The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, how often Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010 has been used by employers in relation to recruitment or promotion of an individual with protected characteristics in each year since 2011.
Mrs Helen Grant
The information requested is not collected or held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment she has made of the gender balance amongst chairs and presidents of (a) learned societies and (b) research councils.
Mr David Willetts
The National Academies, the UK’s leading learned societies, are independent, self-governing bodies. Ministers have no role in Academy appointments but we encourage them to embed equality and diversity in everything they do. Professor Dame Ann Dowling is expected to be confirmed as the first female President of the Royal Academy of Engineering in September. The current Presidents of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Biology are all female.
Ministers in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) appoint Chairs to the Research Councils and these appointments are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. BIS Ministers are committed to the principle of public appointments on merit through an open and transparent process and to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, transgender and working patterns. There are seven Research Councils, the Chairs of which are currently male. The Research Councils are committed to improving diversity in their public appointments and held a workshop in March 2014 to agree an action plan to increase the diversity of each Council. The action plan will be published on the RCUK website and disseminated to all Council members.
The BIS Board, which provides collective strategic leadership of the Department, has endorsed a plan of activity and a number of actions to help the Department not only to improve its position on gender-diversity during 2014/15 but to reinforce its continued commitment to attracting a strong and diverse field of candidates to public appointments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice his Department provides to local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators to help identify and tackle extremism in schools; and when this guidance was last updated.
Mr Edward Timpson
Preventing extremism in all schools is a priority for the Government. In 2010 the Department for Education set up the first preventing extremism unit in Whitehall outside the Home Office. Ofsted now trains inspectors to understand and report on extremism. The Department has published a range of guidance to support schools in raising awareness of the risks from extremism.
Schools can help protect children from extremist and violent views in the same ways that they help to safeguard children from drugs, gang violence or alcohol abuse. Schools’ work on Prevent needs to be seen in this context. It is for local authorities to determine how best to support schools in their areas in the light of local circumstances.
A number of local Prevent projects, funded by Home Office, engage schools and supplementary schools and train teachers in priority areas. The Department for Education and Home Office are working together to secure the best practical outcome from this funding. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to evaluate the projects it funds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the work of local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators in tackling extremism in schools; and how many local authority-based Prevent co-ordinators submitted evaluations or other forms of evidence to his Department in the last year for which information is available.
Mr Edward Timpson
Preventing extremism in all schools is a priority for the Government. In 2010 the Department for Education set up the first preventing extremism unit in Whitehall outside the Home Office. Ofsted now trains inspectors to understand and report on extremism. The Department has published a range of guidance to support schools in raising awareness of the risks from extremism.
Schools can help protect children from extremist and violent views in the same ways that they help to safeguard children from drugs, gang violence or alcohol abuse. Schools’ work on Prevent needs to be seen in this context. It is for local authorities to determine how best to support schools in their areas in the light of local circumstances.
A number of local Prevent projects, funded by Home Office, engage schools and supplementary schools and train teachers in priority areas. The Department for Education and Home Office are working together to secure the best practical outcome from this funding. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to evaluate the projects it funds.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he and his Department have received regarding alleged fabrication of charges by the Colombian state against David Flórez, spokesperson for the Patriotic March movement.
Mr Hugo Swire
My Department has not received any representations regarding alleged fabrication of charges by the Colombian state against David Florez.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart about reports that agents acting on behalf of the Colombian government are bringing trumped-up charges against leading members of the Patriotic March movement.
Mr Hugo Swire
My Department has not received any evidence regarding alleged trumped-up charges by agents acting on behalf of the Colombian Government against leading members of the Patriotic March movement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Lazarowicz on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding his Department received from the European Commission for projects relating to bees in 2013-14.
Dan Rogerson
In 2013/14 €116,760.90 of funding was provided by the European Commission for research projects relating to bees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) computers, (b) job-search stations and (c) telephones were available for jobseekers to use in Jobcentre Plus offices in the United Kingdom in each financial year since 2008-09; and whether these will be available in every Jobcentre Plus in 2015-16.
Esther McVey
We are changing the way we provide our service, moving from a telephone and Jobpoint based service to one which is making use of the latest technologies.From now until the end of October, we will be installing WIFI and new Web Access Devices across the Jobcentre network. This will enable claimants to access Universal Jobmatch and other job sites, as well as allowing them to apply directly for vacancies that they find.
Equipment Available for Jobseekers to use in Jobcentres in Great Britain* from 2008 to 2016
|
a) Computers |
b) Jobsearch stations (Jobpoints) |
c) telephones (Customer Access Phones) |
|
|
2008-09 |
0 |
6860 |
3790 |
|
2009-10 |
0 |
6967 |
3790 |
|
2010-11 |
0 |
6933 |
3790 |
|
2011-12 |
0 |
6647 |
3790 |
|
2012-13 |
2176 |
6079 |
3730 |
|
2013-14 |
2411 |
6079 |
2384 |
|
2014-15 |
8307 |
0 |
0** |
|
2015-16*** |
8307 |
0 |
0** |
All figures are as of financial year end
*Figures for Northern Ireland not available.
**Assisted service available to vulnerable claimants who are unable to access DWP services without our help. The Assisted Service is face-to-face and includes use of a telephone for claimants who need support to resolve their enquiry. Support is tailored to the individual’s needs.
***Estimated figures
The figures for 2013-14 were provided by Operations to the Digital Jobcentre Project as part of an audit undertaken at the start of the Project and have not been properly checked and verified.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve patient choice and reduce avoidable harm for people with advanced Parkinson’s.
Norman Lamb
From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.
NHS England has advised that it does not routinely fund Duodopa (co-careldopa) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Clinicians can submit individual funding requests for this treatment on behalf of their patients as per NHS England’s individual funding requests standard operating procedure, which is found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-04.pdf
NHS England has advised that its individual funding request process is monitored against the standard operating procedure to ensure that referring clinicians are informed of outcomes in a timely manner.
Treatments for Parkinson’s are largely drug based and there is a choice of therapies available. Parkinson’s disease: Diagnosis and management in primary and secondary care, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2006, makes it clear that communication with people with Parkinson’s disease should be aimed towards empowering them to participate in the judgements and choices about their own care. With regard to decisions about the drugs available for treatment of the disease in its later stages, the guidance states that the patient preference should be taken into account, once they have been informed of the short- and long-term benefits and drawbacks of the different types of drugs available.
To reduce avoidable harm, through the Mandate we have asked NHS England to make measurable progress by 2015 to embed a culture of patient safety in the NHS including through improved reporting of incidents. The NHS Outcomes Framework contains a range of indicators designed to measure progress in this area of care which will be relevant to patients with all conditions, including, Parkinson’s disease.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2014-06-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to prevent unnecessary delays in the prescription of Duodopa for people with Parkinson’s.
Norman Lamb
From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.
NHS England has advised that it does not routinely fund Duodopa (co-careldopa) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Clinicians can submit individual funding requests for this treatment on behalf of their patients as per NHS England’s individual funding requests standard operating procedure, which is found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-04.pdf
NHS England has advised that its individual funding request process is monitored against the standard operating procedure to ensure that referring clinicians are informed of outcomes in a timely manner.
Treatments for Parkinson’s are largely drug based and there is a choice of therapies available. Parkinson’s disease: Diagnosis and management in primary and secondary care, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2006, makes it clear that communication with people with Parkinson’s disease should be aimed towards empowering them to participate in the judgements and choices about their own care. With regard to decisions about the drugs available for treatment of the disease in its later stages, the guidance states that the patient preference should be taken into account, once they have been informed of the short- and long-term benefits and drawbacks of the different types of drugs available.
To reduce avoidable harm, through the Mandate we have asked NHS England to make measurable progress by 2015 to embed a culture of patient safety in the NHS including through improved reporting of incidents. The NHS Outcomes Framework contains a range of indicators designed to measure progress in this area of care which will be relevant to patients with all conditions, including, Parkinson’s disease.