The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people affected by the under-occupancy penalty in the Bristol City Council area.
Justin Tomlinson
The available information on the number of people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy in the Bristol City Council area is published and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when she next plans to publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.
Nick Gibb
Twice a year, the Department for Education publishes the job titles and pay grade information of its senior civil servants (the Permanent Secretary, Directors General, Directors and Deputy Directors). The next publication, based on data as at 30 September 2015, will be published in the first week of December 2015.
The previous published data from 31 March 2015 can be found here: http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?pubbod=department-for-education
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-12-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice UKFI provided to his Department on when and how to complete a sale of Royal Bank of Scotland shares.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government has been consistently clear that its policy in respect of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to return the bank to the private sector in full. The advice received from Rothschilds and the Governor of the Bank of England relates specifically to the appropriate timing of an initial share sale.
UK Financial Investments (UKFI) is responsible for the execution of share sales, and advised the Chancellor in August 2015 that it would be appropriate to conduct the first sale of the Government’s shareholding in RBS. On 3 August 2015, UKFI sold approximately 5.4% of the bank via an accelerated bookbuilding process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications are for his policies on encouraging the recruitment and development of BAME and women at senior staffing levels in the NHS of the findings of the Interim Report in the Review of Operational Productivity in NHS providers, undertaken by Lord Carter of Coles and published in June 2015.
George Freeman
The interim report ‘Review of Operational Productivity in NHS providers’ does not make recommendations on recruitment and development and should have no impact on policies relating to the recruitment and development of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups and women at senior staffing levels in the National Health Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group on the mental health of those affected.
Priti Patel
We have fully assessed the impacts on equality of the welfare measures in the Bill and the wider budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty. An impact assessment was published on 20 July last year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to increase the availability and uptake of innovative technology available to patients on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The Government is actively supporting a number of initiatives to accelerate access to innovative treatments. These include the Early Access to Medicines Schemes which supports access in the United Kingdom to unlicensed or off-label medicines and represents a significant advance in treatment in areas of unmet medical need and the Accelerated Access Review, which aims to speed up access to innovative drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital products for National Health Service patients, and to make the UK the best place to develop these innovations.
NHS England supports the invention and adoption of transformative healthcare technologies. This includes existing technologies, where the benefits are already proven but wider adoption is critical to benefit all patients, and new technologies, which require larger scale trials to test out their impact individually and in combination. Current initiatives include the sponsorship of 15 Academic Health Science Networks (£48 million core funding in 2015-16), the Small Business Research Initiative (£20 million in 2015-16), and the Test Bed programme which is providing funding for frontline health and care workers to evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices such as wearable monitors, data analysis and new ways of working.
NHS England has been tasked under section 7.1 of the NHS Mandate to “Implement the agreed recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review including developing ambition and trajectory on NHS uptake of affordable and cost-effective new innovations”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times she has attended public meetings of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee since her appointment.
George Eustice
Attendance at Committee meetings is a matter of public record and transcripts of such appearances can be found in Hansard and on Committee web pages.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any officials of his Department have been transferred, disciplined or dismissed in relation to management of the contract for SS Gairsoppa.
Mr Robert Goodwill
It would be inappropriate to give any details that might allow an individual who might have been subject to disciplinary proceedings to be identified. However, any lessons learnt from the case will be implemented if any future contracts of this nature are let.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the financial contributions made by her Department to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in each of the last five years.
James Wharton
The UK is the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Between 2011 and 2015, the UK contributed £1.32 billion to Gavi. No additional administrative support was provided during this time.
The UK investment over the five year period between 2011 and 2015 immunised over 60 million children against vaccine preventable diseases which is estimated to have saved over 1 million lives.
Between 2016 and 2020, the UK is investing £1.44 billion in Gavi. This investment will deliver the Government’s manifesto commitment to immunise 76 million children against vaccine preventable diseases and save 1.4 million lives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-10-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce tax incentives for people who engage in regulated and supervised exercise to off-set the likelihood of diabetes; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The Government published the ‘Sporting Future’ strategy last December to support and fund sport and physical activity and the Sport England’s strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’, published in May, committed to spend at least 25% of their funding on those that are classed as inactive. The Government’s “Cycle to Work” scheme includes an annual tax exemption allowing employers to loan cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit.
The Government keeps all tax policy under review.