Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were charged with drink-driving in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The below table provides the published figures on the number of people who were charged with drink driving in each of the last three years.

    Offence

    2012

    2013

    2014

    Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit

    45,841

    41,798

    38,866

    Other offences related to drink- or drug-driving

    7,915

    9,421

    9,421

    This and other data on, for example, the number of prosecutions for drink driving offences is published by the Ministry of Justice and can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

  • Gary Streeter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gary Streeter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to NHS England’s document, Commissioning Intentions 2016/2017 for Prescribed Specialist Services, published in September 2015, what plans are being put in place by NHS regions which will focus on development of hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks; and how such plans will relate to the national improvement framework for hepatitis C services.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England’s commissioning intentions recognise that following their establishment in August 2015, Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) will need to continue to be developed as a mechanism for ensuring equitable access to expert multidisciplinary team care and treatment for hepatitis C. ODNs are working to develop their plans, based on the published service specification and with the support of local specialised commissioning teams and regional Clinical Directors of specialised commissioning. Work is also underway to establish by February 2016 a national network of ODN clinical leads to share good practice. The formation of ODNs provides an opportunity for local collaborative commissioning conversations about hepatitis C pathways beyond the remit of specialised or health and justice services. In addition, the draft hepatitis C improvement framework includes a numbers of areas pertinent to ODN operation and will therefore support further development of their role.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he had considered the interim findings of the report of Professor Walton on the insolvency litigation landscapes, published on 10 December 2015, before making the announcement on 17 December 2015 to end the insolvency exemption from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

    Dominic Raab

    Since the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, it has always been the government’s stated intention that the exemption for insolvency cases would be temporary. Commencement of Part 2 of LASPO’s conditional fee (or ‘no win no fee’) arrangement reforms for insolvency, was announced in December and will apply from April this year. The aim of LASPO’s reforms was to control the cost of civil litigation.

    Ministry of Justice Officials discussed Professor Walton’s report with him, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Officials have also met representatives of insolvency practitioners who use no win no fee arrangements to fund these cases, as well as those who fund them in other ways.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel on the aerial spraying of herbicides on 187 hectares of crops within the borders of Gaza in late December 2015.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we remain deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445, what target she has set for the (a) number of enterprise advisers to be appointed and (b) timeframe for those advisers to be put in place.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) has made excellent progress in its work to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people.

    The CEC is aiming for Local Enterprise Partnerships to recruit 50 Enterprise Co-ordinators and 300 volunteer Enterprise Advisers between September 2015 and March 2016. The Department for Education is in the process of agreeing the CEC’s funding and targets for the forthcoming financial year.

    The number of full-time equivalent staff currently employed by the CEC is 18. Further recruitment will depend on the funding available to the company and its objectives for future years.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on reforming the law on surrogacy.

    Jane Ellison

    A search of the Department’s central correspondence system shows that, since November 2015, the Department has received 31 representations that made direct or indirect reference to reforming the law on surrogacy. I have also answered four Parliamentary Questions in this session about this issue.

    The Government has no current plans to change the legislation in respect of surrogacy arrangements.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 36039, on fertility: medical treatments, which criteria set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 fertility services do not meet in order to be centrally commissioned.

    Jane Ellison

    The Health and Social Care Act 2012, part 1, Section 15, 3B (3), about services that the Secretary of States can require the Board (NHS England) to commission, states:

    “(3) In deciding whether it would be so appropriate, the Secretary of State must have regard to:

    (a) the number of individuals who require the provision of the service or facility;

    (b) the cost of providing the service or facility;

    (c) the number of persons able to provide the service or facility;

    (d) the financial implications for clinical commissioning groups if they were required to arrange for the provision of the service or facility.”

    The Clinical Advisory Group, which advised Ministers about the services that should be regarded as specialised and commissioned nationally by NHS England, took the view that fertility services would not meet (a) and (c) of these listed factors.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to accelerate negotiations to leave the EU to ensure that they are completed before July 2017 when the UK is due to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government has no such plans.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department plays in Government plans to ensure a higher rate of prosecution for knife crimes.

    Sarah Newton

    The decision whether or not to bring a prosecution is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

    The Home Office works closely with the CPS, other Government departments, and the police to tackle knife crime and ensure that offenders are dealt with effectively.

  • Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the condition of the port infrastructure at Hodeida in Yemen and (b) Hodeida’s ability to function as a port for the purpose of delivering and unloading international aid.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK assessed the damage to Hodeidah port in August 2015. The port is currently running but with significant constraints: cranes and warehouses have been damaged and the lack of a reliable electricity supply is affecting port operations. However, the port is still operational: it can receive and unload shipments and is capable of servicing between 3 and 5 ships at a time, dependent on size. Between 1-15 November (most recent data), 12 ships berthed in Hodeidah port.