The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who will represent the Government at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja.
Mark Simmonds
No UK Minister was available to attend the World Economic Forum being held in Abuja on 7 – 9 May. We did propose to send senior officials, but the organisers of the World Economic Forum declined this request.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John McDonnell on 2014-03-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what payroll deductions other than trades union subscriptions are made from Government department employees through the check-off system.
Francis Maude
It is a matter for each Government Department to decide which organisations can collect their subscriptions through the employers’ payroll service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2014-05-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they support into the number of patients identified by the National Health Service as having lymphoedema or lipoedema.
Earl Howe
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data does not separately identify those cases of lymphoedema that are associated with cancer from those that are not, and is unable to identify cases of lipoedema as there is no coding available for this condition, based on the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
Further to this, HES data is not linked to costing information and therefore this information cannot be provided.
In the following table we have provided the number of finished admission episodes (FAEs) for patients with a primary diagnosis of lymphoedema from 2010-11 to 2012-13.
|
Year |
FAE |
|
2010-11 |
1,887 |
|
2011-12 |
2,026 |
|
2012-13 |
2,099 |
Note:
An FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Laurence Robertson on 2014-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allow a transitional period for schools to prepare to provide free school meals for under-sevens in cases where those schools need to set up their own kitchens; and if he will make a statement.
David Laws
The Government announced in September 2013 that state-funded schools will be required to offer free school meals to infant pupils from September 2014, giving schools a full year to put arrangements in place. We know from the universal free school meal pilots, in which schools were required to provide meals to all infant pupils and all key stage 2 pupils, that it is possible for schools to prepare to implement this policy with much less notice.
In order to help schools to implement universal infant free school meals in September 2014 we have put in place a national support service, run by school food experts. The assistance available through that service includes a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and intensive face-to-face support. We are also providing additional funding of £22.5 million to help small schools with the transition to providing meals for all their infant pupils.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full time members of staff in her Department have responsibility for issues relating to HIV/AIDS.
Justine Greening
I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer I provided to him on 11 March 2014, Official Report, column 187W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues on dealing with people who have had one member of their group detained at a Border Force checkpoint.
James Brokenshire
All members of a group of adult travellers are assessed individually on arrival to ensure that they qualify for admission in line with immigration legislation. If one member of the group is detained for further enquiries but the rest of the group are granted admission then they are free to proceed without the detained person if they so wish.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, from what date he plans that the refusal of a job on a zero hours contract will be sanctionable by Jobcentre Plus advisers; and if he will provide protection to claimants with caring responsibilities which limit their work availability.
Esther McVey
JSA claimants are not required to apply for zero hours contract jobs and therefore will not be sanctioned if they do not apply for such jobs.
Universal Credit means that claimants can accept any offer of work without fear of their benefits or the support they receive from the Jobcentre being negatively affected. They will always be better off in work.
Under Universal Credit, if a claimant turns down the offer of employment without good reason a sanction can be applied. Claimants always have the opportunity to provide a good reason.
Claimants who turn down the offer of employment under a zero hours contract because of an exclusivity clause will always be considered to have good reason and no sanction will apply.
Decision Makers will also consider whether the job was suitable for the claimant taking into account the specifics of the role, the type of work, any agreed restrictions on hours and the claimant’s particular circumstances, including any caring responsibilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Andrew Smith on 2014-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department used in the decision to include the Garden Bridge in the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan.
Stephen Hammond
The National Infrastructure Plan 2013 sets out the government’s long-term plan to ensure that it can deliver the investment required to meet the UK’s infrastructure needs to 2020 and beyond. The Garden Bridge is not one of the Government’s ‘Top 40′ projects as set out in the Plan, but it is part of the ‘infrastructure pipeline’, which includes large capital programmes of investment worth £50 million or over.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to control mink.
George Eustice
The Government is not undertaking any nationwide action to control mink. However, landowners are free to control mink on their land as long as they do so humanely and within the law. Advice on controlling mink can be obtained from Natural England. As a non-native species, it is an offence to release mink into the wild and I would encourage landowners to control them wherever practical.
The Environment Agency is not directly involved in any mink control programmes in England. It does, however, contribute a small amount of annual funding to the Wildlife Trusts and some other local organisations towards the cost of local water vole conservation projects. Some of these projects may involve an element of mink control. The Environment Agency is one of a number of contributors to these projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2014-03-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of whether the London to Holyhead line will become a local stopping service following the building of High Speed 2.
Stephen Hammond
No such assessment has been made. The opening of High Speed 2 will release capacity for train services on existing lines, including on the West Coast Main Line. Precise details of stopping patterns will be resolved when the relevant rail franchises are let in due course.
In the meantime, we will shortly announce a transparent and participatory process to consider long-term issues, opportunities and options for rail services on HS2 corridors.
We are also working with the Welsh Government who are developing a business case for the electrification of the North Wales Main Line.