The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Financial Assistance Scheme paid out in each of the last six years.
Justin Tomlinson
The information is in the table below.
|
Financial Year |
Amount paid by the FAS £million |
|
2009/10 |
34.15 |
|
2010/11 |
45.77 |
|
2011/12 |
74.14 |
|
2012/13 |
110.91 |
|
2013/14 |
159.75 |
|
2014/15 |
187.75 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure the randomised control trial his Department is conducting on in-work progression follows the code of ethics set by the British Psychological Society.
Priti Patel
The Department considers the ethical implications of trials throughout development, implementation and analysis.
Research on our in-work progression trial adheres to the Government Social Research Code.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether participation in the randomised control trial his Department is conducting on in-work progression is mandatory for claimants; and what consequences there will be for claimants who do not wish to take part in that trial.
Priti Patel
Universal Credit claimants who meet the eligibility criteria will be required to participate in the trial. However, we are careful to protect people who are vulnerable. Claimants who are unable to work or earn more due to caring or because of health conditions or disabilities will not be required to participate, and there are a number of further exclusion criteria which generally reflect those applied to out of work UC claimants.
Every claimant participating in the trial will have a tailored Claimant Commitment which is a joint agreement between the work coach and the claimant which sets out clearly what reasonable activity they have agreed to do in order to improve their earnings. Trial participants who fail to engage in the process, or who fail to take the reasonable actions mutually agreed in their claimant commitment without good reason may have their Universal Credit payments reduced under a sanction.
Claimants will be given the opportunity to explain why they have not complied with a requirement. An independent decision maker will consider if a sanction is appropriate and if the claimant had good reason for not complying, taking into account the claimant’s representations. Where a claimant is sanctioned there are clear safeguards in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of all disbursements for public sector pensions for all those in employment and currently entitled to such pensions.
Greg Hands
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publish a forecast of the net cost of public sector pensions in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) at every fiscal event.
This shows the total income for public service pensions, including employer and employee contributions, and the total expenditure for public service pensions, through pensions in payment.
More information can be found on page 154 of the OBR’s most recent EFO.
http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/March2016EFO.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they anticipate being in a position to reply to the representations made to Lord Bates and to Lord Keen of Elie about Syrian Christian families seeking asylum after the beheading of family members.
Lord Keen of Elie
I understand the Noble Lord is referring to correspondence dated 25 April from a member of the public on behalf of people they believe are at risk in Syria.
I can confirm that a response was sent on 9 May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the attacks on 26 April on the Christian neighbourhood of Sulaymaniyah in Aleppo, and of reports that at least eight children were among those killed.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are aware of reports of attacks on the Sulaymaniyah neighbourhood in Aleppo, and of reports that at least eight children were among those killed. We are deeply concerned about the increasing numbers of violations of the Cessation of Hostilities, especially around Aleppo. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it is the Asad regime that is responsible for the breaches, including when it has bombed schools, marketplaces, hospitals and a search and rescue centre in the last week. As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said in a press statement on 28 April, we call on those with influence to apply real pressure to end this spiral of violence. The UK will continue to support the Syrian people to secure their future, free from Asad, and push for progress with our international partners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Colwyn on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the reported rise in expenditure by NHS Ambulance Trusts, they intend to extend agency spending caps to private ambulance services.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government has already taken decisive action to support the National Health Service to be the most efficient health system in the world. That is why a series of tough financial controls were introduced last year to help the NHS tackle some of the extortionate rates charged and overspending on agency staff.
In November 2015, hourly price caps were introduced limiting the amount the NHS can pay to an agency for temporary staff. These were reduced gradually over a number of months and will apply to all ambulance trusts and ambulance foundation trusts from 1 July 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Golding on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made towards appointing the proposed Small Business Commissioner to help small businesses resolve payment disputes with large businesses.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Government has taken powers to establish the Small Business Commissioner via the Enterprise Bill, which is currently waiting for Royal Assent. We have started the implementation process and will begin the recruitment of the Commissioner later this year with the expectation of appointing him or her in 2017. We are completing the rest of the implementation in parallel which includes: consulting on, preparing and laying secondary legislation; setting up the Commissioner’s office; and creating a web presence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis in the prevention of HIV.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new use of HIV drugs which has shown clinical effectiveness in research trials at preventing HIV in people at high risk of getting HIV such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV-positive partners. The drug used in the trials, Truvada, is not yet licenced for use as PrEP. Public Health England (PHE) has undertaken modelling work looking at cost-effectiveness of PrEP. Much depends on the price of the drugs and HIV prevalence in the target group. However, as with any new intervention, PrEP now needs to be properly assessed in relation to cost effectiveness to see how it could be commissioned in the most sustainable and integrated way and how it compares with other cost-effective approaches. The Department is considering this with PHE, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
NHS England has agreed to carefully consider their position on commissioning pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Planning continues on the early implementer tests sites in the meantime. Irrespective of the commissioning arrangements for PrEP, decisions to fund will depend on full assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness and how it can be integrated with other HIV prevention efforts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why NHS England has refused to pay the costs of making available pre-exposure prophylaxis in order to protect men from HIV.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new use of HIV drugs which has shown clinical effectiveness in research trials at preventing HIV in people at high risk of getting HIV such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV-positive partners. The drug used in the trials, Truvada, is not yet licenced for use as PrEP. Public Health England (PHE) has undertaken modelling work looking at cost-effectiveness of PrEP. Much depends on the price of the drugs and HIV prevalence in the target group. However, as with any new intervention, PrEP now needs to be properly assessed in relation to cost effectiveness to see how it could be commissioned in the most sustainable and integrated way and how it compares with other cost-effective approaches. The Department is considering this with PHE, NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
NHS England has agreed to carefully consider their position on commissioning pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Planning continues on the early implementer tests sites in the meantime. Irrespective of the commissioning arrangements for PrEP, decisions to fund will depend on full assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness and how it can be integrated with other HIV prevention efforts.