Tag: Roger Godsiff

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether housing association tenants who part-buy their properties under shared ownership will be able to use Right To Buy to purchase either a share or all of that property.

Brandon Lewis

As is the case with the existing Right to Buy, the agreement with housing associations and the National Housing Federation to extend Right to Buy discounts to housing association tenants will not apply to those people who already own a share in their home, including those who purchased their home under shared ownership.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government intends to proceed with Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet completed. We‎ have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36565, when she plans to make the decision on whether to update the statutory guidance on sex and relationship education; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

As stated in my response to the Hon. Member’s previous question 36565, the Government believes that sex and relationship education is essential for children’s development and preparation for responsible adult life. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Independent Review of the operational case for bulk powers, if she will make it her policy to establish a further review of, or extend the remit of that review to include, the proportionality of the powers contained in the Investigatory Powers Bill.

Mr John Hayes

The current review being conducted by David Anderson QC is specifically examining the operational case for the bulk powers in Parts 6 and 7 of the Investigatory Powers Bill. The review will not include a consideration of the safeguards that apply to these powers, and associated questions of proportionality, as that is rightly a matter for Parliament to consider as part of its scrutiny of the Bill.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the existing plans for the development of Hinkley C set out whether (a) the Government or (b) EDF will be financially and legally responsible for the safe storage of nuclear waste if that project goes ahead.

Jesse Norman

Government policy is that operators of new nuclear power stations will be financially and legally responsible for the storage and disposal of the radioactive waste and spent fuel produced by those power stations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Syrian refugees and (b) vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North African region the UK plans to resettle in the UK over each of the next four years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection and up to 3,000 vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North African region in the UK over the lifetime of this Parliament.

We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK.

We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.