Results 1-20 of 1,637 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Tonge

Sudan — Question (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, I declare an interest as a vice-chairman of the All-Party Group on Sudan. Following on from the comprehensive peace agreement, what has the international community been able to do to ensure transparency in the division of the oil revenues between the Government in Khartoum and the Government of southern Sudan so that the people of southern Sudan know exactly how much money their...

Schools: Cricket — Question (16 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords—

Refugees — Question (13 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the number of refugees resulting from conflicts and climate change.

Refugees — Question (13 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, will the Minister remind us how many Palestinians have become refugees since 1948 and how many still want a right of return to their homes? In view of the latest World Bank report on Israel's consumption and control of water in the Middle East, what can this Government do to ensure clean water supplies for the refugees and displaced people in the West Bank and, in particular, in...

Autism Bill — Second Reading (10 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Freud, on his fascinating maiden speech and I welcome him to the House. His remarks about people with autistic spectrum disorder in the workplace were extremely useful and we look forward to hearing more about that. He made several interesting references to his family. I was wondering what Sigmund Freud said about autism, but I do not think that...

Gaza: Operation "Cast Lead" — Question (7 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to Amnesty International's recent report Operation "Cast Lead": 22 days of death and destruction, on the conflict in Gaza.

Gaza: Operation "Cast Lead" — Question (7 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. I am sure that he would agree that Amnesty International's report was very balanced, acknowledging war crimes on both sides. However, the scale and intensity of Israel's attack on Gaza was unprecedented. Not many of the 1,400 Palestinians killed were killed as a result of collateral damage, the report said; they were killed by high-precision...

International Development — Statement (6 Jul 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, what has happened to the annual report of the Department for International Development, which last year came out in May? We have not yet seen it this year. I remind the Minister that, despite the proposed change of name to UKAid, the Department for International Development is highly regarded and revered throughout the world—certainly in all the countries I have been to. It...

Health: Tuberculosis — Question (30 Jun 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, when the find and treat programme was set up, it was a service for socially excluded groups. Does that include failed asylum seekers, who still do not qualify for NHS treatment? They may not have TB when they become failed asylum seekers but can contract it while awaiting deportation, especially if they have underlying conditions such as diabetes and AIDS, for which they cannot at...

NHS: Incontinence Services — Question (30 Jun 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, that is all very fine, but at the last count only a fifth of trusts actually had someone in post who was in charge of incontinence services, which simply will not do. Will the Minister say whether there is a date by which we can expect someone responsible and trained in handling incontinence problems to be in post in all trusts? Will she also say whether incontinence products other...

Working Time Directive — Question (29 Jun 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, I am sure that many of us in the House who have had medical training will welcome the introduction of the 48-hour week. I well remember the hours that I worked as a junior hospital doctor—they were the hardest times of my life. Will the Minister enlarge a little on what he has just said? Many hospital trusts are still not ready to introduce a 48-hour week for their junior...

NHS — Debate (25 Jun 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Walton, on securing this debate and on his excellent speech—not a speech, a tutorial—on the benefits of and need for medical research. I am sure that the House appreciated it. It was ably backed by the personal story in the speech of my noble friend Lord Rodgers. I thank my noble friend Lord Addington for reminding us that we...

NHS: Transport Services — Question (2 Jun 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, the Minister will know that, in these days of polyclinics and specialist hospitals that patients now attend, often much further from their home than previously, this issue is crucial. The paper Eligibility Criteria for Patient Transport Services says grandly on page 9 that the cost of patient transport services, "remains within the scope of Payment by Results as an integral part of...

Health: Self-care Dialysis — Question (1 Jun 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, the UK National Kidney Federation has nevertheless estimated that the number of people needing dialysis or transplant will rise from 20,000 at the moment to about 40,000 in 2018. It is a huge number of patients to be dealt with. What plans do the Government have to ensure that there is enough dialysis available in hospital and at home—including peritoneal dialysis, which is...

Gaza — Question (21 May 2009)

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what strategic support they are providing to United Kingdom lawyers who will assist the United Nations Human Rights Council's investigation into any violations of human rights and international law in Gaza.

Gaza — Question (21 May 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, the messages coming out of Israel have, so far, been of not co-operating with the investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Council. What pressure are our Government prepared to put on Israel to ensure that it co-operates, or will Israel again get away with breaches of international law and the Geneva Conventions without any international censure, on the pretext that some...

Children: First-Time Mothers — Question (21 May 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, is the Minister aware that more than 500,000 women die every year in developing countries because of lack of care at birth and the lack of midwives and support staff? Their children, if they survive, get no support at all. Could the Minister pledge to this House that whatever extra staff we need for maternal and child care in this country will come from people trained here and will...

Female Genital Mutilation — Question (18 May 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, while I welcome the move taken by the Department of Health, is it not more important to catch the perpetrators of this violent act against young girls in the first place? I understand that around 500 girls were subjected to female genital mutilation in the past year and we do not know by whom, despite it being illegal in this country and illegal to take girls abroad for the...

Health: PVL — Question (13 May 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords—

Health: PVL — Question (13 May 2009)

Baroness Tonge: My Lords, it is indeed a very serious infection, as is swine flu. Does the Minister not agree that all infections can be prevented by good personal and household hygiene, efficient community services, clean water and good nursing techniques, all promoted by Florence Nightingale 150 years ago? Will she undertake to visit the museum across the road as soon as possible, buy a copy of Notes on...