Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences for experimentation with animals the Animals and Science Committee granted in the most recent year for which data is available.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Animals in Science Committee (ASC) are responsible for providing impartial, balanced and objective advice to Ministers relating to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). The Committee is not responsible for granting licences. Under Section 9 of ASPA, the Secretary of State may consult the Committee regarding licence applications. Current policy requires referral of the following categories of project licence application:

    • the use of wild-caught non-human primates;

    • the use of cats, dogs, equidae or non-human primates in severe procedures;

    • use of endangered species;

    • projects with major animal welfare or ethical implications;

    • projects involving the use of admixed embryos falling into category 3 of the Academy of Medical Science report on Animals Containing Human Material and category 2 where the predominance of an admixed embryo is unclear or uncertain;

    • projects which may invoke any of the ‘safeguard clauses’ in the Directive with respect to the purpose of primate use, proposals for the use of a great ape, or proposals to cause long-lasting pain, suffering or distress that cannot be ameliorated; or

    • projects of any kind raising novel or contentious issues, or giving rise to serious societal concerns.

    In 2014, the most recent year for which we have data available, the ASC provided advice on four project licences. These were subsequently granted by the Home Office. The numbers of licences the ASC provided advice on in 2015 will be published in the ASC Annual Report later this year.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Highways England document, Cycling Strategy: our approach, published in January 2016, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the needs of cyclists are also considered when improvements are made to the local road network.

    Andrew Jones

    Decisions on how best to provide for cyclists on local roads are matters for the local authority – not only do they have a duty to balance the needs of all road users when considering how to design and manage their road networks, but they also have a detailed understanding of their roads.

    Our guidance in Local Transport Note 2/08: Cycle Infrastructure Design is comprehensive and allows councils to design good, safe schemes within current legislation. It already includes most of the measures highlighted as good practice by, for example, the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, and British Cycling.

    Government promotes best practice through the Cycle Proofing Working Group; an advisory body to the Government on ‘cycle proofing’. They share knowledge of cycle proofing with those designing and implementing cycle infrastructure on UK roads through their website:-

    https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/cycle-proofing-working-group

  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current performance and practices of South Yorkshire Police regarding investigations of sexual exploitation of children.

    Lord Bates

    As I set out in response to the Noble Lord on 20 August 2015, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary published a National Child Protection Inspection post-inspection review of South Yorkshire Police in July 2015. The report found that South Yorkshire Police had made child protection a priority and was taking steps to improve its response to child sexual exploitation although areas of poor practice still remained. South Yorkshire Police must continue to work towards implementing Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s recommendations. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary is continuing to monitor South Yorkshire Police’s approach to child protection.

    The South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner has commissioned an independent review into the force’s handling of reports of child sexual exploitation. The review, led by Professor John Drew, launched on 30 September and the report will be published this year.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what involvement Ministers of his Department had in the decision by Public Health England to reduce the recommended amount of dairy in the Eatwell guide; for what reasons that change was made; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has adopted the refreshed Eatwell Guide, which reflects updated government dietary recommendations based upon conclusions from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, robust modelling and consumer research.

    An external reference group informed the development of the Eatwell Guide and representatives from the Department were observer members of this group.

    The approach considered the most objective and robust by the reference group to inform the sizes of the food group segments, ensured that all government dietary recommendations were met. This resulted in a new image with a reduced ‘dairy and alternatives’ segment, which will support consumers to reduce saturated fat and salt consumption, while still meeting calcium recommendations.

    Ministers agreed to the final version of the Eatwell Guide prior to publication and were briefed during the course of the work.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is offering advice to African countries on desertification.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID supports the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which has had a strong impact on raising awareness of land degradation in Africa. The UK will hold the EU Presidency during the next UNCCD Conference of Parties and will champion the achievement of the land degradation targets agreed within the 2015 Global Goals.

    DFID supports countries on desertification through our forestry and resilience work. For example the Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED) programme works with farmers in the Sahel on better natural resource management and regeneration. DFID also provides support to the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration, through the International Forestry Knowledge programme (KNOWFOR), to help operationalise the ambitious targets of the Bonn Challenge. KNOWFOR helps countries assess the potential for restoration in their countries, developing tools and carrying out a range of analyses to support decision making, planning and attracting financing. 11 countries in Africa have so far pledged restoration targets (including Niger, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and Ethiopia); the demand is growing as countries see the potential adaptation as well as mitigation benefits of restoring degraded land.

  • 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 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many job vacancies in his Department have been reserved as internal posts in the last 12 months.

    Matthew Hancock

    For the 12 month period between 8/6/15 and 7/6/16, Cabinet Office advertised 26 vacancies for internal applicants on its intranet site. In the same period, 469 Cabinet Office vacancies were advertised on the Civil Service Jobs search internet page.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to remove international students from the Government’s migration targets following the decision to leave the EU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    International students are included in net migration statistics that are produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). In line with the internationally agreed UN definition, these statistics define a migrant as someone changing their normal place of residence for more than a year. Students are therefore included in the same way as other migrants. Other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia also include students in their net migration figures.

    Like other migrants, students who stay for longer than 12 months have an impact on communities, infrastructure and services while they are here, so it is right that they are included in the net migration count.

    We are committed to reducing non-EU migration across all visa routes in order to bring net migration down to sustainable levels as soon as possible.

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

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is (1) their policy, or (2) the policy of NHS England, that primary care centres should be amalgamated into larger units.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    As part of the New Care Models Programme, NHS England is supporting local health and care commissioners and providers to come together to improve the health and care they provide. This includes the development of population-based care models known as integrated Primary and Acute Care Systems and Multispecialty Community Providers (MCPs). Where and how to develop new care models are decisions taken by local partnerships, in response to local conditions. The Programme is not directing or requiring the amalgamation of primary care centres.

    There are 14 MCP vanguards, with a single organisation accountable for joined-up General Practitioner (GP) and community services and some specialist care, mental health services, and social care for a defined population. The building blocks of a MCP are the ‘care hubs’ of integrated teams. Each typically serves a community of around 30,000-50,000 people. These hubs are the practical, operational level of any model of accountable care provision. The wider the scope of services included in the MCP, the more hubs you may need to connect together to create sufficient scale. All 14 MCP vanguards now serve a minimum population of around 100,000.

    The majority of GP practices are already working in practice groups or federations. This provides opportunities to expand services, stabilise practice income and work at scale, which has benefits for patients, practices and the wider system. These include economies of scale, quality improvement, workforce development, enhanced care and new services, resilience and system partnerships.

    A new voluntary MCP contract will be introduced from April 2017, to integrate general practice services with community services and wider healthcare services. Measures from the GP Access Fund and vanguard sites that are currently piloting this approach, will be learned from to support mainstreaming of proven service improvements across all practices, and funding will be provided for local collaborations to support practices to implement new ways of working.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many organisations considered in-scope under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 have provided Certificates of Performance in each Department in 2015.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not require the submission of Certificates of Performance.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of buses in England are (a) zero-emission capable, (b) Euro 4 or above and (c) hybrid diesel-electric.

    Andrew Jones

    We do not hold detailed numbers on the information requested. However, in relation to points (a) zero –emission capable and (c) hybrid diesel-electric we understand that over one hundred zero-emission capable buses and over 1300 hybrid diesel-electric buses are currently in service in England.

    This Government is continuing to build on the good work of the Coalition government, which saw nearly £60million grants awarded through the Green Bus Fund to help purchase around 900 low carbon buses. In addition, around £14million was allocated to help modify over 900 buses outside of London to significantly reduce their emissions and to upgrade over 400 London buses with pollution reducing technology, following £5m (match funded by the GLA) of earlier funding to upgrade 900 buses in London. This Government will shortly announce the winning bids for the second round of the Clean Bus Technology Fund.