Tag: Parliamentary Question

Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Liddell-Grainger on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research her Department has conducted or commissioned on the link between poor sanitation and associated hygiene practices and maternal and newborn health and survival.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID is providing £16 million over 8 years for SHARE (Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity), a research consortium led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. SHARE has funded five key studies which have significantly advanced our understanding of this critical issue and put water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) firmly on the global maternal & newborn health (MNH) agenda. Research includes a systematic review establishing the impact of WASH on maternal mortality and a cohort study in Odisha, India that has provided the first rigorous evidence that poor sanitation during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, low birthweight, spontaneous abortion and still birth

DFID is also providing £7.2 million of funding to support the Sanitation, Hygiene Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) trial currently underway in Zimbabwe. The trial aims to prove and describe the causal relationship between sanitation and child stunting.

January 1, 2023
Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Daesh fighters in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The political crisis in Yemen remains extremely concerning, particularly the risk that terrorist organisations such as Daesh-Yemen continue to exploit the deteriorating situation to consolidate their support base and capabilities in Yemen. Throughout 2015, we saw an expansion of Daesh-Yemen, albeit starting from a small base. We continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by terrorist organisations including Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Daesh-Yemen. For operational reasons we cannot comment in detail on this activity.

January 1, 2023

Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the proportion of rivers, lakes, coastal and ground waters in the UK that (a) are compliant with the EU Water Framework Directive and (b) will be so compliant by 2020; and when she expects all UK waters to achieve good status.

Rory Stewart

The principle environmental objective of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to protect and enhance all bodies of surface and groundwater so as to prevent deterioration, with the aim of achieving good status for all water bodies by December 2015. The WFD provides exemptions which allow the deadline to be extended to 2021 or 2027 and, in some cases, a less stringent objective to be set, for reasons of disproportionate cost or technical feasibility.

Implementation of the WFD in the UK is a devolved matter. In England, 19% of water bodies are currently good status or better, 22% are predicted to achieve good status or better by 2021, and 75% of all water bodies have an objective of good or better status.

The breakdown by water category is detailed in the table below.

	% water bodies at good or better now	% water bodies predicted to be achieve good by 2021	% water bodies with an objective of good or better
Rivers	17		20	74
Lakes	16		19	80
Coastal	44		48	71
Transitional (estuarine)	21		25	58
Groundwater	42		48	72
All waters	19		22	75

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January 1, 2023

Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the future of the EU sanctions regime against Russia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The UK strongly supports the EU’s strategy for resolving the Ukraine crisis through diplomacy underpinned by sanctions pressure. Sanctions on Russia are an important way for the EU to support a peaceful resolution of the crisis through full implementation of the Minsk agreements. As the European Council made clear in March 2015, sanctions against Russia must remain in full until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented.

January 1, 2023
Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the recommendations of the First Report of Session 2015-16, from the Women and Equalities Committee, HC 390, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the implications for sex-specific health planning and provision of amending the Equalities Act 2010 to remove the protection for single-sex provision; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government has welcomed the report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee into transgender equality.

The report provides a substantial number of recommendations covering almost a dozen public bodies, including several recommendations which call for significant changes to legislation and reforms to the NHS. Government is carefully considering these recommendations.

We continually engage with stakeholders from women’s and transgender communities and we would consider their views before making any changes to legislation.

January 1, 2023
Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the vote to leave the EU on her policy on the EU nature directives; and if she will make a statement.

Rory Stewart

Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for farming, fisheries, food and drink, rural affairs and our environment remain in place.

Defra will continue to ensure the right policies are in place for a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone.

The priorities for negotiating our exit from the EU will be a matter for the new Prime Minister and their Cabinet.

January 1, 2023

Baroness Redfern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2016-09-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cancer referrals in England were not made within the two week waiting time target for each of the last three years.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

The Handbook to the NHS Constitution, which is attached, sets out the right for patients to be seen by a cancer specialist within a maximum of two weeks from general practitioner (GP) referral for urgent referrals where cancer is suspected. The operational standard is that 93% of patients should wait less than two weeks from GP urgent referral to first consultant appointment. This standard has been met in each of the last three years.

The information for how many patients waited more than two weeks from GP urgent referral to first consultant appointment is shown in the table below.

Table: Two week wait from GP urgent referral to first consultant appointment, in England, 2013/14 to 2015/16

Year	Number of patients that waited less than two weeks to be seen	Number of patients that waited more than two weeks to be seen	Total number of patients referred	Performance against the standard
2013/14	1,297,849	63,496	1,361,345	95.3%
2014/15	1,459,084	90,610	1,549,694	94.2%
2015/16	1,624,981	101,140	1,726,121	94.1%

Source: Cancer waiting times quarterly time series, NHS England

January 1, 2023

Hannah Bardell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on accepting asylum claims from (a) Syrian refugees who have reached the UK travelling through other EU member states without claiming asylum in one of those states and (b) such refugees who reside with family members who have a right to reside in the UK.

James Brokenshire

Asylum seekers should not travel through safe countries illegally and then choose where to claim asylum.

If we have evidence that a Syrian asylum seeker is the responsibility of another European country we can and will seek to return them there under the Dublin Regulation. Similarly, if we have evidence that the person claiming asylum in the UK has already been granted international protection by another European country we will also seek to remove them to the country that granted protection. When making a decision on whether to remove refugees under the Dublin Regulation full consideration is given to the right to family and private life under Article 8 of the ECHR.

The Dublin Regulation does contain family unity provisions which may result in the responsible State being that where an asylum seeker’s close family members are legally present. The asylum seeker would, however, in the first instance need to make an asylum application in the country that they are in, in order for the provision to be considered.

January 1, 2023
Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many asylum seekers facing deportation committed self harm or suicide in the past year.

Lord Bates

The number of cases where individuals facing deportation have committed self harm or suicide cannot be extracted without incurring disproportionate cost. Figures therefore cannot be provided.

The Home Office is committed to ensuring adequate safeguards are in place for those where there are concerns about self harm or suicide. Guidance has been provided to immigration case workers, and there is a requirement to share concerns with other officers involved in the case by noting such concerns on the Department’s case information database (CID).

January 1, 2023

Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times police cells were used to hold prisoners overnight in each month in 2014 and 2015.

Andrew Selous

There are occasions, for logistical reasons, where prisoners may be temporarily held overnight in police cells. Police cells are used not due to a lack of space across the prison estate but because it is not always possible to transfer prisoners from courts to prisons in the time available at the end of court sittings.

The number of prisoners held overnight in a police cell has been cut from a peak of over 50,000 in financial year 2007-08.

We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and will aim to deal with the prison population in a way that gives taxpayers the best possible value for money. Operation Safeguard, have not been used since 22 September 2008 and no police cells under Operation Safeguard have been on stand-by since the end of October 2008.

The following table shows the total number of prisoners who were temporarily held overnight in police cells in England and Wales in each month in 2014-15. The totals include adults, young adults (18 to 20-year-olds) and young people (15 to 17-year-olds).

	Number of uses of police cells
2014	2015
January	168	89
February	372	112
March	175	74
April	64	107
May	46	47
June	112	113
July	274	180
August	116	63
September	62	137
October	96	174
November	149	195
December	111	151
Total	1745	1442

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January 1, 2023