The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role clinical commissioning groups have in the prevention of HIV transmission.
Jane Ellison
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning HIV prevention. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for HIV testing when clinically indicated in CCG-commissioned services (including accident and emergency and other hospital departments).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what methodology and data NHS England plans to use to determine which services it will commission at the specialised commissioning prioritisation process in June 2016.
George Freeman
The Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) will agree recommendations as to which proposals for new investments in specialised services should be considered by NHS England in the prioritisation round for 2016/17. CPAG is scheduled to meet between 6 and 9 June 2016.
NHS England is currently considering the outcome of a public consultation that it held between April and May 2016 on a proposed method for the relative prioritisation of new investments in specialised services. The consultation guide that it published described the proposed method and the types of data that would be considered. Many detailed submissions were made by respondents to consultation, and they will all be carefully considered. NHS England is expecting to make a decision on the eventual method that will be adopted for 2016/17 in May 2016.
The consultation guide can be found at the following address:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-07-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific action they are taking in response to the number of Israeli settlers in occupied Palestinian territories.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
On 5 July, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), issued a statement expressing deep concerns about the announcement of new Israeli settlement units in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson statement, on 22 June, also expressed concern about Israel’s decision to provide an additional £12 million of funding for settlements. The position of the UK on Israeli settlements is clear: they are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and make a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, harder to achieve. We will continue to raise our objections to settlements with the Israeli government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what obligations the Government places on police and crime commissioners to commission local victims’ services to meet the specific and ongoing needs of British (a) nationals and (b) residents who have been direct victims or witnesses of a terrorist attack in the UK or abroad.
Dr Phillip Lee
This Government is committed to ensuring that victims of terrorism can access effective and timely support to help them cope, and as far as possible, recover from the trauma they have experienced.
This year we have given Police and Crime Commissioners grant funding of nearly £68m to provide emotional and practical support services for all victims of crime, including victims of terrorism, who reside within their area.
Witnesses in the criminal justice system, including witnesses of terrorist attacks, are also entitled to support as set out under the Witness Charter for England and Wales. These entitlements are currently being met through the nationally commissioned court based witness service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to the Work Programme since 2011 who had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral achieved a qualification before leaving that programme.
Priti Patel
The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals have been made by (a) GPs and (b) employers to the Fit for Work service since its launch; and how many such referrals have resulted in a Return to Work plan being agreed with the patient.
Justin Tomlinson
Latest figures show there have been 2,441 GP referrals and 1,301 employer referrals with 1,451 Return to Work Plans agreed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost to higher education budgets in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales of the replacement of maintenance grants with additional student loans, as a result of the Barnett formula.
Joseph Johnson
This reform in England reduces public sector net borrowing and was accounted for in the settlement for my department. Higher Education is a devolved matter and the Barnett formula was applied to the department’s Spending Review settlement in the usual way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to the Written Answer by the Chairman of Committees on 11 February (HL5625), whether agency staff are paid the London Living Wage for the first eight weeks of their employment; and if not, what hourly rate are they paid.
Lord Laming
In accordance with the terms of the House’s London Living Wage accreditation, all agency staff are paid at least the London Living Wage rate from day 1 of week 9 if they are working on parliamentary premises and employed for at least two hours of work in a week, for 8 consecutive weeks in a year.
The Administration does not hold information about specific hourly rates paid by agencies in weeks 1-8 as we pay a rate to the agency not the individuals; however, our recruitment framework agreement contractual terms stipulate that our contractors pay a rate that is at least the national minimum wage, and wherever possible we want agency staff to receive a salary commensurate with that which would have been paid to a permanent member of staff.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths resulting directly from epilepsy have been recorded in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reunite refugee minors with their families in the UK.
James Brokenshire
We have worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), NGOs, local authorities and the devolved administrations to provide a resettlement route to the UK, specifically designed for children at risk from the Middle East and North Africa region. On the UNHCR’s recommendation the scheme will target all children at risk as defined by the UNHCR. This includes unaccompanied children and separated children (those separated from their parents and/or other family members) as well as other vulnerable children such as child carers and those at risk of child labour, child marriage or other forms of neglect, abuse or exploitation.
We will commit to resettling several hundred individuals in the first year with a view to resettling up to 3000 individuals over the lifetime of this Parliament, the majority of whom will be children. Further details can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement available at:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-04-21/HCWS687
Further, our refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members of a person in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection status – that is a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin – to reunite with them in the UK.
Where a family reunion application fails under the Immigration Rules, the Entry Clearance Officer must also consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting a visa outside the Rules. This caters for family members in exceptional circumstances and would include minors applying to join a member of their extended family who has refugee status or humanitarian protection.
A British citizen or individual with indefinite leave to remain can also sponsor a child to come to the UK under the Immigration Rules if they are that child’s parent, irrespective of whether the child is a refugee.
There is also provision for a child to seek leave to enter to join a relative who has refugee leave or is a beneficiary of humanitarian protection where the relative is not the parent of the child, and the child is under the age of eighteen. Other requirements apply such as the need to be able to care for the child without recourse to public funds. Exceptional circumstance will also be considered in these cases.