Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has received on the legality under international law of potential UK trade with entities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has in the past received Written Parliamentary Questions, on behalf of their constituents, and correspondence directly from members of the public about British businesses operating in, and trading with, illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We routinely update our guidance to British businesses on the Overseas Business Risk website. We advise British businesses to bear in mind the British Government's view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering their investments and activities in the region. Ultimately it will be the decision of each individual or company whether to operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many (a) parliamentary written questions and (b) letters from MPs were answered late in 2016-17, by Department.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since the introduction of the electronic system for the handling of parliamentary questions for written answer, the Table Office has provided the Procedure Committee with statistics relating to the timeliness of answers which are obtained directly from that system. The Procedure Committee’s most recent report on its monitoring of written parliamentary questions, which provided data for the session 2015–16, was published on 27 July 2016 as HC 191 of Session 2016–17.
On Monday 11 July my right hon. Friend the First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office made a written statement, HCWS35, detailing the performance of Departments and Agencies on handling correspondence from Members and Peers during the calendar year 2016.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the performance of the Pennine Acute Trust; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Philip Dunne
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health meets NHS England and NHS Improvement on a weekly basis to discuss National Health Service performance at a local level.
It is the responsibility of NHS Trust Boards, their commissioners and regulators, and of the clinicians who work at trusts, to ensure service delivery meets the required performance standards.
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 10 items of correspondence received since 1 June 2016 relating to the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. This includes letters from members of the public about their experience of care and treatment at the Trust, and Regulation 28 Reports to Prevent Future Deaths following inquests held into the deaths of patients who received care and treatment from the Trust.
This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.
In September 2016, the Department replied to the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton’s (Graham Stringer) Parliamentary Question 44138 about avoidable deaths at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 July (HL1098) and 7 November (HL2544), which previous answers identified the members of the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) who shared private and confidential correspondence with members of the HFEA Executive that had not been submitted to the Authority as part of any formal calls for evidence; and if they are unable to answer the questions, why they are unable to do so.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The members of the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) who shared private and confidential correspondence with members of the HFEA Executive, that had not been submitted to the Authority as part of any formal calls for evidence, have not been identified. I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 7 November 2016 (HL2544). The HFEA has advised that it has nothing further to add, in respect of the correspondence between Professor Grifo and the expert panel, to that already set out in previous answers.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department's target is for time taken to respond to letters and emails from hon. Members; what the average time taken by his Department to respond to such letters and emails is; and how many such letters and emails received between 1 January and 30 September 2015 remained unanswered after eight weeks.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
My Department aims to reply to all correspondence from hon. Members within 15 working days.
Guidance for Departments on handling correspondence from Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, Members of the European Parliament and Members of Devolved Administrations is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441892/Cabinet_Office_Guidance_on_correspondence.pdf”
Departmental performance on handling correspondence is published annually. The latest publication is available at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2015-06-03/HCWS11/”
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 26 January (HL4063 and HL4228) and by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Jane Ellison, on 2 February (HC222039), whether the dates on which the members of the Expert Panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) held its meetings were recorded or otherwise indicated by minutes of their discussion meetings published on the HFEA website; how it was confirmed that correspondence regarding the abstract in <i>Fertility and Sterility</i> in 2003 (Volume 30, supplement 3, p56) was shared with other panel members by forwarding of emails or by distributing printed copies in person at discussion meetings; why the HFEA has been unable to determine the exact date on which the Expert Panel first became aware of this abstract; and whether they can indicate the first month and year for which records are available when the Expert Panel discussed correspondence regarding this abstract.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it has convened an Expert Panel to review the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease through assisted conception on three occasions - in 2011, 2013 and 2014 (plus an addendum to the third review in 2014). The minutes of the Panel’s meetings for the 2011 and 2013 reviews are available on the HFEA website at:
http://www.hfea.gov.uk/6372.html
The minutes of the 2014 review will be on the website shortly. All of the minutes record the dates the Panel’s meetings took place. As outlined in the report of its third review, carried out in 2014, the Panel met three times for this review between February and June 2014, their main meeting being on 4 April 2014.
As outlined in the Panel’s addendum to the third review (a review of the safety and efficacy of polar body transfer to avoid mitochondrial disease) members met twice, on 26 August and 16 September 2014, to discuss this addendum.
As explained in my answer to the noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool on 26 January 2015 (HL4063 and HL4228), a member of the Expert Panel corresponded with one of the authors of the abstract referred to in the noble Lord’s question, and the HFEA has advised that this correspondence was shared with the other Panel members. The correspondence was by email. The Expert Panel corresponded about this abstract in September 2014.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2015 to Question 220130, which member of the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority had an email exchange with one of the authors of the research published in Fertility and Sterility; how that member of the expert panel shared this information with other members of the expert panel; and for what reason it would not be appropriate for this correspondence to be placed in the Library.
Answered by Jane Ellison
I have nothing further to add to my previous reply of 12 January 2015 to Question 220130.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received about the number of illegal immigrants entering the UK.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Home Office regularly receives written questions and correspondence from Honourable Members and their constituents about this issue. Since 2010, we have clamped down on illegal immigration.
The Immigration Act 2014 is a landmark piece of legislation which builds on the Government’s ongoing reforms to our immigration system to ensure it works in our national interest.
The Act will have a major impact on the Home Office’s work to secure our borders, enforce our immigration laws and continue to attract the brightest and the best to the UK.
The Act puts the law firmly on the side of those who respect it, not those who break it.
Key measures from the Act which are now in force including the introduction of enhanced duties for registrars to report suspected sham marriages and civil partnerships; new powers to streamline the recovery of illegal working penalties; the ability to remove harmfulindividuals before their appeals are heard if there is no risk of serious irreversible harm.
The Act also Strengthens requirements for the courts to have regard to Parliament’s view of the public interest in immigration cases raising Article 8-making clear the right to a family life is not to be regarded as absolute and unqualified.
New powers to revoke the driving licences of known illegal immigrants are also included in the Act.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on the conviction against Anwar Ibrahim, Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia; if he will raise his conviction for sodomy with his Malaysian counterpart; and if he will assess whether the charge and conviction of Anwar Ibrahim is a case of political persecution.
Answered by Lord Swire
Along with Parliamentary Question 211845, answered on 29 October 2014 (www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?) and correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers, we have also received letters from members of the public on this issue.
My right hon. and noble Friend the former Minister of State, Baroness Warsi met Anwar Ibrahim during her visit to Malaysia in April and raised his case with senior members of the Malaysian government. Our High Commission in Malaysia has discussed the matter with Malaysian ministers and officials on a number of occasions. The former Minister of State again met Anwar Ibrahim during the latter’s visit to the UK in June.
Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal against his conviction is being monitored closely by officials from our High Commission in Malaysia who are attending court hearings alongside other local diplomatic missions. We are aware of allegations that the case is politically motivated. As the case is not yet concluded, it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Asked by: Graeme Morrice (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on changing the law relating to designation of babies born before 24 weeks' gestation as stillborn.
Answered by Dan Poulter
A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified eight items of correspondence received since 1 July 2013 about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.
Since 1 July 2013, two written parliamentary questions have been received about the law relating to the designation and registration of pregnancy losses before 24 weeks gestation.
I met the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) in April 2014 to discuss the Registration of Stillbirths 2013-14 private members (ten minute rule) Bill. The Bill was also raised by several hon. Members in a Westminster Hall debate about stillbirth and infant mortality on 26 March 2014.