Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is on the interruption of stem cell transplantation.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The decision to perform a stem cell transplant will be made by specialist clinicians in discussion with the patient based on the potential benefits and risks of this form of treatment. Treatments may be discontinued for clinical reasons or in accordance with the wishes of the patient.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy to suspend existing arms export licences, and to refuse new ones, if a country is believed to be committing violations of international law during an armed conflict.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria

    We keep all licences under review in the light of changing circumstances in countries of destination for UK arms exports.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for domestic violence have been recorded in (a) Wrexham, (b) North Wales and (c) Wales in each of the last five years for which records are available.

    Mike Penning

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to issue statutory guidance for identifying and supporting victims, as set out in section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Lord Bates

    Statutory guidance for identifying and supporting victims will be issued once the National Referral Mechanism pilots have concluded.

    The guidance is being developed in consultation with representatives from NGOs, Government and frontline agencies. This is in line with section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend the post-vaccination wait period for puppies entering the UK from three weeks to six months.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The requirement for vaccination against rabies prior to movement into the UK from other European Union Member States and certain other low risk countries is set out in of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013, the Pet Travel Regulation. The Regulation requires effective rabies vaccination prior to movement. This means that dogs must be a minimum of 12 weeks of age before being vaccinated against rabies as there is a risk that vaccination at a younger age may provide ineffective protection. The requirement for 21 days to elapse between vaccination and movement is to allow rabies immunity to develop. These rules were amended on 29 December 2014 and included an increase in the minimum age at which a dog could be vaccinated. We are not aware of any plans by the Commission to bring forward proposals to further amend the rules and we have no plans to seek an amendment.

  • 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 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of Government support for Kurdish minority groups in Syria on the peace process in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Syrian Kurds, as with all minority groups in Syria, will have an important stake in a future political settlement for their country. It is for Syrians to decide the exact nature of that settlement, with the help and support of the international community and the United Nations. The Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC), which represents a broad cross section of the Syrian opposition, including Kurdish groups, has made clear its intent to enter into political negotiations with the Syrian regime to achieve a political solution to the conflict. Not all Kurdish groups are members of the HNC, or necessarily part of the internationally recognised list of Syrian “opposition” groups. But to be successful, any political settlement in Syria must be inclusive, taking account of the interests of all parties to the conflict.

  • 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 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of 20 April 2016, Official Report, column 995, whether Daesh has committed crimes that should be referred to the International Criminal Court.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The Government has condemned repeatedly Daesh’s atrocities against both minorities, and the majority Muslim populations of Iraq and Syria. There is a growing body of evidence that terrible crimes have been committed by Daesh. The UK is supporting efforts to gather and preserve that evidence.

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her statement of 8 April 2015. The Rome Statute provides for "situations" rather than organisations to be referred to the ICC. Therefore, referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than a specific organisation.

    As neither Iraq nor Syria is a State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil.

    In order for Daesh’s crimes in Iraq and Syria to be investigated by the ICC, Iraq and Syria would have to declare their acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction, or the UN Security Council would have to refer the situation in those countries to the Court.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diagnoses of (a) Lyme disease and (b) chronic Lyme disease have been made in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The existing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance supports primary care doctors in managing Lyme disease but to further strengthen the evidence base we have commissioned NICE to develop guidelines for the recognition and treatment of Lyme disease; this is expected in June 2018.

    Public Health England (PHE) provides information on Lyme disease and tick awareness to the medical profession and the public, holds regular medical training days, and works with Lyme Disease Action to support the needs and interests of patients.

    NHS Choices also publishes information on its website to raise awareness of Lyme disease and encourage timely medical consultation because early diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is the best way of limiting complications from infection.

    The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbor ticks. PHE works with interested local authorities to raise tick awareness, and has produced joint public information with local authorities in areas such as the New Forest with a significant incidence of Lyme disease.

    The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded.

    Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.

    There is no clear definition for chronic Lyme disease, and no general acceptance of what the term means, so no data is available.

  • 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 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients suffering with radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer are not denied treatment due to the timeframes applied by NHS England for access to the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has advised that systemic therapy is available for patients with radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer through the continued funding of sorafenib for this indication via the Cancer Drugs Fund. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has been asked to develop technology appraisal guidance on the use of sorafenib and lenvatinib for this indication.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much time has been allocated for the public consultation on the sustainability and transformation plans for Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country and West Birmingham; and if he will ensure that the feedback from this public consultation will be published.

    David Mowat

    NHS England, with other national health and care bodies, released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. Local proposals for health and care transformation are not expected to have gone through formal local National Health Service or other organisations’ board approval and/or formal public engagement or consultation at this early stage. We expect that areas will publish a version of their STPs between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will undertake public engagement during this period, building on the engagement they have already done to shape thinking. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.