The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the self-esteem of female hospital staff of having to wear a uniform.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Department has not assessed the effect on the self-esteem of female hospital staff having to wear uniform.
There is advice available to hospitals on the NHS Employers website via the following links:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) passenger vehicles, (b) vans, (c) public service vehicles and (d) heavy goods vehicles are licensed; and how many vehicles in each such category (i) use petrol, (ii) use diesel and (iii) are hybrid.
Andrew Jones
The numbers of licensed vehicles in the categories requested are shown in the table below.
|
Licensed vehicles of selected types of propulsion type in the UK as at 30 June 2015 |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Vehicle Body Type |
Petrol |
Diesel |
Hybrid |
Other |
Total |
|
Passenger Vehicles |
1906892 |
11592134 |
22382 |
5956 |
30944434 |
|
Vans |
1414 |
3518023 |
122 |
14328 |
3673873 |
|
Public Service Vehicles |
4851 |
164107 |
1 |
504 |
169463 |
|
Heavy Goods Vehicles |
2537 |
498816 |
0 |
1085 |
502438 |
|
Notes: |
|||||
|
1. Vehicle types shown are based on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency vehicle body type definitions: |
|||||
|
Passenger vehicles = cars; Vans =Light Goods with a gross weight of up to and including 3.5 tonnes; Heavy Goods Vehicles = Goods vehicles with a gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes; |
|||||
|
Public Service Vehicles = Buses and Coaches (including minibuses with 9-16 seats) |
|||||
|
2. Hybrid vehicles may be under-recorded for Public Service Vehicles and Heavy Goods Vehicles: other includes gas and electric |
|||||
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people in the social housing sector in Scotland will be affected by changes to the levels of housing benefit; and what the cost of such changes will be to the average household in Scotland.
Justin Tomlinson
This policy was introduced because in some areas, increases in social rents have outstripped the increase in private rents.
The policy to cap social sector rents at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate for the area from April 2018 only applies to a new tenancy or a tenancy that is renewed after April 2016. As such it isn’t possible to accurately estimate the proportion of those in receipt of Housing Benefit in the social sector that will be affected by this policy, as it relies on the choice of those taking out new tenancies.
The Discretionary Housing Payment scheme will be available to Local Authorities to protect the vulnerable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that BAME civil servants struggle more than their white counterparts to reach senior positions in Whitehall.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Government is committed to ensuring a diverse Civil Service that is representative of Modern Britain at all levels.
In 2014, we commissioned external research undertaken by Ethnic Dimension to identify the barriers to progression experienced by talented BAME Civil Servants. The findings informed the Talent Action Plan Refresh published in March 2015 outlining clear actions to develop a greater pool of diverse talent.
Specific actions include a commitment to expand the Positive Action Pathway programme, designed to identify and develop talented BAME employees to secure promotion.
We also plan to introduce Accelerate, an ambitious new talent programme to boost development of the pipeline for future leaders for key Director and Director General roles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tunnicliffe on 2016-01-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which debt management advice takes into account non-financial circumstances of an individual client, and what guidance they issue to those providing such advice about taking those circumstances into account.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
These questions have been passed on to the Money Advice Service (MAS). MAS will reply to directly to the Noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people in children and adolescent mental health services waited longer than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five and (f) six months between referral and treatment in (i) England, (ii) London, (iii) each London borough and (vi) each London health trust in (A) 2010, (B) 2011, (C) 2012, (D) 2013, (E) 2014 and (F) 2015.
Alistair Burt
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-03-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many abortions there were in 2015 at 23 weeks gestation and above.
Lord Prior of Brampton
This data is not currently available. Abortion data for 2015 will be published by the Department in May.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to promote research and development in the UK.
Greg Hands
At the Spending Review 2015 we protected the current £4.7 billion science resource funding in real terms for the rest of the Parliament and re-affirmed our long term science capital commitment of £6.9 billion between 2015-2021.
The government also continues to support business research and development investment through R&D tax credits. In 2013-14, R&D tax credits provided £1.75bn of relief to over 18,000 companies, supporting around £14.3bn of innovative investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol.
Karen Bradley
An impact assessment of a minimum unit price for alcohol was published before a consultation on the Government’s Alcohol Strategy proposals in 2012.
The consultation raised questions concerning possible unintended consequences of minimum unit pricing, such as the impact on responsible drinkers on low incomes. The Government continues to monitor the research being carried out by the University of Sheffield and others on the potential effects.
The Government has also noted the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the proposed introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland and will continue to monitor the legal proceedings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures are in place to regulate the prices of everyday drugs sold to the NHS by pharmaceutical companies.
George Freeman
There are arrangements in place to ensure that the prices paid by the National Health Service for medicines provide value for money for the NHS. The prices and the profits made on the sales of branded medicines to the NHS are controlled by the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. If a company chooses not to join the voluntary scheme, it falls under a statutory scheme which controls the prices of branded medicines.
The Department does not control the price of generic medicines; instead it relies on competition to drive down prices. A report in 2010 by the National Audit Office showed that the reimbursement arrangements had delivered savings for the NHS of £1.8 billion between 2005/6 and 2008/09.
Concerns about possible anti-competitive behaviour by pharmaceutical companies are investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Department and the CMA work closely together on such matters. The CMA is committed to investigating suspected infringements of competition law, including suspected excessive pricing in the pharmaceutical sector. The CMA has strong powers of investigation and, where it finds that a firm has breached competition law, it may impose penalties of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide turnover.
The CMA has been asked by the Secretary of State to undertake further work to look into specific instances of excessive pricing.