UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • The Lord Bishop of Durham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Durham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Durham on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial and diplomatic assistance they are providing to the East African Community and the UN to support them in their efforts to reduce existing tensions between the governments of Burundi and Rwanda.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The East African Community (EAC) has a central role to play in resolving the crisis in Burundi and mediating dialogue between Burundi and its neighbours. We strongly support the EAC mediation process, led by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa. We have provided extensive diplomatic support to the process through lobbying of regional leaders and attendance by our Special Envoy to the Great Lakes at meetings of the dialogue in May and July in Arusha, Tanzania.

    Through our UN Security Council Membership we have worked with partners to ensure that EAC efforts are fully coordinated with, and supported by, the United Nations. In January 2016 our Ambassador to the United Nations participated in a Security Council visit to Burundi. In July the Security Council passed Resolution 2303 which welcomed the EAC’s efforts so far and called for all parties in the region to participate fully with the process.

  • Baroness Stern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Stern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Stern on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 20 new Protector” drones to be procured under the Scavenger Programme will be the General Atomics certifiable Predator B or any other model or variant.”

    Earl Howe

    No decision has yet been made on the choice of platform to meet the Protector (formerly Scavenger) requirement. This will be determined as part of the main investment decision, which is scheduled for 2016.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects that the trial will begin of Michael Misick, former Prime Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

    James Duddridge

    We expect the trial to start this week.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will add pulmonary arterial hypertension to the conditions which are exempt from prescription charges.

    Alistair Burt

    There are no plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide exemption from prescription charges.

    Other extensive exemption arrangements are in place, in England, including those based on low income, which support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. For those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what work the Digital Accessibility Alliance has completed or published since it was formed.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    This Government recognises the importance of Digital Inclusion, and remains committed to seeing an improvement in the provision of digital information services for disabled people. Annual correspondence with the FTSE 100 companies has indicated that from 2013 to present there has been a steady increase in the number of companies that provide video relay. We welcome this positive progress, and public facing Government departments will continue to work with interested parties to ensure this continues.

    We have also been monitoring progress of the provision of access services for Video on Demand (VoD) content since 2013 through engagement with the Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), platform operators content providers and broadcasters.

    The Alliance for Digital Accessibility (formerly the Digital Accessibility Alliance), which has met twice since its formation, has created the environment for members to engage and discuss Accessibility issues.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many museums have closed since 7 May 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Neither DCMS nor Arts Council England holds information on museums closures. However, there are just under 1800 accredited museums.

    Thanks to an excellent Spending Review settlement in November 2015, the Government is honouring its manifesto commitment to keep entry to the permanent collections of our national museums free.

    Through the Arts Council England, DCMS is increasing funding for 21 Major Partner Museums from £20.3m to £22.6 million. In addition to this, regional museums can bid for funds from ACE’s £10 million per year Resilience Fund. They can also bid for lottery funding from the HLF. We are also investing millions of pounds to boost local and regional museums, for example, £5 million towards a new South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum and £2.5 million to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.

  • Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that all health and social care staff involved in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions receive specialist training.

    Ben Gummer

    A review of the allocation methodology of the annual children’s hospice grant is being considered to support an equitable, transparent and evidence based formula making use of data from all children’s hospices in 2016/17. The aim is to provide clear advice to hospices on the grant for 2016/17 and a proposed way forward to review the formula and how hospices can contribute to that process.

    Adult hospices, including voluntary sector hospices, receive on average around a third of their funding from the National Health Service and it is for local commissioners to ensure that the services they commission meet the needs of their local populations, including in end of life care.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for ensuring that they are meeting the needs of those requiring children’s palliative care services, considering the full range of local provision, both statutory and voluntary sectors, and the wishes of children and young people and their families. CCGs will need to make sure that they provide information on the support available locally for children with palliative care needs and their families.

    Many maternity units have specialist bereavement midwives and dedicated bereavement suites to support parents but we know that this support is not available in every unit and we are currently considering the actions that we can take to improve bereavement services further. For families of older children and young people chaplaincy services may be able to provide support.

    It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure staff receive appropriate development to deliver safe and effective healthcare. This includes training in providing care to children and young people with life-shortening conditions.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to encourage more businesses to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence recognises the value of open, mutually beneficial relationships with employers, which is why we have introduced professionalised employer engagement at the national and regional level.

    The relationships we are building show that supporting the Armed Forces community is not only the right thing for employers to do, but can also yield tangible business benefits. Showing support by signing the Armed Forces Covenant can enhance the reputation of a company and attract the interest of Reservists and Service leavers; highly skilled, well-trained professionals who can add real value to a business.

    Since 2014 the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) has provided visible recognition to those employers which support Defence and is inspiring others to do the same. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards for employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to Defence and the Armed Forces community. Publicity around the ERS and the Armed Forces Covenant is valuable to both Defence and the employers involved. Ministers regularly attend Armed Forces Covenant signing events, most recently with ISS UK.

    Our approach is delivering benefit; almost 1,000 employers have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and research shows that overall awareness of the Covenant has increased significantly over the last year.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Thames Tideway Tunnel project will send clean excavated materials to landfill permit sites as a waste or to be beneficially reused as a material or product as recovery in accordance with its commitment to reduce waste to landfill in the development consent order.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Tideway, the infrastructure provider set up to finance and deliver the Thames Tideway Tunnel, has been assessing several sites identified through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process to receive the tunnel excavated material.

    Amongst other things this assessment looks at maximising the beneficial use of excavated material and its transport by river to meet environmental commitments made under the DCO. The relevant site operators have already made a number of applications to the Environment Agency (EA). The type of permit these sites require will be assessed by the EA in line with its guidance. This guidance is currently being revised following a recent Court of Appeal judgment which in some cases may lead to the reclassification of some waste activities as disposal rather than recovery. It is possible for appropriate disposal to deliver beneficial use such as habitat creation.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to support local television services.

    Baroness Mobarik

    A total of 21 local television services have launched since November 2013 with a further 13 local services due come on air next year. The development of local television has been supported by up to £40m of ring-fenced funding under arrangements agreed with the BBC in 2011. Under these arrangements, the BBC will provide up to £25 million to cover the capital costs of building the local television transmission network and up to £15m for content funding from the BBC for each station’s first three years on air.

    The draft Charter agreement published on 15 September included an extension to the content funding arrangements. This would ensure that all local television stations launching by 31 July 2017 and that wish to receive BBC support for their first three years on air will able to receive funding under these arrangements until March 2020.

    In addition to BBC funding, local television also benefits from having prominence on electronic programme guides (EPG) on Freeview and on other platforms and from certain exemptions to requirements in broadcasting legislation, such as having to source a proportion of their content from independent producers.