Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve end of life care and the account taken of the needs of patients with regard to (a) hydration and (b) respect and dignity.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government is committed to making improvements in the quality of care people experience at the end of life.

    In 2014, we set out five priorities for care of the dying person which should underpin the care being delivered to all dying people. The priorities for care state that an individual plan of care, which includes food and drink, symptom control and psychological, social and spiritual support, is agreed, co-ordinated and delivered with compassion.

    In December 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance on the care of dying adults in the last days of life, including guidance on medical nutrition and hydration. Clinicians and commissioners should have regard to this guidance when making decisions about care for people at the end of life.

    The priorities also set out the critical importance of compassion, respect and dignity in delivering care to dying people and the implications, for staff, commissioners and providers, when making decisions about how end of life care services will meet the needs of local people. The new approach to care, based on these fundamental principles, is being used by clinicians across the country.

    In the coming months, we will be setting out the Department’s plans for building on this progress and achieving further quality improvements in end of life care throughout this Parliament.

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

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the average waiting time is for a result to be given of a DEXA bone density scan in each NHS region in England; and what assessment they have made of the average waiting time for such results in (1) Scotland, and (2) Wales.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Genomics England has set an objective to deliver 8,000 clinical reports by the end of 2016. The precise details of the reports from the pilot and main phases will become clearer once the phenotypic data is collected and linked to the genome data.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what have been the interim results of HMRC’s pilot of the Codentify system, when that pilot is due to end, when the final results will be assessed and published, and what benchmarks they have used in that pilot.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes the restrictions in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously. These require that the development, implementation and enforcement of tobacco policies as part of public health policies should be protected from the influence of the tobacco industry.

    Codentify is a system, developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. The trial HMRC is undertaking is to see whether these existing codes could help officers in the field to authenticate products and help tackle illicit tobacco. No other companies currently provide such codes.

    The use of Codentify by HMRC is not part of an exercise to evaluate the wider use of potential tools available on the market. Any such exercise would be undertaken in the context of the implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive track and trace security feature requirements, which will be implemented by May 2019 for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.

    The European Commission is still considering, with Member States, proposals for new pan European security features and track and trace systems, and has yet to determine any technical specifications. HMRC are not evaluating Codentify as a track and trace tool or potential security feature; the aspects of the system being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.

    The use of Codentify is not a formal pilot and there will not be reports or results to publish. Instead the trial will identify the strengths, weaknesses and usefulness of using Codentify to HMRC as an authentication tool in the field. HMRC will review this later in 2016. Some resource has been spent providing access to the system and training officers in the use of the tool. However, this has been minimal and has not been separately identified. The Department of Health leads on public health policy and has been consulted on this initiative. HMRC sees no conflict between its current use of the Codentify system and FCTC requirements.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made on the inquiry into alleged child abuse at the Kincora boys home.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    This is a matter for the independent Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry. I can confirm that there will be the fullest possible degree of co-operation by the UK Government and its agencies.

  • Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were refused entry to the UK under a European Arrest Warrant in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not hold data on those refused entry to the UK under a European Arrest Warrant. Border Force officers have the power to detain an individual subject to an EAW, pending the arrival of the police. Statistics are not kept on EAW arrests made at the border.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government plans to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

    Karen Bradley

    The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention to show the strong commitment it placed on tackling violence against women and girls and this Government remains committed to ratifying it.

    The UK already complies with the vast majority of the Convention’s articles but further amendments to domestic law, to take extra-territorial jurisdiction over a range of offences (as required by Article 44), are necessary before the Convention can be ratified.

    We are currently considering the approach to implementing the extra-territorial jurisdiction requirements in England and Wales and will seek to legislate when the approach is agreed and Parliamentary time allows.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the conclusions and recommendations in the Hutton review of forensic pathology in England and Wales, submitted to the Minister of State for Crime and Prevention in March 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    Since the completion of Professor Hutton’s review the Home Office Forensic Pathology Unit has been consulting with stakeholders on a range of options for implementing the Review’s recommendations. This includes an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of various options to take forward the main recommendation of establishing a ‘National Death Investigation Service’.

    Recommendations on the preferred option will be presented to Home Office Ministers in October 2016. In parallel, the Pathology Delivery Board, chaired by the Home Office, assessed all the recommendations and established a programme of work to address them individually. This programme has progressed to completion and is set to be formally signed-off at the next meeting of the Pathology Delivery Board, chaired by the Home Office, in November 2016.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what role the National Wildlife Crime Unit will play as part of the UK’s commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade from March 2016.

    Rory Stewart

    In the UK’s Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT), published in February 2014, the Government committed to “take a national strategic approach to domestic action on IWT through . . . . funding the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) until 2016”. Defra and the Home Office together have provided £544,000 for the NWCU over 2014-15 and 2015-16.

    Decisions on future funding of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016 will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.

  • Will Quince – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Will Quince – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to support resettlement of Syrian refugees.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID has agreed to fund the ODA-eligible costs of the Syria refugee resettlement scheme for this financial year – discussions are ongoing to determine the precise amount necessary. From next year ODA funding for the scheme will be transferred directly from Treasury to the Home Office.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met (i) mobile telephone operators and (ii) BT to discuss the transfer of emergency calls made from mobile telephones to the wrong police force.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

    The 999/112 Liaison Committee, chaired by DCMS, provides a forum for representatives from Government; Communications Providers, including BT (which provides the 999 call handling agency) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs); emergency services and Ofcom, to discuss 999 operational matters The LC’s main concern is the effective handling and transfer of emergency calls from the public, through call handling agents ,to emergency authorities.

    The “Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) between Communications Providers, Call Handing Agencies and the Emergency Authorities” sets out protocols governing 999 calls. This includes guidelines for the Emergency Authorities to manage any occasional situation in which an emergency 999 call is misdirected.