerian government in their search for the missing girls, and to address the long-term challenges of terrorism.

    Since 2014 the UK has significantly increased our military, intelligence and development support to Nigeria. This includes training and advice for Nigerian units deploying against Boko Haram. Last year almost 1000 Nigerian military personnel benefited from UK training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in the north east. We have also provided £5million to support the Multinational Joint Task Force set up by Nigeria and its neighbours to tackle the insurgents. Through our development assistance, the UK supports the Government of Nigeria’s Safe Schools Initiative which has helped over 90,000 displaced children to return to school and we have increased our humanitarian support to help deliver food, water and emergency healthcare to those affected by the conflict.

    We remain fully committed to supporting Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram and to help find all those who are missing, including the Chibok girls.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38441, what estimate he has made of the date by which all prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection whose tariffs have expired will be released.

    Andrew Selous

    The sentence of IPP was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offences committed after April 2005. They were abolished in 2012 by the Coalition Government.

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not disaggregate spending on IPP prisoners from spending on all prisoners.

    It is a priority for us to help remaining IPP prisoners progress towards release, when it is safe to do so, including by giving them opportunities to complete relevant interventions and work to reduce their risk of harm and risk of reoffending.

    The ongoing work to improve progression opportunities is continuing to achieve results, with 512 IPP releases approved by the Parole Board in 2015, the highest number of annual releases since the sentence became available in 2005.

    The release dates of prisoners serving IPP sentences, once they have completed their tariff, is entirely a matter for the independent Parole Board. The Board will direct release only if prisoners’ risks have been reduced to a level that may be safely managed in the community.

  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate how many parents and carers in receipt of universal credit will require childcare after transition to in-work conditionality.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Gulf Strategy Unit’s remit is; and which Government Minister set that remit.

    Ben Gummer

    The Gulf Strategy Integrated Delivery Team was established in 2015.

    Its remit is to coordinate the Government’s strategic approach to UK engagement with the Gulf States as set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

    It employs three full-time and one part-time Government employees. One is military and three are civilian.

    Administration costs were £70,004 in the 2015-16 financial year and the budget for administration costs in the 2016-17 financial year is £423,000. The 2015-16 figure reflects the fact the unit was established later in the financial year.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions patients were refused access to their mental health records in 2014.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Attorney General has approved the rules of engagement for the RAF bombing of Syria, and whether he will be consulted regularly to ensure that such military action is carried out in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    As the Prime Minister has repeatedly made clear, in carrying out any military action in Syria, the Government will at all times act in accordance with the law.

    In line with the longstanding Law Officers’ Convention, reflected in both the Cabinet Manual and the Ministerial Code, I am unable to provide specific details as to the role of the Attorney General in this matter.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information (1) the National Cancer Intelligence Network, (2) Public Health England, (3) the National Institute for Health Research, and (4) the NHS more broadly, hold on mesothelioma and other less common cancers covering (a) hospital surgical volumes; (b) hospital systemic anti-cancer treatment volumes; (c) hospital radiotherapy volumes; (d) clinical trial volumes by hospital; (e) cancer stage and grade at presentation; (f) short-term patient outcomes; (g) one-year survival rates; and (h) five-year survival rates.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Cancer Registration Service and National Cancer Intelligence Network are both part of Public Health England and collect data on all diagnoses of cancer in England, including mesothelioma and other rare cancers.

    Data on one-year survival from mesothelioma have been published and is attached. The relative survival for men at one year was 34%; varying between 27% and 39% across England. The relative survival for women at one year was 40%; varying between 24% and 70% across England.

    Data on hospital surgical volumes; hospital systemic anti-cancer treatment volumes; hospital radiotherapy volumes; clinical trial volumes by hospital; cancer stage and grade at presentation; short-term patient outcomes; and five-year survival rates are not held in the format requested.

    Data on whether patients have been offered/entered into a clinical trial is now mandated as part of the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset, so we anticipate being able to report on this in the future.

    Within the current financial year, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network has recruited up to 80 trials in less common cancers in a total of 124 recruitment sites. Details of the trials recruiting at each site are in the attached table, Trials in less common cancers in portfolio of NIHR Clinical Research Network. The NIHR does not collect information on hospital surgical volumes; hospital systemic anti-cancer treatment volumes; hospital radiotherapy volumes; cancer stage and grade at presentation; short-term patient outcomes; one-year survival rates; and five-year survival rates.

    With regard to National Health Service more broadly, NHS England has advised that it does not hold the information requested.