The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will widen the Blue Badge criteria to allow for cognitive as well as physical disabilities.
Andrew Jones
The regulations governing the scheme already apply to any permanent and substantial disability which causes very considerable difficulty in walking. We have no plans to widen the scope beyond this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what safeguards are in place to ensure that private hire vehicle operators remain responsible for journeys sub-contracted to other licensed operators across licensing authority boundaries.
Andrew Jones
Whilst private hire vehicle operators have the freedom to subcontract bookings, the operator that originally accepted a sub-contracted booking remains ultimately responsible for that booking.
Both the initial operator who accepts the booking and the operator who fulfils the booking by providing a driver and vehicle are under a duty to keep records of the booking. The relevant enforcement authorities are able to check those records.
All bookings, including those subcontracted, have to be fulfilled by operators, drivers and vehicles all of whom have been licensed by their local authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure paramedics receive appropriate psychological support after witnessing traumatic events.
Jane Ellison
Management of the frontline workforce, including arrangements for any psychological support, is the responsibility of individual ambulance trusts. All ambulance trusts have internal debriefing support services and through occupational health, staff have access to professional counselling services.
The Department commissions NHS Employers to support providers of NHS services in ensuring and improving staff health and wellbeing. They provide a wide range of advice, guidance and best practice, including toolkits on mental health and stress in the workforce.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36734, what steps his Department is taking to prevent those individuals identified as high risk not enrolled on the PROUD study from contracting HIV.
Jane Ellison
There are a number of workstreams within the national HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion Programme that offer men who have sex with men (MSM), who remain one of the populations most at-risk from HIV, advice and resources to make sustainable and safer sexual health choices.
Public Health England has also published its strategic action plan 2015-16 “Promoting the health and wellbeing of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men” (a copy is attached) which aims to promote the health and wellbeing of MSM by focussing on three interrelated areas in which MSM are disproportionately affected: sexual health and HIV, mental health and in the use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-07-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of Design and Technology studies to the UK economy.
Lord Nash
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are vital subjects in our modern economy and there is a widespread demand for employees with knowledge and skills in these subjects. That is why we have worked closely with key organisations in the sector, such as the James Dyson Foundation, the Design and Technology Association and the Royal Academy of Engineering to ensure the content of Design and Technology curriculum and qualifications set out the knowledge and skills sought by leading engineering employers and are aligned with high-tech industry practice. The new GCSE and A level begin to be taught from September 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the number of complaints Transport Scotland has received on over-staging on its dedicated hotline in each of the last four years.
David Mundell
Transport Scotland is an Agency of the Scottish Government, accountable not to myself but to the Scottish Parliament and the public through Scottish Ministers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 62 of the Government’s consultation document, Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market, published in October 2015, what limitations currently exist on data sharing between labour market enforcement bodies.
Nick Boles
While information is already shared between labour market enforcement bodies, the existing information sharing gateways in numerous Acts of Parliament are limited as regards with whom information can be shared and for what purpose. Legislative changes may be required to allow greater information sharing between enforcement bodies. For example we want to ensure that HMRC National Minimum Wage enforcement officers are able to share information effectively with the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities.
We are also engaging with the relevant enforcement bodies to identify possible non-legislative barriers to information sharing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the funding arrangements are in (a) England and (b) West Yorkshire hospitals for the use of Docetaxel chemotherapy medication.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body, which makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of products based on thorough assessment of the best available evidence. NICE has recommended docetaxel for the treatment of hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer (where the disease becomes unresponsive to hormone treatment). Commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance.
In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners in England to make funding decisions on drugs and treatments based on the available evidence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of (a) the efficacy of the third badger pilot cull in Somerset and (b) the humaneness of the badger pilot culls to date.
George Eustice
The UK Chief Veterinary Officer has advised that (a) the outcome of this year’s culls indicates that industry-led culling can deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits; and (b) that the humaneness of controlled shooting is comparable with the range of outcomes reported when other culling activities, currently accepted by society, have been assessed, such as deer shooting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in their assessment of the need for new high speed rail services what weighting they are giving to improving passenger services between the north east and the south west of England.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
As the HS2 scheme has developed, HS2 Ltd have examined a variety of potential train services and infrastructure configurations. This has included looking at the case for running services from the North East to the South West. Passengers travelling from the north east of England to the south west will generally benefit from HS2 by a reduction in travel times for journeys.