The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what warnings and advice they intend to give to the public about the incidence of treatment-resistant head lice in the UK.
Lord Prior of Brampton
There are no plans to issue any specific warnings or advice around the incidence of treatment-resistant head lice. Guidance for the treatment of head lice is to wet comb using a head lice comb, as opposed to using insecticides.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which agents external to his Department (a) supplied and (b) analysed the evidence that his Department used to decide on the descriptors used for the work capability assessment.
Penny Mordaunt
Details of the evidence base and consultative group members involved in the development of the Work Capability Assessment can be found in the Transformation of the Personal Capability assessment reports of September 2006, February 2007 and November 2007.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to undertake a national monitoring survey of the pig population for the presence of MRSA.
George Eustice
A UK-wide baseline survey to look for the presence of livestock associated meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in UK pigs was performed in 2008 in line with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) protocols. At that point, none of the farms tested were found to be positive for MRSA. Since then, the organism has been detected in livestock in the UK. Current advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Public Health England (PHE) is that LA-MRSA poses a low risk to human health.
The people that are most likely to become colonised by LA-MRSA are those who work with livestock. Defra is therefore undertaking a study with Public Health England (PHE) to investigate the occurrence of LA-MRSA in veterinarians and livestock workers. The results of this study will be used to inform the need for future surveillance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating endometriosis in the last year.
Jane Ellison
This information is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department allocated to HM Revenue and Customs for the purpose of prosecuting employers who failed to pay the minimum wage in each financial year since 2005; and what the projected budget is for such activities in each financial year until 2020.
Nick Boles
Funding for National Minimum Wage (NMW) prosecutions is not fixed and comes out of the overall HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforcement budget, allocated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The overall budget for 2015/16 is £13.2m, a £4m increase on 2014/15. Table 1 sets out the enforcement budget for each year since 2005/06.
The Government is committed to simple, effective NMW enforcement which supports workers and businesses by deterring non-compliant employers from underpaying their workers and removing the unfair competitive advantage that underpayment can bring. For this reason the Government increased HMRC’s 2015/16 enforcement budget by £4 million in 2015/16, and will further increase the enforcement budget from April 2016. A proportion of this budget will be used to establish a new team of compliance officers in HMRC to investigate the most serious cases of employers not paying the NMW and, from April, the National Living Wage. The team will have the power to use all available sanctions, including penalties and criminal investigation.
No decision has been taken on the enforcement budget until 2020.
Table 1: HMRC NMW enforcement budget
|
Year |
HMRC Enforcement Budget (millions) |
|
2005/06 |
£5.6 |
|
2006/07 |
£5.8 |
|
2007/08 |
£6.8 |
|
2008/09 |
£7.6 |
|
2009/10 |
£8.3 |
|
2010/11 |
£8.1 |
|
2011/12 |
£8.3 |
|
2012/13 |
£8.3 |
|
2013/14 |
£8.3 |
|
2014/15 |
£9.2 |
|
2015/16 |
£13.2 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have signed revised claimant commitments as part of the universal credit in-work conditionality pilots.
Priti Patel
National roll-out of the In-Work Progression Randomised Control Trial commenced in December 2015 and is likely to be completed in summer 2016. We are unable to provide the information requested at this early stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to produce a strategy for careers education in schools.
Lord Nash
Helping all young people, regardless of background, to get the inspiration and guidance they need for success in working life is a key part of this Government’s commitment to delivering real social justice.
Later this year, the Department for Education will publish a comprehensive careers strategy, outlining this Government’s plans for improving careers provision by 2020.
The work of The Careers & Enterprise Company, an initiative by the Department, is vital in transforming careers and enterprise provision in schools and colleges. The Company has launched its £5 million Careers and Enterprise Fund to scale good ideas and fill gaps in provision as well as rolling out its Enterprise Adviser Network; a programme connecting employees from firms of all sizes to schools through a network of enterprise advisers drawn from business volunteers
Over the course of this Parliament, we are committing a total of £70m to our strategy to continue to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the smart meter roll out public awareness campaign led by Smart Energy GB.
Andrea Leadsom
Smart Energy GB’s performance is measured against a Performance Management Framework, produced and maintained by energy suppliers under paragraph 45.28 of their licence conditions.
The Department works closely with Smart Energy GB and suppliers to support delivery of the benefits of smart metering to all consumers in Great Britain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what amount her Department expects to pay in penalties and disallowances required by the EU Commission in relation to air pollution in 2016-17; and what contingency has been made for that purpose in her Department’s budget.
Rory Stewart
The Department does not expect to pay any penalties and disallowances imposed by the EU Commission in relation to air pollution in 2016-2017.
The Commission has started infraction proceedings against the UK for not achieving European limit values for NO2. We want to work in partnership with Local Authorities and the Commission to improve air quality and avoid any prospect of fines levied from infraction. In December 2015, the Government published air quality plans setting out a comprehensive approach for meeting EU legal limits in the shortest possible time through a new programme of Clean Air Zones, alongside national action and continued investment in clean technologies. The UK has never had to pay an infraction fine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Leader of the House how many Questions for Written Answer were put to each Government department and answered within the target 10 working days in each month in the 2015–16 Session, together with the relevant percentages in each case.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
In line with the practice established in the last session, following the commitment made by my predecessor (HL Deb 8 May 2014, col 1575), I will continue to publish annually the performance of departments on their promptness in dealing with Questions for Written Answer. My office will also continue to work with all departments to ensure prompt and comprehensive responses to all Questions for Written Answer.
The statistics for the 2014-15 session are available as a Written Statement (HLWS39). I will shortly publish data on departmental performance for the 2015-16 session.