Blog

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of the officials and other individuals on the Department of Health’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    As at 16 November 2015, the job titles of the officials and other individuals in the Department of Health’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub are:

    Civil Service Grade / Job Title

    FTEs

    Grade 7

    1

    Senior Executive Officer (SEO) – Team Leader

    1.75

    Higher Executive Officer (HEO)

    1

    Higher Executive Officer (HEO) – Senior Account Manager

    4

    Executive Officer (EO) – Account Manager

    7

    Job titles provided along with grades in instances where staff share the same job title.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any grant application by or award made to Action on Smoking and Health by the Department of Health in the last five years was not considered first by the Voluntary Sector Grants Hub.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

    To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House the assessment by the Department of Health’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub of the grant applications made by Action on Smoking and Health in each of the last five years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

    To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any grant has been provided to Action on Smoking and Health in the last five years other than through grants under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968, and if so, what was the nature and value of each grant.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

    To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received about the funding provided by the Department of Health to Action on Smoking and Health in the last five years.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

    To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to ensure that all grants awarded by the tobacco policy team in the Department of Health are awarded on a competitive basis.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

    To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any assessment of the impact of the criminalisation of homosexuality by Commonwealth countries on economic development and business investment in those countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not carried out a specific assessment of the impact of the criminalisation of homosexuality on economic development and business investment in Commonwealth countries. However, we welcomed the reports of the Williams Institute of November 2014 and the recent report from the Human Dignity Trust of November 2015 which clearly set out the economic case for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

    We are committed to combating discrimination and violence against Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGB&T) throughout the Commonwealth. We utilised every opportunity at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to highlight our belief that the Commonwealth must stand up for human rights, including LGB&T rights, around the world. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), made this clear during an intervention at the retreat and subsequently in his press statement. Additionally, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, the noble Baroness Verma, also spoke in favour of addressing LGB&T issues while chairing a session at the People’s Forum. We look forward to working with the new Commonwealth Secretary-General on this issue when she takes up her position in April 2016.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to amend road traffic legislation to make it compulsory for drivers who run over a cat to report it to the police.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has no plans to amend the legislation.

    The Highway Code advises drivers to report any accident involving an animal to the police, which I hope would lead to domestic animal owners whose animals are killed in road accidents being made aware of their loss.

    The police also advise drivers that, if possible, they should make enquiries to ascertain the owner of domestic animals, such as cats, and advise them of the situation.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of people in the UK who suffer from Charles Bonnet syndrome.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No assessment has been made of the number of people in the United Kingdom who suffer from Charles Bonnet syndrome.

    However, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) estimate there are more than 100,000 cases of Charles Bonnet Syndrome in the UK.

    To raise awareness, the NHS Choices website provides information on Charles Bonnet Syndrome. This can be found at:

    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/charles-bonnet-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx.

    A copy of this web page is attached.

    “

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to raise awareness of Charles Bonnet syndrome.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No assessment has been made of the number of people in the United Kingdom who suffer from Charles Bonnet syndrome.

    However, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) estimate there are more than 100,000 cases of Charles Bonnet Syndrome in the UK.

    To raise awareness, the NHS Choices website provides information on Charles Bonnet Syndrome. This can be found at:

    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/charles-bonnet-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx.

    A copy of this web page is attached.

    “