Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients who have been denied a second allogeneic stem cell transplant following an individual funding request in each of the last three years; and what estimate his Department has made of the associated cost saving to the health service.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The total number of Individual Funding Requests for a second allogenic stem cell transplant that were declined during the calendar years 2013, 2014 and 2015 is below NHS England’s threshold for releasing individual data, as fewer than 10 individual funding requests were declined.

    Due to the complexity of such treatments, and any alternatives used, it is not possible to assess any associated cost impact to the National Health Service.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Lithuanian government against plans for a convention centre to be built in the Jewish Cemetery in Piramont, Vilnius; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government is aware of plans announced by the Lithuanian Government to renovate the Soviet-era Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, located in the Šnipiškės Jewish cemetery. The existing building on the site has been left derelict for some time. The Chairperson of the Jewish Community in Lithuania has been clear in her public support for the renovation, stressing that the current site is run-down and at risk otherwise of further deterioration. It is our understanding that there will be no significant structural changes and that only the interior will be renovated for use as a centre for conferences and cultural events. The surrounding area will be maintained as a memorial park. The Lithuanian Prime Minister has said that all Jewish cemeteries in Lithuania would be memorialised and marked by the end of 2017. We welcome his commitment to working alongside the Jewish Community of Lithuania and the international Jewish community on this renovation. The Lithuanian government has also said it will discuss the renovation with the Israeli government.

  • Martin Vickers – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Martin Vickers – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Vickers on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all young people who wish to participate in the National Citizen Service are able to do so.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    We are committed to expanding NCS, which is why the Chancellor announced our ambition that 300,000 young people participate in NCS every year by 2019/20 so that they can learn new skills and give back to their communities.

    We take great care to ensure that all young people, regardless of background, can take part, providing bursaries and additional support where necessary.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the decision was made not to proceed with developing a future theatre nuclear weapon (FTNW); and how much had been spent on (a) the vehicle element and (b) the warhead element of the FTNW programme up to that point.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    On 18 October 1993, the then Secretary of State for Defence informed Parliament (Official Report, column 32): "we have concluded that our previous requirement for a new stand-off nuclear weapon capability is not a sufficiently high priority to justify the procurement of a new nuclear system in the current circumstances. Instead, we will plan, after the WE177 eventually leaves service in the long term, on exploiting the flexibility and capability of the Trident system to provide the vehicle for the delivery of our sub-strategic deterrent."

    Also on 19 July 1993 (HC Deb vol 229 cc83-4W), the then Minister for Defence Procurement provided the following information about expenditure to evaluate options for the Future Theatre Nuclear Weapon:

    Expenditure to the end of March 1993 on studies of possible vehicles:

    Year

    £

    1989-90

    928,518

    1990-91

    1,372,329

    1991-92

    1,870,285

    1992-93

    2,658,471

    Information on costs incurred on the Future Theatre Nuclear Weapon warhead programme was withheld for reasons of national security. Those reasons no longer apply but this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Graham Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Graham Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Evans on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the average benefit to local economies of devolution deals.

    James Wharton

    The seven devolution deals that the Government has agreed will give local leaders direct control over the levers of growth in their economies, including new powers and substantial budgets ranging from transport, to adult skills, to long term investment funds. The size of these funds is substantial, for example the West Midlands will receive over £1 billion of additional investment. It will be for mayors and local leaders to set ambitions for growth and job creation as a result of these deals. By giving local areas control over key policies and resources, and making sure that local government more efficient, effective and as possible, devolution deals will give these places the tools that they need to drive forward growth for the benefit of the whole local economy.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the provision of free Wi-Fi connections on board all (a) Network Rail and (b) Transport for London carriages.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail does not run train carriages, however, working with train companies operating franchises in England and Wales, we have committed that 90% of passenger journeys will benefit from free Wi-Fi by the end of 2018.

    The decision on provision of free Wi-Fi within non-franchised operations, including Transport for London (TfL), is not a responsibility for the Department for Transport. Decisions relating to implementation of On-Train Wi-Fi within TfL carriages is devolved to the Mayor of London.

  • 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 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the demolition of the new school in Abu Nuwar (east of Jerusalem) which had been designed to increase the capacity of the existing school and kindergarten.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not raised this particular demolition with the Israeli authorities. However our position is clear; demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and are (in all but the most exceptional of cases) contrary to international humanitarian law. We regularly raise the issue of demolitions with our Israeli counterparts.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take to enable UNRWA to deliver urgent aid to Palestinian refugees trapped in Yarmouk camp in Damascus.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is extremely concerned about the situation in Yarmouk camp in Syria, especially given intense fighting between Daesh and Al-Nusra Front in recent weeks. According to UNRWA, the intensified fighting has acutely aggravated shortages of food and clean water for the approximately 6000 civilians residing inside Yarmouk. We condemn in the strongest terms the grave crimes committed by Daesh and Al-Nusra Front against civilians in the camp, and continue to call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access to the area, and allow the safe passage and evacuation of civilians.

    We welcome UNRWA’s efforts in protecting and assisting vulnerable Palestinian refugees. To date, the UK has allocated over £59 million to UNRWA to provide assistance for Palestinian refugees affected by the violence in Syria and the region.

    The UK has given support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid to besieged and hard to reach areas and continue to use our position in the UN Security Council to push for humanitarian access to be granted to these areas. We are also part pf the International Syria Support Group that agreed at its meeting on 11 February that humanitarian access would be opened to a number of priority areas, including Yarmouk, as a first step to accelerating full and sustained access across Syria. Since then, UNRWA has delivered 21 convoys with multi-sectoral assistance to 19,000 people in Yalda, Babella, Beit-Sahm, including thousands of residents in and from Yarmouk.

  • would have a less than one in five chance of being detected despite potentially causing more than 10 – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    would have a less than one in five chance of being detected despite potentially causing more than 10 – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by would have a less than one in five chance of being detected despite potentially causing more than 10 on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the statement in the Executive Summary of the Water fluoridation: Health monitoring report for England 2014 that there is no evidence of a difference in the rate of hip fractures between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The possible effects of fluoride in water have been extensively studied and reviewed over the last 50 years. In the United Kingdom the most recent review prior to the publication of Public Health England’s (PHE) Health Monitoring Report was undertaken by the National Health Service Centre for Reviews and Dissemination based at the University of York and published in 2000. The Medical Research Council subsequently, in 2002, reported to the Department of Health its advice on future research priorities. The US National Research Council reported in 2006 and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council reported in 2007. PHE drew on these authoritative sources in selecting a number of indicators of health conditions for inclusion in the 2014 water fluoridation health monitoring report.

    The chosen indicators of various health conditions were selected based on the evidence base, theoretical plausibility, potential impact on population health, the quality and availability of data, and the validity of the indicator. The selected indicators will be reviewed for future reports in the light of emerging evidence.

    The article by KK Cheng et al did not provide any new evidence regarding hip fractures, but comments on the chance of detecting an increased risk of hip fracture for a speculated odds ratio of 1.2 in a previous study by Hiller et al. 2000. This only refers to a single study and it is important to consider the overall weight of evidence.

    The overall weight of evidence and the consensus of opinion from authoritative reviews do not indicate that a drinking water concentration of 1 part fluoride per million parts of water presents an increased risk of hip fracture.

    A more recent review of potential health effects from water fluoridation was published in 2015 by the Irish Research Board. The report concluded that a summary of the existing literature indicates that the relationship between fluoride in drinking water and bone health is inconsistent, with no definitive proof of protective or harmful effects.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to lay an explanatory memorandum before Parliament on the ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and to climate action is firm. An explanatory memorandum initiating the UK’s domestic approval of the Agreement was laid on 7th October 2016 with a view to completing domestic procedures before the end of the year.