The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has served any French cheeses at receptions within that Department in the last five years.
George Eustice
No French cheese has been served at receptions held by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the last five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many successful tumour-normal genomes Genomics England has sequenced, interpreted and returned to patients to date; how long on average it has taken to return those results to patients; and how many cancer patients have died without receiving their results after supplying tumour samples to the 100,000 Genomes Project.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The information requested is not yet available. The 100,000 Genomes Project is a research project which is investigating the benefits of whole genome sequencing for patients with cancer and rare diseases. One of the objectives of the Project is to establish the evidence to inform future decisions on National Health Service testing.
The cancer part of the 100,000 Genomes Project has only recently completed the pilot phase and is incorporating those lessons into routine recruitment of cancer patients. To date, 1,286 tumour and normal genomes have been sequenced and are being interpreted by Genomics England. The pilot phase has involved research participants who have given informed consent, including details about whether there will be feedback of results during the pilot phase. The pilot phase has proved invaluable in understanding the technical requirements for sample preparation and data collection which will be incorporated into the main phase of recruitment in early 2016. As this phase is just starting there is no data on the average turn-around-time or on patient survival.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries attended any meetings in which ministers from HM Treasury discussed the future of Channel 4 between May 2015 and January 2016 inclusive.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
HM Treasury Ministers and officials have both regular discussions with colleagues and meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not government practice to release details of routine officials’ discussions as to do so would be impracticable and potentially prejudice the effective conduct of public policy development. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the definition of domestic servitude used by the National Referral Mechanism when the victim is a child.
Lord Bates
Data on the number of child cases of forced labour or domestic servitude recorded through the National Referral Mechanism is already publically available on the National Crime Agency website and can be found here: www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics.
The National Referral Mechanism is designed to gather evidence in order to determine whether someone is considered to be a victim of ‘slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour’ or ‘human trafficking’ in line with the offences set out in the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Whether an individual is considered to be a victim of either of these offences in the form of domestic servitude or forced labour will be determined on the indicators present and the facts of each case. Additional consideration is given to the particular vulnerabilities of children and their inability to consent.
Information on how many cases of domestic servitude have been prosecuted where the victim was a child or how many cases of domestic servitude have been recorded which involved more than one person from the same family is not recorded centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force among young people.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Royal Air Force (RAF) engages in a number of ways to encourage interest in aviation and the RAF among young people including through its investment in the Air Cadet Organisation. In addition, the RAF Youth Engagement Programme is designed to raise awareness of aviation and aerospace, and their relevance to RAF career choices which require STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) qualifications. The programme runs a number of STEM days in schools and at cadet gatherings all over the country. In addition there are a number of residential placements for students and cadets that bring together hands-on engineering projects with face-to-face engagement with real-life aviators and engineers in the RAF.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps law enforcement agencies can take to ensure that community resolution agreements are honoured.
Mike Penning
A community resolution is a voluntary agreement between the victim and offender to a low level crime where the offender has admitted responsibility and as such is unenforceable.
If an officer has concerns at the outset that the offender may not comply an alternative course of action should be taken.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2016 to Question 41302, whether he has made an estimate of the total cost to his Department of hiring additional lawyers, and financial and trade experts as a result of the outcome of the EU referendum; and if he will make a statement.
Greg Hands
The new unit established by the Cabinet Office will review arrangements for the UK’s exit from the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the impact of quantitative easing on investment and on savings to determine whether it is of greater benefit to one or the other.
Lord Young of Cookham
The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is responsible for setting monetary policy to deliver its primary objective of maintaining price stability. As the MPC remit makes clear, ensuring price stability is an essential pre-requisite for economic prosperity. The MPC is accountable to both Parliament and the public, through regular reports and evidence given to the Treasury Committee. The Bank of England has previously produced analysis of the distributional effects of asset purchases on different groups in society. At the August Inflation Report hearing on 7 September the Bank committed to updating this analysis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to change attitudes to personal health issues among men.
Jane Ellison
We recognise that men do not seek medical help as often as women, and their health can suffer as a result and that changing their behaviours could reduce premature death, illness and costs to society. The Department does not have a separate policy approach to men’s health as all policy subjects are expected to take into account equality issues as they are developed.
In 2013, Public Health England was established to protect and improve the nation’s health and to address inequalities, working with national and local government, the National Health Service, industry, academia, the public and the voluntary and community sector. Local authorities are responsible for assessing the current and future health needs of their local population and targeting of interventions to reduce health inequalities. We have also given local authorities the flexibility to innovate and tailor services to meet local individual and population needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 12730, what steps his Department is taking to improve palliative care for children in England.
Ben Gummer
NHS England has continued to provide £11 million to children’s palliative care providers through the annual Children’s Hospice and Hospice-at-Home Grant.
The Department has also provided grant funding to ‘Together for Short Lives’ to support the Transition Taskforce, which is developing improved approaches to providing care and support to young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions.
NHS England has led work on behalf of the Government in developing draft currencies for palliative care (for all ages) which are now being tested with provider organisations. The aim is to put funding for children and adult hospices on a more equitable and sustainable footing, by clearly identifying the costs of care, so that it can be commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups.