The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for how long it is planned that Commissioning through Evaluation will be in the assessment phase.
David Mowat
The analysis phase for a treatment entered in to Commissioning through Evaluation will vary in length as the time needed depends on the follow up evaluation measures that have been agreed by clinicians and patients at the start of each scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what specific changes are needed to her Department’s policies to ensure that the UK meets the EU target of 15 per cent of energy to be sourced from renewable sources before 2020; and what the timetable is for implementing each of those changes.
Andrea Leadsom
We continue to make progress towards our renewable energy target of 15% final energy consumption by 2020. Provisional figures show 6.3% of final energy consumption came from renewable sources for 2013 and 2014, against a target of 5.4%.
Progress on renewable electricity generation has been particularly strong with over a quarter of electricity generated, between April and June this year, coming from renewable sources.
The Spending Review will be announced on 25th November, and a Department for Transport consultation will be running next year on increasing the amount of renewable transport fuel. We will carefully consider the impacts of both on the UK’s progress towards the renewables target of 15%, including whether there will be a role for trading.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost in each year between 2016 and 2021 of young parents under 25 years old, who are single claimants and care leavers, receiving the same rate of standard allowance in universal credit as single claimants who are parents aged 25 years old; and how many people this would affect.
Lord Freud
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to enable special circumstances to be taken into account when making the decision to withhold pension credit to people who are away from their homes for a period of more than four weeks.
Justin Tomlinson
It is the intention to amend the Pension Credit temporary absence from Great Britain rules from April 2016. The temporary absence rules allow entitlement to Pension Credit to continue where under normal conditions it would not do so.
We are planning for a general rule which will allow Pension Credit to remain payable for absences not exceeding four weeks. We intend to have exceptions to the general rule to cater for bereavement or medical treatment. Where the absence from Great Britain is in connection with a bereavement concerning a partner or close relative then entitlement to Pension Credit may continue for absences not exceeding eight weeks. Where the absence from Great Britain is in order to receive medical treatment then entitlement to Pension Credit may continue for absences not exceeding 26 weeks.
These changes do not affect the Pension Credit rules covering absences from home within Great Britain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the cost of outsourced mental health services.
Alistair Burt
We do not hold this information centrally.
Departmental Ministers regularly discuss a number of mental health issues with NHS England officials, although no discussions specifically about the cost of outsourced mental health services have taken place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications for his Department’s policies on people with rare forms of kidney disease are of the report of the Rare Disease Forum, Delivering for patients with rare diseases: Implementing a strategy, published on 29 February 2016; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
The Department is committed to improving the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases for all patients, including those with rare forms of kidney disease through implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases, published in November 2013.
The UK Forum report, Delivering for patients with rare diseases: Implementing a strategy, published on 29 February 2016 includes 51 specific commitments to improve the lives of all those affected with rare diseases. The measures focus on improving diagnosis and early intervention for patients affected by a rare disease.
The UK Rare Disease Forum is working to ensure that specific commitments in the Strategy are embedded in policy development and implementation across the United Kingdom.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that regional museums and galleries are adequately funded.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Councils have almost £200 billion to spend on local services, over the lifetime of this parliament. It is for each local authority who know their area best to decide how to allocate its budget to provide museum services to its communities.
In addition, through the Arts Council England, DCMS has increased funding for 21 Major Partner Museums Networks (130 Museums in total) from £20.3m to £22.6 million over 2015-2018. Regional museums can bid for funds from ACE’s £10 million per year Resilience Fund, and for lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are also investing millions of pounds to boost local and regional museums, for example, £5 million towards a new South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum and £2.5 million to the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry.
As announced in our Culture White Paper, we will conduct a wide-ranging review into the museums sector that will examine local and regional museums, as well as Government-sponsored museums and the museums infrastructure nationally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of cuts in the number of welfare rights officers and to legal aid, they will provide resources to Citizens Advice Bureaux, local mental health charities and disability organisations to provide support for disabled people who go to tribunal when appealing against their Personal Independence Payment assessment.
Baroness Altmann
Tribunal proceedings are designed to be straightforward and accessible to all. The tribunal panel is trained and possess special expertise to ensure that all issues which have a bearing on the outcome of an appeal are investigated irrespective of whether or not they have been raised by the parties.
DWP does not provide funding for this purpose. Individual local authorities may provide funding for these types of organisations but it would be a matter for the individual local authority to decide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-07-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 12 July (HL Deb, col 124), how many Syrian refugees have been settled in each of the 71 local authorities so far.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Progress on resettlement in each local authority is indicated in quarterly immigration statistics. The last set of statistics, published on 26 May 2016, showed that 1,602 Syrians were resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme between October 2015 and March 2016 and sets out how many were located in each local authority.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of security at London City Airport after the recent protestor security breach.
Mr John Hayes
We keep aviation security under constant review. The Civil Aviation Authority, as regulator, has carried out a full investigation of the incident on 6 September, and will continue to monitor London City Airport’s response to the incident and subsequent investigation. For obvious reasons we would not comment publicly on the details of this response.