Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consideration his Department has given to suspending the UK’s arms export licences to Saudi Arabia in the light of the conflict in Yemen.

Anna Soubry

All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria.

We keep all licences under review in the light of changing circumstances in countries of destination for UK arms exports, including Saudi Arabia.

A political solution is the best way to bring long term stability to Yemen and to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. The UK is fully and actively supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what efforts are being made through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme to assist refugees in (a) the Yazidi, Druze or Christian communities or (b) other communities who do not reside in the main refugee camps because of fears of religious persecution.

James Brokenshire

The UNHCR identifies people in need of resettlement based on the following criteria: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries. Individuals are not specifically identified for resettlement based on their membership of Yazidi, Druze, Christian or other communities but members of those communities may well meet one of the other vulnerability criteria set out by UNHCR.

The UNHCR identifies and proposes Syrian refugees for the Vulnerable Persons Scheme scheme from among the whole of the registered refugee population in the region, over 4 million people. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the evidential basis which shows that cannabis is harmful, cited in the Government response to the epetition, We demand the British Government reschedule cannabis.

Mike Penning

The government relies on the evidence of the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, whose most recent report on cannabis, Cannabis Classification and Public Health, concluded that cannabis is a “significant public health issue and can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society”. The full report can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acmd-cannabis-classification-and-public-health-2008.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of reducing the work-related activity group employment and support allowance rate on the number of claimants who move into employment.

Priti Patel

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in Bill on 20th July.

Ministers have considered impacts with regard to all relevant legal obligations when formulating the welfare policies announced in the Bill.

The intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work and ensure work always pays.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2016 to Question 21408, when the Government plans to reach a decision on funding for the National Illegal Money Lending Team.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is continuing to explore options to ensure that the England and Wales Illegal Money Lending Teams have the funding they need to ensure that consumers continue to be protected from illegal loan sharks as a matter of urgency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether private outsourcing companies which take on NHS contracts and obtain insurance by paying into the NHS insurance scheme are required to contribute (a) full or (b) a partial cost of that cover.

Ben Gummer

The NHS Litigation Authority is responsible for administering all National Health Service risk pooling schemes. Since April 2013, independent sector providers of healthcare have been able to obtain indemnity cover under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). All CNST members are required to pay their actuarially assessed costs for each year that they are a member of the scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the NICE guidelines on prescribing anti-depressants for children will be reviewed following the findings of the recent Nordic Cochrane Centre study, published in the British Medical Journal in January 2016, that use of these medications doubled the risk of suicide in people under the age of 18.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has processes in place to consider whether to update its guidance in light of significant new evidence.

NICE has advised that it is immediately reviewing the relevance of the Nordic Cochrane Centre study to its guideline on ‘depression in children and young people: identification and management’

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg28

and will update the guidance if required.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his arms export policy to Saudi Arabia of the legal advice on that matter commissioned by Amnesty International and Saferworld, published in December 2015.

Anna Soubry

The policy framework for arms export licensing to all destinations, including Saudi Arabia, remains as set out in the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, known as the Consolidated Criteria.

This requires all export licence applications to be carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated Criteria, taking into account all relevant factors at the time of application, including reporting by non-Governmental organisations, the United Nations and others.

A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Prime Minister, whether he plans to attend the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016.

Mr David Cameron

I welcome the UN Secretary-General’s leadership in convening the World Humanitarian Summit which comes at a critical time given that there are currently more displaced people globally than at any time since the Second World War. We want to see a renewed commitment to the protection of civilians in conflict, a stronger focus on protecting and empowering women and girls, smarter financing, and a new approach to building resilience to natural hazards before they take place.

No decision has yet been taken about the composition of the UK’s delegation to the Summit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average number of hours of weekly respite or support family carers are able to access; and what targets his Department has for such provision.

Alistair Burt

We do not hold information on the average number of hours of weekly respite for carers. We are working with councils to improve data in this area for future iterations of the Short and Long Term Care data collection, including on respite care (also known as replacement care).

The Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by unpaid carers and the importance of supporting them in their caring roles. That is why we continue to support implementation of the improved rights for carers enshrined in the Care Act 2014. This includes a right to an assessment on the appearance of needs for support that will look at a carer’s wellbeing and what support they may need in their caring role, including replacement care where appropriate. The Department has provided £104 million of funding to local authorities for these rights in 2015-16.

We have also made an additional £400 million available to the National Health Service between 2011 and 2015 to provide carers with breaks from their caring responsibilities to sustain them in their caring role. The equivalent annual allocation of £130 million for carers breaks is now included in the Better Care Fund.

The Department is also leading the development of a new cross-Government National Carers Strategy that will look at what more we can do to support existing carers and future carers.