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Tag: Parliamentary Question

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

    Lord Shinkwin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shinkwin on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that the issues highlighted in the Parliamentary Inquiry into Abortion on the Grounds of Disability of 2013, and in particular the finding that many parents are steered towards abortion and feel that they do not receive adequate information about other options, are not exacerbated by the introduction of cell-free DNA, non-invasive prenatal testing techniques.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    There is a long established Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (NHS FASP) that prospective parents can choose whether to participate in. The UK National Screening Committee recommendation on non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) does not change the choices available to prospective parents within the NHS FASP. Guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists makes it clear that women and their partners should receive appropriate information and support from a properly trained multidisciplinary team, who must adopt a supportive and non-judgemental approach.

    NIPT testing as part of the NHS FASP will not be used to determine the sex of the foetus. Abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help dairy farmers better manage market volatility.

    George Eustice

    I recognise that many farmers are struggling with the prolonged period of low prices.

    The £26.2 million aid package we secured for the UK from the European Commission – and paid out in November and December – provided some immediate relief to hard-pressed farmers. From 1 April, farmers will be able to average their tax over five years instead of two, helping them deal with volatility between years. We are also looking at the development of a dairy futures market in the UK to allow farmers to fix their prices for longer periods.

  • 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 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Spirit Healthcare’s Empower programme on inequalities in diabetes care across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England advises that the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland decided to commission a diabetes education programme collectively from April 2016 to ensure that diabetes care was being provided equitably across the area. The diabetes education programme was put out to tender and Spirit Healthcare was the successful bidder with its EMPOWER programme.

    The EMPOWER programme, which is based on National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, is designed to reduce inequalities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The procurement was overseen by an Equality Lead from the CCGs to ensure patients’ needs were being met.

    The CCGs will be monitoring the delivery of the contract and the uptake of the course. The service has been procured on the basis of a standard National Health Service contract and will be monitored according to the Quality Schedule within that. Additional quality measures will also be regularly evaluated such as patient experience, Friends and Family Test, course attendance and feedback from clinical leads.

  • 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 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 17 March (HL7132), whether they expect any new database of innovative medicines to be constructed outside the normal information governance channels.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Access to Medical Treatments (Innovation) Act 2016 will create a database of innovative treatments, when the Secretary of State directs the Health and Social Care Information Centre to establish such a database. The Centre will implement the database in accordance with the common law duty of confidence, data protection law and the information governance rules to which the Centre is subject.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Civil Nuclear Constabulary conducts an annual survey of its staff.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Civil Nuclear Constabulary has undertaken surveys of its staff in previous years but these have not been on a regular annual basis.

    The last survey undertaken was a Wellbeing Survey conducted in May 2015 and a general all staff survey is planned for 2017/18.

    It is the Civil Nuclear Constabulary’s intention to run all staff surveys bi-annually in the future.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether she plans to attend the UN General Assembly meetings on refugees and migrants on 19 and 20 September 2016.

    Mrs Theresa May

    I refer the hon. Member to the Oral Statement I gave to the House on 7 September 2016, Official Report, column 336.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to reported delays to Legal & General’s proposed investment in a factory near Leeds to build pre-fabricated homes.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government is keen to widen the use of innovative construction in housebuilding. We are encouraging this through our housing and planning programmes including Affordable Homes 2016-21, Build to Rent and Housing Zones, and through our National Planning Practice Guidance.

    We are also providing funding. Earlier this month, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government launched the Home Building Fund, which aims to provide further support to builders using innovative construction, in addition to custom builders, small and medium-sized builders, and new entrants to the market. Full details are published (attached) at www.gov.uk/homebuildingfund

    We welcome Legal & General’s plans to enter this growing market and operate a new offsite manufacturing facility, but it is not for Government to comment on the commercial decisions it may take around its launch date.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to increase the frequency of train services to north-east Essex along the Great Eastern Main Line.

    Claire Perry

    As with all competitions, after running a public consultation to help specify services, we have published the Invitation To Tender which sets out the minimum service specifications for the next East Anglia franchise. This asks bidders to set out detailed proposals on what improvements for passengers they will deliver. This approach allowsbidders the flexibility to design the best way of delivering or exceeding the specifications.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the cost of broadband access for primary and secondary schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    £1.7 billion of public funding has been committed to support improvements in broadband services across the UK. The Superfast Broadband Programme aims to make superfast broadband available to 95 per cent of UK premises by 2017.

    Costs will vary from school to school depending on location and how much they use the internet. The type of connectivity that the government funded broadband programme needs will not be suitable for secondary schools. They will need a dedicated connection because of their high bandwidth demands. The Department for Education does not hold information about the cost of broadband access for schools.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many stocks for which the UK has quotas were fished (a) at and (b) below maximum sustainable yield on the last date for which figures are available.

    George Eustice

    The UK’s provisional assessment is that in 2016, 24 stocks will be fished at or below maximum sustainable yield (MSY). A significant majority of these will be fished (a) at MSY rather than (b) below it; information on the specific stocks will be placed in the House Library.