Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals for the transition to a zero-carbon economy.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government believes we will need to take the step of enshrining the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions, reached at the UN climate summit at the end of 2015, into UK law. The question is not whether but how we do it. As a first step, our independent advisors, the Committee on Climate Change, is looking at the implications of the commitments in Paris, including the zero carbon emissions goal. It has said that it will report in the autumn. We will consider carefully the recommendations of the Committee.

This Government is committed to the Climate Change Act and the target of at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Our priority this year is setting the fifth carbon budget (covering the period 2028-32) by the end of June and developing our plan on how we will meet our existing targets. We are clear that this must be done while keeping our energy supply safe and costs as low as possible for hardworking families and businesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the changes to junior doctors’ contracts and NHS working patterns on hospices and other institutions providing end of life care.

Ben Gummer

Most junior doctors working in hospices do so as either a volunteer or as part of their training placement with a National Health Service trust or foundation trust, who under the new contract will appoint a guardian of safe working hours.

It was also agreed in the May negotiations that non-hospital employers with fewer than 10 trainees (this could include palliative care) must contract the guardian of safe working hours at a neighbouring NHS trust to oversee the safe working of trainees.

The trainees affected by these arrangements will be represented in the Junior Doctor Forum and the Guardian must either be familiar with the issues face by the trainees working in the relevant setting or have access to support and advice on such issues.

Hospices will decide locally how to deploy trainee doctors and on-call arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance he has issued to officials of his Department on processing disability benefit claims from people who are on the organ transplant waiting list.

Justin Tomlinson

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assesses how the condition affects the individual, not the condition itself.

The average clearance time for PIP new claims is 13 weeks from the point of registration to a decision being made. PIP claims for terminally ill claimants who are not expected to live for more than six months are fast-tracked and processed within an average of 6 working days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of GDP the Government plans to spend on health care in each of the next four years.

Mr Philip Dunne

Spend as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is stated on United Kingdom public expenditure figures and is produced by HM Treasury. The Department of Health is responsible for reporting on health spend in England and is not in a position to provide equivalent spend figures for health by the devolved administrations in future years.

The Spending Review settlement, delivered by the Chancellor in November 2015, set the Department’s overall budget for the remaining years of the parliament and the level of funding that will be available to the National Health Service. It set absolute spending totals, not spending as a percentage of GDP, providing certainty for financial planning over the period, according to the plans set out by the NHS itself, in the 5 Year Forward View.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK will support an independent, international investigation into alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen at the Human Rights Council.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are pleased that we could reach a strong consensus Yemen resolution at the Human Rights Council. It is vital that the international community continues to be active in supporting efforts to improve the human rights situation in Yemen.

The Government is not opposing calls for an international independent investigation, but, first and foremost, we want to see the Saudis investigate allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) which are attributed to them; and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of removing the 50 per cent cap on religious selection in free schools on religious tolerance and integration.

Caroline Dinenage

All schools must promote religious tolerance and integration whatever their character and ethos. The Department is currently consulting on proposals to replace the 50% cap on faith admissions in faith free schools with new measures to better promote inclusivity and community cohesion. The proposed measures, alongside existing requirements to promote fundamental British values, will apply to all new faith free schools with 100% faith admissions and help ensure that pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain. The consultation document is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-frameworks/schools-that-work-for-everyone

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a mechanism to ring-fence mental health funding.

Nicola Blackwood

Funding decisions legitimately rest with clinical commissioning groups as the appropriate accountable organisations to their local populations.

Nevertheless, 2016-17 NHS England planning guidance states that funding allocations may be retracted, if there is evidence that additional mental health allocations are not being used for the purpose for which they were intended.

The Mandate to NHS England in 2016-17 sets a clear objective that, in order “to close the health gap for people of all ages, we want to see a system-wide transformation in children and young people’s mental health”.

Clinical commissioning groups are required to increase their spending on mental health each year at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to Bermuda’s decision to (a) reject the Prime Minister’s request to introduce a public register of beneficial ownership and (b) reject the Prime Minister’s request to hold a consultation on adopting such a register.

James Duddridge

We have asked the Bermudian authorities to meet the following criteria: a) UK law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; b) These competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and c) Companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is underway. We are continuing our dialogue with the Bermudan authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met with Premier Dunkley on 26 August in London.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has established to safeguard 16 and 17 year olds who are victims of sexual exploitation.

Karen Bradley

Tackling child sexual exploitation is a top priority for this Government. Significant progress has been made since the launch of the “Tackling CSE” report in March 2015. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat in the Strategic Policing Requirement, setting a clear expectation on police forces to collaborate across force boundaries, to safeguard children, to share intelligence and to share best practice. All forces are training all police staff to respond to child sexual abuse, including call handlers, PCSOs, police officers, detectives and specialist investigators. And in January we will be launching a new national whistleblowing helpline for any employee – regardless of sector -to report bad practice in relation to child abuse. We have delivered the vast majority of a £7 million funding programme to support non-statutory organisations that have experienced a surge in demand on their services. This funding is to support the victims and survivors of sexual abuse, including children of all ages.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department plans to publish the results of its consultation on UK Export Finance’s anti-bribery and corruption policy.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s Response to the consultation relating to UK Export Finance’s anti-bribery and corruption policy is expected to be published early in the New Year.