Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UN missions in South Sudan in protecting civilians in South Sudan.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has had significant effect in protecting civilians, most notably the 200,000 internally displaced persons who have sought shelter on its bases. However, the mission faces a number of challenges, not least continued obstruction and access restrictions by the parties to the conflict. The UK will continue to work with UNMISS to improve the effectiveness of the mission’s operations and is working with the UN to finalise the new military deployment of 250 – 300 British troops to the Mission announced by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), in September 2015.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and other victims of serious violence are aware that they can reregister to vote anonymously.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Electors who need to keep their name and address anonymous are able to submit an application for anonymous registration. As part of their application, electors must satisfy the Electoral Registration Officer that their safety, or that of people they live with, would be at risk if the register contained their name and address. For this purpose electors must provide either a court order or an attestation by a “qualifying officer”, which includes senior police officers and chief social workers. The evidential threshold for applications for anonymous electoral registration is to ensure that it is available only to those whose personal safety would genuinely be at risk if their details appeared on the electoral register. Domestic violence charities and other Non-Government Organisations may partner with Individual Electoral Registration Officers to ensure those in their area who may need to register anonymously are able to do so.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the gender balance among Senior Civil Servants in his Department.

    Ben Gummer

    Diversity and inclusion is a key priority for the Civil Service and for the Cabinet Office. The Executive Committee of the Cabinet Office recently commissioned work on a departmental diversity and inclusion strategy, which will be published this month. This strategy promotes a more inclusive culture in the department through key strands of work on leadership, declaration data, supporting those from under-represented groups and promoting the work of the employee diversity networks. A key aim of the strategy is to promote the advancement of those from all under-represented groups, including women and black and minority ethnic staff.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to Russia on the breaking of the ceasefire in Aleppo.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The UK supported the Governments of France and Spain in their efforts to pass a UN Security Council Resolution on 8th October, calling for an immediate end to the bombardment of Aleppo. This resolution was vetoed by Russia. The UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations condemned Russia’s use of the veto in the strongest possible terms, as "a cynical abuse of the privileges and responsibilities of permanent membership". We have called repeatedly on Russia at the highest levels to implement a ceasefire in Syria, and to use its influence to deliver this. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) raised his concerns directly with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov during their meeting on 21 September, and the Prime Minister discussed the situation in Syria with President Putin on 4 September at the G20 Summit. I also refer the Hon. Member to the Foreign Secretary’s statement of 11 October (Hansard 11 October 2016, Column 165).

  • Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Ms Patricia Hart was employed on a full-time basis continuously from 2011 until her retirement.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally.

    We have written to Deborah Jenkins, Chair of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

  • Baroness Kramer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Kramer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the amount of the Bus Service Operators Grant in (1) 2014–15, and (2) 2015–16.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The amount of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) paid out for services in England during 2014/15 was some £253 million. As BSOG is demand-led, it is too early to estimate accurately the amount likely to be paid out during 2015/16, although we would expect it to be broadly similar to that for 2014/15.

    The amount to be paid out in future years will depend upon the number of eligible claims submitted by the operators of bus services in each year.However, I can confirm that we were able to protect the grant as part of the 2015 Spending Review. Moreover, we will be publishing more details early next year of how we will be reforming the way BSOG is paid to make it even more effective in supporting bus services.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many affordable rent-to-buy houses are being constructed.

    Brandon Lewis

    Through the Autumn Statement 2015, the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2020/21. This includes £1.7 billion to deliver around 100,000 homes for affordable or intermediate rent, of which 10,000 are to be affordable rent to buy homes that enable tenants to have the opportunity to save for a deposit while renting.

    Bids into the Rent to Buy 2015-2017 programme are currently being considered. The prospectus for the new Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 will be launched shortly.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2015 to Question 902477, when he expects the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information to publish its review of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Matthew Hancock

    It is for the independent Commission to determine the timing for submitting its response to Government.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects of proposed changes to the way in which drugs are assessed for inclusion in the Cancer Drugs Fund on cancer drug patients.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that community pharmacies are not adversely affected by the localising of clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We have been in detailed discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, including the proposal for a Pharmacy Access Scheme. In parallel, we also want to hear views on our proposals from across the sector and from patient groups. We published our open letter to the PSNC on 17 December 2015 and on 27 January 2016 we published a set of slides setting out the proposals with a foreword by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.

    We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

    Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.

    The role of the general practice pharmacist is distinct from the role of the pharmacist in a community setting. However, they are synergistic. Pharmacists working in general practice will, in the main, work with patients who have long term conditions to support them with their medicines and self-management of their condition by helping with the development and review of individual care plans. These patients will not generally be those with minor illnesses which can be treated by seeing a pharmacist in a community setting and for whom community pharmacy will remain the first, and most appropriate, option.