The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will revise the eligibility criteria for first time buyers under the Help to Buy ISA scheme to £450,000 in areas outside London where the average house price is above £250,000.
Harriett Baldwin
The government does not plan to revise the eligibility criteria for the Help to Buy: ISA scheme
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees from the Syrian conflict relocated in the UK to date are (a) adults with a vulnerable characteristic, (b) adults in a family unit, (c) adults not in a family unit or with a vulnerable characteristic, (d) children with parents and (e) unaccompanied children.
Richard Harrington
The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme is based on need and prioritises those who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for identifying people in need of resettlement based on its established vulnerability criteria, which are: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries.
The Home Office is committed to publishing data as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 25 February 2016 and will cover the period October-December 2015. This adheres to the standard practice for the release of information about the work of the department, both through the quarterly national statistics and the additional transparency data that is released, which ensure that statistics are published properly in a way which is open and accessible to all. This information will not include a breakdown of the vulnerability criteria, or the family composition of the refugees that have been resettled.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in her Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.
George Eustice
The following table sets out the number of staff in receipt of each type of allowance in 2014/15.
|
Home to Work Travel |
Car |
|
|
Core Department |
7 |
0 |
|
Animal and Plant Health Agency |
185 |
0 |
|
Environment Agency |
829 |
10 |
|
Rural Payments Agency |
79 |
14 |
|
Total |
1,100 |
24 |
Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Consumer Council for Water, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England and Veterinary Medicines Directorate have no staff in receipt of these allowances.
No staff were in receipt of subsidised health insurance.
The Home to Work Travel Allowance mainly relates to staff receiving the Excess Cost of Travel Allowance (ECTA). This is paid as a result of ongoing estates rationalisation where the home to work commute for a staff member has increased because of an office closure or move. Where there is a requirement for a limited number of RPA managers to operate out of more than one location, RPA also pay home to work travel costs to ensure the individual is not disadvantaged as a result of business needs. The EA figure includes staff in receipt of Overtime Attendance Allowance which is a fixed amount that is paid when they are required to respond to an unplanned incident.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure that seven-day GP services are provided in Southampton.
Alistair Burt
The Southampton City Primary Care Hub scheme supports 269,875 patients from 33 general practitioner (GP) practices, providing them with access to improved services across Southampton via six hubs. The first of these six hubs opened in June 2015 and offers GP and Healthcare Assistant appointments from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the evenings and 8:00am-8:00pm at the weekends. Two further hubs went live in September and a further two early January 2016 as part of a phased rollout.
Information technology offerings from the hubs will feature e-Consultations and e-Feedback for patients which will be phased across the hubs in 2016. Since September 2015, the scheme has also been offering patients a physiotherapy service delivering primary care physio in the evenings and at weekends, alongside a pathway redesign to support GPs as first contact for patients with musculoskeletal problems.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for developing and updating clinical guidance on the treatment of men with erectile dysfunction in England.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has included guidance on erectile dysfunction in the following guidelines:
– Chronic heart failure in adults: management (CG108) published in August 2010;
– Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management (NG17) published in August 2015; and
– Type 2 diabetes in adults: management (NG28) published in December 2015.
Copies of these documents are attached.
It is for NHS England to commission NICE to develop a specific clinical guideline on the management and treatment of erectile dysfunction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Iranian government on the imprisonment of seven Bahá’í leaders.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK regularly raises our concerns at the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that UK researchers have the same level of funding as before the EU referendum.
Joseph Johnson
The UK economy is fundamentally strong and our research and innovation are world leading. We have a long established system that supports, and therefore attracts, the brightest minds, at all stages of their careers. We fund excellent science wherever it is found, and ensure there is the freedom to tackle important scientific questions. While the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU arrangements continue unchanged, including those that apply to students, researchers, and businesses. We remain fully open to scientists and researchers from across the EU. We hugely value the contribution of EU and international staff and there are no immediate changes to their rights to live and work in the UK. The Government intends to maintain and enhance the strength of our research base, which is why we have protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion for the rest of the parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of Official Development Assistance was allocated to sexual and reproductive health and family planning in fragile and conflict-affected states in the last year for which figures are available.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK aid strategy has committed that, from 2016, we spend 50% of our support in fragile states and regions. This will include our work on family planning and broader sexual and reproductive health and rights. In such settings, DFID uses multilateral mechanisms, for example United Nations Population Fund, and our bilateral programmes to disburse funding for sexual and reproductive health services. In addition the UK has made a commitment that in humanitarian crises, DFID calls for proposals will require that the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to be considered.
DFID spent approximately £605m on sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health in fragile and conflict affected states and their neighbours in 2014; £606m in 2013 and £526m in 2012. This was approximately 6% of DFID ODA in 2012 and 2013 and 7% in 2012.
In 2015/16 our support to UNFPA totalled £112.5m and included work in fragile and conflict-affected states and humanitarian settings, including in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen. In Syria, for example, DFID will be providing £18.5 million through UNFPA over three years to 2018. This is in addition to the UK’s previous support to Syria, which has helped tackle gender-based violence and enabled access to reproductive health services for more than 260,000 girls and women.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many buses in England outside London are fitted with audio-visual announcement systems (AV); and what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of AV on bus patronage.
Andrew Jones
We do not publish statistics on the number of buses in England which are fitted with audio visual systems. Analysis of data from the Nottingham City area did not suggest that AV equipment had a statistically significant impact on patronage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on allegations of doping in athletics.
Tracey Crouch
Both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts to discuss a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.