The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. Members have security clearance for access to 10 Downing Street.
Mr David Cameron
It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27079, on Victory 1744, how many such meetings, on which dates, have been held between his officials and those in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Mark Lancaster
Since my previous answer of the 22 February 2016 officials met on the 11 March and further meetings between officials from both Departments will be held as these discussions continue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research HS2 Ltd has (a) produced and (b) commissioned on the geological effect of the construction and operation of High Speed 2 in Eddisbury constituency.
Mr Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd has commissioned from a mining engineer (in consultation with the Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board) a study of the saltfield, which applies to Cheshire including the Eddisbury constituency.
HS2 Ltd. has commissioned from Heriot-Watt University a modelling of the geodynamic effects of high speed railway operation, which applies route wide including the Eddisbury constituency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses in Stafford constituency.
Anna Soubry
The Government is working to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business by supporting businesses across the country. In Stafford, 42 Government backed Start-Up Loans have been drawn down since September 2012 with a value of over £218,000. A Regional Growth Fund award of £4m made in 2011 has attracted private investment of £56.5 million, delivering 1,600 jobs. Since May 2010, 26 loans have been drawn down in Stafford, worth over £2.6 million, from the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. Businesses in Stafford also have access to the Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Growth Hub which was live from September 2014, which is one of a network of 39 Growth Hubs set up across England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NICE about the effectiveness of guidelines to tackle urinary tract infections that are (a) acute and (b) chronic.
Nicola Blackwood
No such discussions have taken place.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on Urinary tract infection in under 16s: diagnosis and management (CG54) in August 2007. NICE has also published Quality Standards on Urinary tract infection in children and young people (QS36) in July 2013 and Urinary tract infections in adults (QS90) in June 2015.
NICE periodically reviews its technology appraisal methods and processes to ensure that they remain appropriate in the light of wider developments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had on the future of regional programming as part of the BBC Charter renewal process.
Matt Hancock
The new Charter requires the BBC to better reflect, represent and serve all of the UK’s nations and regions. The new public purposes make clear that the BBC should ensure it provides content and services that meet the needs of the UK’s nations, regions and communities.
The specific content of regional programming is, however, an editorial matter for the BBC and there is a long-standing principle that the Government does not interfere in programme matters.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the effects of the recent fires in Indonesia and neighbouring countries; and what steps he he has taken to ascertain whether any UK companies are responsible for those fires.
Mr Philip Hammond
We maintain a regular dialogue with the government of Indonesia, governments of affected neighbouring countries and environmental experts about the fires and their impact. While experts agree the fires are man-made, we are not aware of the involvement of any UK companies. We are working with Indonesian NGOs and the government to help them monitor, prevent and take action on fires, whether they occur on land owned by Indonesian or foreign entities.
The UK’s Forest Land-use And Governance (FLAG) programme in Indonesia is funding longer-term fire prevention work through civil society, private sector and government, focusing on transparency, accountability and spatial planning to resolve the land governance issues that lead to fires.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the joint investigation by the British Medical Journal and The Times which found that contracts made by the Clinical Commissioning Groups with providers could financially benefit board members of the group.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have legal duties under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to manage conflicts of interests when deciding which health services to procure. CCGs must manage any actual or perceived conflicts in a way that is transparent, fair, and protects the integrity of their decision making.
NHS England publishes guidance for CCGs on their responsibility to manage conflicts of interest. CCGs must have regard to this.
Monitor must ensure that CCGs follow National Health Service regulations on procurement, patient choice and competition, and have powers of investigation if these are not followed.
In their recent report ‘Managing conflicts of interest in NHS clinical commissioning groups’ (a copy of which is attached) the National Audit Office found that CCGs generally had arrangements in place to manage conflicts of interest to reduce the risk of commissioners’ decisions being improperly influenced.
The NAO made recommendations to the Department, NHS England, Monitor and CCGs to strengthen current arrangements and we would expect the bodies concerned to consider these carefully and take appropriate action in response.
Action is already being taken by NHS England including:
‒ strengthening its CCG assurance processes;
‒ commissioning an independent audit of conflicts of interest management in ten primary care co-commissioning arrangements, with a review to using the learning to strengthen current arrangements;
‒ providing training to CCG lay members on management of conflicts of interest in 2015, with more training planned for next year; and
‒ reviewing its own internal rules on conflicts of interest and the statutory guidance it issues to CCGs on management of conflicts of interest to ensure that arrangements are robust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff in his Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether his Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether his Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Department is appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to provide transitional protection for tax credit recipients who have been naturally migrated onto universal credit.
Priti Patel
Natural migration occurs where people have had a significant change of circumstances that would previously have triggered a new claim to benefits or tax credits. They would always have had their entitlement recalculated based on a new set of rules. That principle is maintained in Universal Credit, and therefore transitional protection is not appropriate. Universal Credit is already proving better than the system it replaces with claimants moving into work faster and earning more. It also provides a seamless taper as well as better support for childcare.