The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many defibrillators are provided in 10 Downing Street.
Matthew Hancock
One defibrillator has been provided in each of three buildings managed by the Cabinet Office. The buildings are: 10 Downing Street; Rosebery Court, Norwich; and Emergency Planning College, York.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether funding will be provided to NHS Trusts as part of the Operational Delivery Network model to fund hepatitis C treatment services through either (1) a block contract, or (2) a tariff.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) provide expert specialist oversight of prescribing decisions on hepatitis C. Funding has been provided via Commissioning and Quality Innovation Payment (CQUIN) and it is NHS England’s intention to continue with CQUIN funding in 2016/17 and 2017/18.
When a patient attends NHS services for treatment of hepatitis C, their attendance is included in the national tariff.
Depending on the specific nature of their healthcare need, their care may be paid for by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) or by NHS England’s specialised services hubs according to coding and whether the care they receive is defined as a prescribed specialised service.
Some patients may have aspects of their hepatitis C treatment provided by other services (such as drugs and alcohol services) which are not funded by the NHS.
NHS England is the responsible commissioner for hepatitis C drugs. These are high cost drugs and so are excluded from the national tariff.
NHS England’s plan for future hepatitis C funding is being finalised at the moment. As NHS England are working with ODN clinical leads to plan to ensure that patients with unmet clinical need are treated via hepatitis C ODNs in a planned way over the coming years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what value and proportion of spending by his Department that was counted as Official Development Assistance was subject to the provisions of the International Development Act 2002 in each of the last three years.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In the last three calendar years, my Department has spent £1,429,000 on Official Development Assistance (ODA). On an annual basis this can be broken down as £700,000 in 2013, zero in 2014 and £729,000 in 2015. For the years with expenditure this represents 0.01% and 0.05% of resource expenditure respectively.
It should be noted that ODA is calculated on a calendar year basis, and my Department’s expenditure figures are on a Financial Year basis (Apr-Mar). As such, these percentages are indicative.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the quality of information and data used to inform his Department’s investment prioritisation process; and if he will make a statement.
Joseph Johnson
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is committed to ensuring that all of its key policies and programmes are based on high quality evidence and subject to robust monitoring and evaluation. The foundation for this vision was set out in the Department’s Evaluation Strategy published in December 2014 and the first update – BIS Evaluation Plan 2016.
A substantial amount of work is undertaken across the Department to better understand, and develop, the evidence underpinning investment options. For example, in preparation for Spending Review 2015, the Department thoroughly reviewed its evidence base, through Evidence Challenge Panels (ECP) and an Investment Gateway (IG) process. The ECP membership consisted of Directors of spend areas and provided senior peer review of work underway to address the key evidence gaps and to support longer term planning to develop BIS’ evidence base. The IG was set up to support prioritisation of spend and ensure investment decisions are based on robust business cases consisting of strategic, economic, financial, management and commercial assessments. The IG panel includes the chief analyst and DG finance. The ECP and IG in turn fed into the Department’s submissions to HM Treasury for the Spending Review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the application for state aid clearance for the remote Scottish islands has been submitted to the European Commission.
Andrea Leadsom
We are currently finalising plans and priorities for the 2016 Contracts for Difference (CfD) round and plan to announce further details in relation to the next round, including notification of State Aid to the European Commission, as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of delivery of arms by Russia to Fiji.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces received a shipment of small arms, ammunition and mobile repair workshops from Russia in January. The equipment is consistent with that required to support Fiji’s deployments to international peacekeeping operations in Golan, Lebanon, Sinai, and South Sudan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of dispensed but unused prescription drugs.
David Mowat
Information is not held centrally on the annual cost or amount of dispensed but unused prescription drugs in the National Health Service.
The Department commissioned the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy at the University of London to carry out research to determine the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines in England. The report, Evaluation of the Scale, Causes and Costs of Waste Medicines, was published on 23 November 2010. This found that the gross cost of unused prescription medicines in primary and community care in the NHS in England in 2009 was £300 million a year and that up to £150 million of this was avoidable.
NHS England is currently working with the Department and the NHS Business Services Authority to consider how value can best be obtained from the use of medicines, both in terms of patient outcomes and financial implications. This work, along with the medicines optimisation programme, will help ensure best value for both taxpayers and patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-10-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what preparations the international community has made for the protection of the human rights of women and minorities in Syria in a post-Assad regime.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is clear that Syria needs a political transition leading to a more accountable, inclusive, representative form of governance than the Asad regime. A fundamental element of transition needs to be a commitment to protect Syria’s minorities and to promote the role of women in the political process and beyond.
Within the International Syria Support Group and in our close work with the moderate opposition, we promote the inclusion and safeguarding of minorities and women as the political process progresses.
The international community is working with the Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee. At a launch hosted by the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) in September, they set out a progressive and compelling vision for political transition in Syria, emphasising among other things their commitment to the protection of all components of Syrian society and to promoting women’s rights.
The Government has provided £7 million in direct support to gender related projects in Syria since the start of the crisis. For financial year 2016/17, we are due to spend a further £1.9m. Across the 2016 programme, all projects are gender sensitive, with action being taken to raise awareness of gender equality issues, promote the empowerment of women, and gather evidence and accountability for sexual and gender-based violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many men in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency who are aged (i) 60, (ii) 61, (iii) 62, (iv) 63, (v) 64, (vi) 65, (vii) 66, and (viii) 67 are in receipt of pension credit in the 2015-16 financial year.
Justin Tomlinson
The information as requested for 2015/16 is not available.
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the introduction of the Work and Health Programme in Scotland.
David Mundell
I and my officials have regular engagement with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of important matters, including the rollout of universal credit and fulfilling our commitment to devolve employment support currently delivered by the Work Programme and Work Choice. In addition, I also discuss Welfare related issues in my regular meetings with Local Authorities across Scotland.