The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost to the public purse is of the Maximus/HML contract for delivery of the Fit for Work programme.
Justin Tomlinson
The original agreed contract value with HML was £132.9m. This is for the whole life of the contract and was awarded on 25 July 2014 for a period of 5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the remit of the Council of Data Science Ethics will extend beyond big data and personal data and include (a) wearable technologies, (b) health monitoring and (c) robotics.
Matthew Hancock
The Science and Technology Committee report on the Big Data Dilemma recommended that a Council for Data Ethics be established. The Government response was published on 26th April 2016 and can be found at the following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cmselect/cmsctech/992/99204.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain on the protection of the civil and political rights of the Shia population in that country.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We follow the political situation closely in Bahrain, including issues related to the country’s Shia population. We regularly discuss civil and political rights with the highest levels of Government of Bahrain. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Right Honorable Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did so most recently with his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 14 June 2016. We encourage the Government of Bahrain to respect the rights of political groups to operate and to seek an inclusive political dialogue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the handover time of patients from ambulances to hospital staff at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
No such assessments have been made. The provision of accident and emergency (A&E) services at the Royal Blackburn Hospital is a matter for the local National Health Service. The NHS in East Lancashire has established an A&E delivery board to oversee system performance and the effective delivery of urgent and emergency care locally.
Ministers consult weekly with NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission about A&E performance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help achieve a 100 per cent legal and sustainable timber trade in the UK by 2020.
Rory Stewart
Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implemented the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.
The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.
Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.
I welcome the fact that UK companies and other bodies are making similar commitments to trade in both legal and sustainable timber by signing up to WWF’s Forest Campaign.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reductions in housing benefit announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 on claimants who receive housing benefit for housing that has been purpose-built for disabled people.
Justin Tomlinson
This policy was introduced because in some areas the increases in social rents have outstripped the increases in private rents.
This policy will cap social sector rents at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate for the area, but will only apply from April 2018 where a new tenancy is taken out or a tenancy is renewed after April 2016. By only applying the cap when a new tenancy is taken on or an existing tenancy is renewed will mean that claimants will have the opportunity to consider whether they can afford to take on the property before committing to the tenancy.
The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme will be available for those living in accommodation that has been purpose built or significantly adapted to meet the needs of a disabled person, in the same way as it is for those who receive a reduction in their eligible rent for the removal of the spare room subsidy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost to the public purse was of ministerial special advisors in the last financial year; and how much is projected to be so spent in the next financial year.
Matthew Hancock
Information about the number, pay bands, and cost of special advisers will be published shortly in the normal way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff working in (a) young offender institutions, (b) secure training centres and (c) secure children’s homes have been (i) suspended following a child protection allegation (ii) disciplined following a child protection allegation, (iii) dismissed following a child protection allegation and (iv) convicted of sexual or violent offences against children in the last five years.
Andrew Selous
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is a central point in the UK, or elsewhere, for recording war crimes in Syria, in particular the starvation of civilians and the deaths under attack of medical personnel.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
War crimes and other atrocities in Syria are dealt with at the international level. The Government supports the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law in Syria with a view of ensuring perpetrators are held to account.
We also support other bodies that are collecting evidence in the region such as UN Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapons in Syria.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has called for a halt to the indiscriminate use of weapons on medical and educational facilities, calling on parties to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. The UK supported UN Security Council resolution 2254, which was unanimously adopted in December calling for an end to indiscriminate attacks and unrestricted humanitarian access.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the consultation on the UK’s first space port; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
I refer my Hon Friend to my answer of 8 March, UIN 28858 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=28858).
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