Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of community land trusts to increasing the supply of affordable housing in the UK.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not assess the potential contribution that individual classes of organisation, including Community Land Trusts, can make to the delivery of affordable housing. However, we recognise the role they can play in delivering locally led and innovative housing development and we are confident they will make a valuable contribution to the 400,000 affordable housing starts we have committed to deliver by 2021.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that every patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is recorded on (a) a local searchable database and (b) the UK registry for IBD patients.

    Jane Ellison

    The IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) Registry provides a United Kingdom-wide repository of anonymised IBD adult and paediatric patient data for prospective audit and research purposes. Patients must consent for their data to be added to the registry. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has allocated transitional funding this year to incorporate IBD audit data collection into the IBD Registry, providing an enhanced system for data capture and quality improvement that will be available to every hospital in the UK. This will allow the entry of data locally and support service improvement. Initially the focus will be for IBD patients receiving biologic treatments, but the system will address other key aspects of IBD care in the future.

    The second step of data collection will be to focus on new patients with IBD to begin to understand the incidence of IBD in the UK. This picture will build up over a number of years and be dependent on the engagement of clinicians.

    No specific assessment of the potential effects on healthcare due to the introduction of a registry of patients with IBD in England has been made. However, the data provided through the register can support National Health Service services in areas such as the assessment of local IBD populations as well as in measuring incidence and outcomes with services in other parts of the UK.

    Although there is no direct Department funding, HQIP have given £290,000 for a year’s transition funding to join the audit data with the registry.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends faecal calprotectin testing as an option to help doctors distinguish between inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and non-inflammatory bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

    The NICE IBD Quality Standard states that general practitioners (GP) and GP practices should ensure that testing is offered and clinical commissioning groups should ensure the diagnostic services are in place to support this.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what enforcement action is being taken by (a) the police and (b) Trading Standards against secondary ticketing operators offering tickets for the UEFA European Football Championships for sale through their websites to customers based in the UK; and under what legislation such action is being taken.

    David Evennett

    The Police are responsible for enforcing the football ticketing provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 that apply to England and Wales. Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action. The Government does not hold information centrally on the use of these enforcement powers or the number of penalties issued.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which services have been sold for profit by (a) her Department and (b) the College of Policing to the Saudi criminal justice system in the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    We are rightly proud of the British model of policing by consent and of the high level of skill and expertise across policing in this country. The College of Policing, which is independent of Government, ensures that respect for human rights and dignity is integral to each programme it delivers.

    Course developers and trainers are required to include a bespoke human rights and ethical decision-making element in each course. Before undertaking any international work, the College refers to the International Policing Assistance Board (IPAB), which assesses all requests against British values and interests. IPAB comprises policing representatives and those from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development and devolved administrations.

    The College always acts in accordance with HM Treasury’s guidelines on ‘Managing Public Money’, which includes guidance on commercial charging rates. The Home Office do not keep records on the travel of College of Policing officials.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of relapsed blood cancer patients who will no longer be able to access second stem cell transplants as a result of the NHS England decision published on 11 July 2016 to no longer routinely fund second stem cell transplants for those patients.

    David Mowat

    The Clinical Priorities Advisory Group which makes recommendations to the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group uses a defined process to prioritise treatments based on a combination of cost and patient benefit. The process includes an impact assessment that estimated that up to 22 patients per year by 2021 might be affected by this decision.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that all health and safety regulations will be (a) protected in the long-term and (b) retained in legislation after the UK leaves the EU.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As a Government, we have been clear that we will do nothing to undermine workers’ rights. The United Kingdom has one of the best records on occupational safety and health in Europe and the wider world and the Government intends to keep it that way. Health and safety regulations are secondary legislation under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Government has no plans to change this.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November to Question 14627, what estimate her Department has made of the total funding that will be available to the Waste and Resources Action Programme in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Future funding of WRAP will depend on the outcome of the current spending review.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress has been made in (a) reviewing the effectiveness of her Department’s Code of Practice on the use of snares and (b) improving operator compliance with that Code.

    Rory Stewart

    In 2012 Defra published research on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales. Following publication of the report, officials worked with stakeholders to explore options to improve the humaneness of snaring. Ministers are currently considering these options, including the issue of improved guidance on snaring.

  • building a strong economy and maintaining a strong United Kingdom. Anglesey’s Energy Island can help ensure that north Wales plays a key part in this vision” – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    building a strong economy and maintaining a strong United Kingdom. Anglesey’s Energy Island can help ensure that north Wales plays a key part in this vision” – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by building a strong economy and maintaining a strong United Kingdom. Anglesey’s Energy Island can help ensure that north Wales plays a key part in this vision” on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the press release issued by the Welsh Office on 30 December 2015 entitled Wylfa a terrific success story” for Wales and key part of Northern Powerhouse vision

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    This Government has presided over a fundamental shift of power from Westminster to the people and communities of this country by promoting unprecedented decentralisation. North Wales is an integral part of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse vision. Businesses and Local Authorities in North Wales who Wales Office Ministers speak to are clear that North East Wales and North West England form one single economic entity and are best placed to drive economic development and deliver public services.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of stamp duty exemption for transfers under schemes of company reconstruction and similar arrangements.

    Mr David Gauke

    Relief from stamp duty is available for company reconstructions where the same people hold the same proportion of shares before and after the reconstruction. The relief ensures that stamp duty does not apply where there is no real change in ownership of a company. The relief also recognises that reconstructions of companies often occur for genuine commercial reasons unrelated to tax, so in strictly defined circumstances should be able to take place in a tax neutral way. All claims are adjudicated by HM Revenue and Customs to ensure the strict conditions for relief are met.