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  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which trades union groups have received (a) funding and (b) other support from his Department in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Lidington

    There are three trade unions with agreed rights to represent employees in the FCO/FCO Services:

    Public and Commercial Services (PCS): Public and Commercial Services Union

    First Division Association (FDA): known as the Diplomatic Service Association (DSA) a section of the FDA

    Prospect: representing technical employees and other specialists.

    In compliance with the Facility Time Framework the FCO submits Quarterly Returns to the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office publish the statistics annually, listing the individual departments.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418380/Annex_A_-_Facility_Time_Figures_Q1_2014-Q4_2014_Overall.ods’

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not make any payments to trade unions in the UK. Members of staff who belong to a trade union pay their own subscriptions, which are either deducted from their salaries and paid to the relevant union or paid directly by the staff in the form of direct debits. The FCO provides office facilities to its union representatives and meets day-to-day running costs within the rules of public expenditure, set out in FCO guidance. The details of the cost of facilities provided over the last five years are not held centrally and to provide these would incur disproportionate cost. In terms of support provided to the trade unions overseas, this information is not held centrally. Collating it would mean contacting all of our posts overseas, which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much capital funding his Department has allocated to construction of a new concert hall in London led by the Barbican Centre.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not allocated any capital funding for the construction of the new concert hall in London.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) clinical commissioning groups, (b) hospital trusts and (c) health and well-being boards on BRCA gene testing for (i) patients who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and (ii) people identified as likely to have the BRCA gene mutation due to their family history.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England published a new Clinical Commissioning Policy on Genetic Testing for BRCA1/2 mutations in July 2015, based on updated guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This policy applies to patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer and people likely to have the BRCA gene mutation due to their family history.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the minutes of the infected blood reference group meeting held on 5 October 2015; and for what reasons those minutes have not yet been published.

    Jane Ellison

    A report was produced by the independent facilitator who chaired the event and a final version was agreed with representatives from the campaign groups who attended, namely the Haemophilia Society, Contaminated Blood Campaign, and Tainted Blood. The report has now been published on the Haemophilia Society website.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many press, communication and public relations staff are employed by (a) his Department, (b) Public Health England, (c) NHS England, (d) Monitor, (e) the Care Quality Commission, (f) the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, (g) NHS Blood and Transplant, (h) the NHS Litigation Authority, (i) the Trust Development Authority, (j) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, (k) the Human Tissue Authority, (l) the NHS Business Service Authority, (m) Health Education England and (n) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency; how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and communication by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    Below are details of communications headcount and spend for the organisations requested.

    On headcount, to ensure consistency, all organisations have provided information according to the following criteria for public relations (PR) and communications staff:

    – Press and PR

    – Stakeholder relations

    – Campaigns (including marketing and strategic communications)

    – Digital Communications (not IT/digital service teams)

    – Internal Communications

    On communications spend, we have provided figures for 2014/15, which is the most recent year for which figures are available.

    The figures on spend are split between major communications and marketing spend costs (submissions of above £100,000 which are assessed through the Cabinet Office Efficiency and Reform Group process) and the remaining admin and minor programme spend costs. Major programme spend costs cover budgets for public information campaigns – such as smoking cessation, blood and organ donor recruitment, dementia friends, cancer diagnosis and immunisation campaigns.

    The figures on major campaign programme spend (in column three below) reflect the amount of money requested in the Cabinet Office submission. In some instances, the final spend on communications was lower, as some of the budget was reappropriated for operational requirements or was unused and returned to central budgets.

    Organisation

    Number of Communications Staff

    Major campaign programme spend (Activity over £100,000 approved in 2014/15)

    Admin (staff / non-staff) and minor programme spend 2014/15 (£)

    Department of Health

    106.5

    1,129,507

    6,968,643

    Public Health England

    115.5

    57,162,157*

    8,134,900

    NHS England

    69

    9,721,465

    3,292,340

    Monitor

    21

    n/a

    1,697,000

    Care Quality Commission

    34

    650,000

    6,671,635

    NICE

    74

    n/a

    2,427, 944

    NHS Blood & Transplant

    124.59

    4,862,257

    8,689,004

    NHS Litigation Authority

    3

    n/a

    315,329

    NHS Trust Development Authority

    12

    n/a

    926,023

    Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority

    6.5

    n/a

    381,443

    Human Tissue Authority

    3.2

    n/a

    291,454

    NHS Business Services Authority

    17.6

    1,028,800

    823,586

    Health Education England

    32

    n/a

    2,219,301

    Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority

    28

    n/a

    1,987,441

    *See breakdown of Public Health England campaign spend in table below

    Public Health England Campaign Spend in 2014/15

    Cost

    Smokefree (tobacco control) includes Stoptober and January Health Harms campaigns

    £11,580,000

    PHE Smokefree Cars

    £1,400,000

    Be Clear on Cancer

    £11,685,000

    Stroke- ACT Fast

    £975,000

    Change4life

    £11,514,248

    Start4life

    £3,200,000

    Rise Above

    £1,970,000

    DH PHE Dementia Friends Campaign

    £4,000,000

    HIV Prevention England 14/15

    £550,000

    Sexual Health Information Family Planning Association

    £262,000

    Care & Support Reforms Phase 1

    £1,950,000

    Dementia Friends Phase 2

    £1,500,000

    Seasonal Flu Campaign

    £1,868,000

    PHE Alcohol Campaign

    £1,825,000

    PHE, Seasonal Flu, respiratory and hand hygiene 2014/15

    £500,000

    TOTAL

    £54,779,248

    We can provide information on staff paid in different salary bands. However, due to differing bands between organisations and differing geographical weighting, this does not allow us to provide figures for the number of employees paid more than £50,000 and £100,000.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which local authorities reported an underspend on their public health budget in the last financial year; how much that underspend was for each of those local authorities.

    Jane Ellison

    The table attached shows the local authorities that underspent on their public health allocation (the ring fenced grant they received for public health) for 2014/15.

    The grant conditions permit local authorities to carry money forward to a future period in a ring-fenced public health reserve.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16286 of 18 November 2015, on the National Crime Agency (NCA), how many of those suspicious activity reports were investigated by the NCA.

    Mike Penning

    Suspicious activity reports (SARs) submitted under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000 are available to officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and to accredited officers in all UK police forces. This allows NCA officers and the police to use SARs for a variety of investigative and intelligence purposes.

    No central record is held relating to the ultimate use of SAR data by these end users and therefore no data is available relating to how many investigations or enforcement actions may have resulted from SARs.

    A report providing an overview of the operation of the SARs regime is published annually on the NCA website, the link to the latest report is below:

    http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/suspicious-activity-reports-sars

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding will be provided to local authorities for each Syrian refugee they resettle in the (a) first and (b) second year of resettlement.

    Richard Harrington

    Local authorities are required to provide refugees they resettle under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme with a 12 month support package which is being funded using the overseas aid budget. Many of the refugees have significant medical and social care needs, and the costs therefore vary according to their individual circumstances.

    At the Spending Review, the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme. This will be allocated on a tariff basis over four years, with £5,000 per refugee provided for their second year in the UK.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that police officers are aware of the outcome of prosecutions in which they have been involved.

    Mike Penning

    Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, through its IT systems, passes data onto the police national computer so that records of convictions and sentences can be maintained by the police.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the position of cyber crime in the published lists of priorities of Police and Crime Commissioners.

    Mike Penning

    Decisions about setting police priorities are rightly a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), tailored to the needs of the local community, and for Chief Constables to determine the most appropriate response in their areas.

    PCCs set the strategic direction and objectives of the force through the Police and Crime Plan which must have regard to the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) set by the Home Secretary.

    The SPR, published in March 2015, sets out the national threats and the appropriate national policing capabilities required to counter those threats. It quotes cyber crime as a National Security Strategy Tier One risk. Section 5 of the SPR, on capability, sets out what the police will need to be doing in order to achieve various outcomes. It specifically states the capabilities needed to conduct complex investigations, including cyber crime, that require specialist resources, including the capability to do so across boundaries.

    Cyber Security, including combating cyber crime, is a top priority threat to national security. That is why, through the National Cyber Security Programme, we have invested over £90 million over the last five years to bolster the law enforcement response. As the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9 billion over the next five years.