Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many non-disclosure agreements have been signed by (a) companies, (b) organisations and (c) individuals in relation to the Government's preparations for the UK leaving the EU without deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
We continue to engage with a wide range of businesses to understand their priorities and issues as we leave the European Union, both to inform our negotiating position, and our preparations in the unlikely event of there being no deal.
The Government has non-disclosure agreements with some private sector organisations. Confidentiality requirements are a common component of contractual obligations and are used by the Department to protect commercial considerations as well as negotiation sensitivities.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many non-disclosure agreements have been signed by (a) companies, (b) organisations and (c) individuals in relation to the Government's preparations for the UK leaving the EU without deal.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
We continue to engage with a wide range of businesses to understand their priorities and issues as we leave the European Union, both to inform our negotiating position, and our preparations in the unlikely event of there being no deal.
The Government has non-disclosure agreements with some private sector organisations. Confidentiality requirements are a common component of contractual obligations and are used by the Department to protect commercial considerations as well as negotiation sensitivities.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government has plans to include provisions on the framework for the future relationship with the European Union in the proposals for an EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
No. The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will only implement the Withdrawal Agreement. However the Bill will only be introduced following Parliament’s approval of the final deal covering both the withdrawal arrangements and the framework for the future relationship.
As the Prime Minister made clear in her Florence speech last year, the EU is not “legally able to conclude an agreement with the UK as an external partner while it is itself still part of the European Union”. Therefore, the Government will introduce further separate legislation where it is needed to implement the future relationship into UK law, ensuring Parliament is fully involved.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is take to ensure that young people are made aware of the benefits to society of signing-up to be an (a) organ, (b) blood and (c) stem cell donor.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The national curriculum includes substantial content that can inform pupils about organ, stem cell and blood donation. Pupils are taught about the function of the heart, blood vessels and blood as part of Key Stage 2 science, and about stem cells as part of Key Stage 4 science. The national curriculum is compulsory in state maintained schools, and is often used as a benchmark by academies.
The Government is proposing to introduce compulsory Health Education, alongside Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, and is currently consulting on draft regulations and draft statutory guidance on the subjects. Under the topic of physical health and fitness, the draft guidance sets out that pupils should know the facts about wider issues such as organ and blood donation.
The Department hopes as many people as possible will contribute to the consultation, which closes on 7 November, will consider feedback through this process, and may revise the guidance following analysis of the findings.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of including (a) organ donation, (b) blood donation and (c) stem cell donation in the statutory guidance relating to Health Education for secondary school pupils.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The national curriculum includes substantial content that can inform pupils about organ, stem cell and blood donation. Pupils are taught about the function of the heart, blood vessels and blood as part of Key Stage 2 science, and about stem cells as part of Key Stage 4 science. The national curriculum is compulsory in state maintained schools, and is often used as a benchmark by academies.
The Government is proposing to introduce compulsory Health Education, alongside Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, and is currently consulting on draft regulations and draft statutory guidance on the subjects. Under the topic of physical health and fitness, the draft guidance sets out that pupils should know the facts about wider issues such as organ and blood donation.
The Department hopes as many people as possible will contribute to the consultation, which closes on 7 November, will consider feedback through this process, and may revise the guidance following analysis of the findings.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of visas granted in 2017 for refugee family reunion under part 11 of the Immigration Rules were used.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Statistics on refugee family reunion can be found in Home Office Asylum tables volume 5, table as_21_q – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734178/asylum5-jun-2018-tables.ods
Information can also be found in the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration re-inspection of the family reunion process, focusing on applications received at the Amman Entry Clearance Decision Making Centre: :https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/737724/Final_Artwork_Reinspection_Family_Reunion_Amman.pdf
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas for refugee family reunion were granted outside the rules in 2017.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Statistics on refugee family reunion can be found in Home Office Asylum tables volume 5, table as_21_q – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734178/asylum5-jun-2018-tables.ods
Information can also be found in the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration re-inspection of the family reunion process, focusing on applications received at the Amman Entry Clearance Decision Making Centre: :https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/737724/Final_Artwork_Reinspection_Family_Reunion_Amman.pdf
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on the incineration of waste.
Answered by Baroness Coffey
The Government’s policy is that incineration should not compete with greater waste prevention, re-use and recycling. As part of the Government’s overall waste policy energy from waste plays a role in meeting the UK’s landfill diversion targets.
The Government is committed to recovering the maximum amount of energy from incinerated waste. It also encourages and supports the utilisation of heat and/or the production of other outputs beyond electricity.
The Resource and Waste Strategy will be published later this year and will set out how we will maximise the value we get from resources and minimise waste. It will set out how we will achieve zero avoidable plastic waste, double the UK’s resource productivity by 2042, and achieve zero avoidable waste of all kinds by 2050.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria the Care Quality Commission uses to determine the closure timeframe for a care home subsequent to a below standard rating and inadequate remedial action since that rating was given.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response.
For urgent closures, the CQC’s enforcement policy is in line with the thresholds set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Section 30 where there is a serious risk to a person’s life, health or well-being. The CQC must apply to a Justice of the Peace for an order cancelling the registration of a person as a service provider or manager in respect of a regulated activity.
Closures may also take place on a non-urgent basis. This may be related to the poor quality of a service and/or its lack of capacity or capability to improve. Where a service is rated Requires Improvement overall, but one of the CQC’s five key inspection domains (is the service Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led?) is rated Inadequate, the CQC will re-inspect the service within six months. If the service remains rated as Inadequate in any of the five key inspection domains, the service will enter Special Measures. This is the same process for a service rated overall as Inadequate, which enters Special Measures straight away.
For services in Special Measures, the CQC expects the provider to seek appropriate support to improve the quality of the service. The CQC may signpost the provider to improvement support agencies. The CQC will inspect the service again within six months of the date of publication of the inspection report placing it in Special Measures. The CQC will always prioritise and respond to risk, so may re-inspect at any time.
The maximum time for a service to be in Special Measures is usually no more than 12 months. If, at the end of that period, the service still has a rating of Inadequate in any of the five key inspection domains or overall, the CQC will decide whether to cancel or suspend its registration, or vary or impose conditions on its registration.
Asked by: Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish the outcome of the joint mapping exercise on border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland carried out by those negotiating on behalf of the Government and the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, has written to the Chair of the Exiting the EU Committee, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, committing to publishing the results of the North-South cooperation mapping exercise as soon as they are available.
Currently, the joint mapping exercise remains part of ongoing negotiations with the EU and further work has been agreed to finalise it.
We are hopeful that we can conclude this soon. We would, of course, seek to coordinate any release of information with the European Commission.