Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to take action against hospital trusts which continue to breach mixed-sex accommodation guidance.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All patients deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and the Government has made it clear that providers of National Health Service funded care are expected to eliminate mixed-sex accommodation, except where this is in the overall best interest of the patient, or reflects their personal choice.

    Since 2010, there has been a fall from almost 12,000 patients in mixed-sex accommodation to 753 reported in March 2016. We will continue to monitor monthly breach data and performance across the NHS in partnership with NHS England. The financial penalty for non-delivery of the operational standard is mandated through the NHS Standard Contract 2016/17, and applies to all providers of acute, cancer and mental health services.

    Under the terms of the Contract, where a breach occurs, the commissioner whose patient is affected must levy the financial sanction specified by the Contract. That sanction is £250 for each day that patient is affected by the breach.

    Delivering zero breaches for every trust, every month, is unlikely. This is because there will be some occasions where patients are mixed appropriately, even when their clinical care needs do not demand it (for example if a patient is admitted in the middle of the night and the only way to release an appropriate bed is to awaken and move other patients).

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what step they are taking to ensure that British businesses in Colombia do not contribute to human rights abuses there.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Encouraging businesses to respect human rights is a global priority for this Government. We recognise that communities such as indigenous and afro-descendant people and those in isolated rural areas are particularly vulnerable.

    The UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights sets out how the Government is implementing the UN Guiding Principles. British firms are expected to uphold these principles in their overseas operations, as well as in the UK. It is for each country to implement a National Action Plan to ensure compliance with the Guiding Principles.

    We worked closely with the Colombian authorities to develop their National Action Plan, published in December. All companies operating in Colombia, including British ones, should comply with the requirements and guidelines set out in that National Action Plan.

    The Minister for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, the Lord Price of Sturminster Newton, launched a campaign for British businesses to support peace, primarily through respect for human rights, during his visit to Colombia last month. Twenty of the largest British companies operating in Colombia subsequently agreed to align themselves to the Colombian National Action Plan for business and human rights.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the current security situation in Afghanistan and the stability of that country.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The security situation in Afghanistan remains challenging. It is the second year of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces’ (ANDSF) independent operations and their capability continues to gradually improve. The work of NATO’s non-combat advisory mission, Resolute Support, remains critical to this effort. In 2016, ANDSF have faced particular pressure from the insurgency in Helmand and Kunduz. Where significant population centres have been threatened, government forces have repelled Taleban assaults.

    At the Warsaw Summit in July 2016, NATO agreed to sustain Resolute Support’s “Train, Advise and Assist” mission through 2017. Donors also pledged around $4.5bn in funding to the ANDSF through to 2020 and reaffirmed NATO’s Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan. This clear signal of international resolve demonstrates our collective commitment to safeguarding the gains made in Afghanistan and to supporting the Government of Afghanistan to deliver security for its citizens.

    HMG Ministers will be discussing these issues, and related development issues, with partners at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan on 4-5 October.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual revenue raised from VAT on tourism and related services was; and what proportion of this revenue was generated in Scotland for each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The government does not hold data on the annual revenue raised from VAT on tourism and related services in the UK and in Scotland. This is because tourism does not follow the standard classification of sectors. For example, revenue raised from travel and hotel accommodation will be a mixture of tourism and non-tourism activity.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Ministry of Defence expenditure her Department considered to be spending on international development in each year from 2006 to 2014.

    Grant Shapps

    The Ministry of Defence did not spend any Official Development Assistance during the years 2006-2010. Figures for 2011-2014 are shown in the table below.

    MoD Spend on ODA (£m)

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    5

    5

    3

    3*

    *2014 data is provisional. Final figures for 2014 will be published on the DFID website on Thursday 3rd December 2015.

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that conditionality requirements for jobseekers who are in receipt of universal credit, as set out in each individual’s Claimant Commitment, take into account whether the individual may be homeless.

    Priti Patel

    Work Coaches regularly discuss a range of issues and circumstances with claimants. Where homelessness is raised, and is a barrier to employment, work coaches can temporarily lift or vary work search and availability requirements to help support in finding accommodation. Conditionality requirements reflect reasonable expectations given the claimants circumstance. These are recorded in the Claimant Commitment and regularly reviewed.

  • Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Moonie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many members of HM Armed Forces are currently serving in Afghanistan; how many are female, and what roles they are fulfilling.

    Earl Howe

    As of 18 January 2016, there were 458 members of HM Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan under Operation TORAL. Routine movements and minor changes in requirements mean that this number will vary over time. The UK’s commitment to Operation TORAL nevertheless remains in line with the figure of around 450 personnel announced by the Defence Secretary in his statement of 27 October 2015 ( Ref: UK Military Support to Afghanistan:Written statement – HCWS273).

    Out of the 458 personnel, 33 are female. There are 10 UK female officers and 23 other ranks. These personnel undertake a wide range of roles including: medical, force protection, mentors, police, logistics, communications, human resources and administration, and engineering and technical support.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the number of potential closures of and (b) the reduction in community pharmacies as a result of proposed reductions in funding to such pharmacies.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the Financial Conduct Authority’s oversight of anti-money-laundering regulations in the light of consumer complaints about enforced, unannounced and unexplained closures of bank accounts.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government encourages banks to take a risk based approach in its activities to ensure that measures they take are effective, proportionate and mitigate the risks that they face. In doing so the Government also encourages them to have due regard to financial inclusion.

    Whilst it would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in these decisions, individuals are able to request a review of the decision to close their bank account using the bank’s formal complaint procedure and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on increasing the amount of funding available to GP practices.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has regular discussions with NHS England on various measures to support general practice, including funding.

    NHS England has confirmed that it will increase funding for general practice by an average of 4.5% each year to 2020/21.