Blog

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what declarations under EU procurement guidelines Maximus made in tendering for the Work Capability Assessment contract.

    Priti Patel

    The Work Capability Assessment contract was awarded to Maximus Health and Human Services Ltd in line with the Government’s EU procurement guidelines. These guidelines include the grounds for the mandatory or discretionary rejection of suppliers and cover areas such as convictions for bribery, fraud, money laundering and debt in the EU under EU/UK Law. Maximus Health and Human Services Ltd made the appropriate declarations.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what annual rent his Department paid at (a) 1 Victoria Street, London and (b) St Paul’s Place, Sheffield in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have committed to making changes to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) by 2020 that will result in a more flexible Department, reduced headcount and far fewer delivery bodies.

    Our business needs to be designed in a way that works for this smaller workforce and more streamlined structures.

    To support this direction of travel, we are moving towards seven or so centres by 2020, supported by a regional footprint for those whose work needs to be at a local level.

    We want each of these centres to focus on a key business activity so that we can bring the relevant expertise together.

    We are proposing that one of these centres will be a combined BIS headquarters and policy centre in London, close to our Ministers.

    The average cost of floor space at each of the Department’s offices is:

    a) £483.64 per sqm at St Paul’s Place

    b) £686.20 per sqm at 1 Victoria Street

    The annual rent paid by BIS over the last 5 years is:

    Year

    (a) 1 Victoria Street

    (b) St Paul’s Place

    2015-16

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2014-15

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2013-14

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2012-13

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2011-12

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    By the end of this reform programme in 2020, we will have fewer employees in London and BIS as a whole, and aim to save £350million in operating expenditure overall. The vast majority of employees within the BIS Group will continue to be based outside London.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average cost of floor space is at his Department’s office at (a) St Paul’s Place, Sheffield and (b) 1 Victoria Street, London.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have committed to making changes to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) by 2020 that will result in a more flexible Department, reduced headcount and far fewer delivery bodies.

    Our business needs to be designed in a way that works for this smaller workforce and more streamlined structures.

    To support this direction of travel, we are moving towards seven or so centres by 2020, supported by a regional footprint for those whose work needs to be at a local level.

    We want each of these centres to focus on a key business activity so that we can bring the relevant expertise together.

    We are proposing that one of these centres will be a combined BIS headquarters and policy centre in London, close to our Ministers.

    The average cost of floor space at each of the Department’s offices is:

    a) £483.64 per sqm at St Paul’s Place

    b) £686.20 per sqm at 1 Victoria Street

    The annual rent paid by BIS over the last 5 years is:

    Year

    (a) 1 Victoria Street

    (b) St Paul’s Place

    2015-16

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2014-15

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2013-14

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2012-13

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    2011-12

    £11,004,000

    £209,304

    By the end of this reform programme in 2020, we will have fewer employees in London and BIS as a whole, and aim to save £350million in operating expenditure overall. The vast majority of employees within the BIS Group will continue to be based outside London.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average salary is of officials at (a) Senior Civil Service and (b) all other grades at (i) St Paul’s Place, Sheffield and (ii) 1 Victoria Street, London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The information sought by the hon Member is attached.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle human rights violations against the Rohingya.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We continue to press the Burmese authorities, both in public and in private, to take urgent steps to tackle the appalling situation of the Rohingya by improving security and the humanitarian situation, lifting restrictions on freedom of movement and finding a sustainable solution on citizenship. I pressed the government of Burma on this in July 2015 when I visited Rakhine State for the second time. Most recently, I raised the issue with the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September 2015 in New York.

    Addressing Rakhine and the persecution of the Rohingya community is one of the most pressing challenges facing the incoming government in Burma. We will continue our efforts to address the serious human rights violations against the community with the new administration.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to expand access to treatments for severe asthma in the South West of England.

    Jane Ellison

    Services for people with severe asthma are commissioned by NHS England in line with national specifications to ensure patient numbers are sufficient to support safe services.

    We are advised by NHS England that in the South West there are currently treatment hubs in Bristol and Taunton that provide services for children; and services for adult in hubs at Bristol, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Swindon and Gloucestershire.

    NHS England advises that other asthma services are commissioned locally, via community providers and primary care (general practice and pharmacy).

    In the constituency of Bath, we are informed by NHS England that asthma is largely managed by primary care providers, while more complex patients with severe or difficult asthma are seen by the acute respiratory teams. We are assured by NHS England that secondary care services in the area are both appropriate and accessible for patients with acute asthma and that NHS Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group has no plans to change or expand its existing asthma provision at this time.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26284, on what date NHS England took the decision to seek external consultancy support for the development of its clinical commissioning policies; whether the contract for external consultancy support for the development of NHS England’s clinical commissioning policies was competitively tendered; who in NHS England took the decision to award the contract to Deloitte; what discussions his officials have had with NHS England on the contract with Deloitte since 1 January 2016; what the subject of those discussions was; and which clinical commissioning policies are being developed by NHS England.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England decided to seek external support to supplement in-house capacity to deliver its clinical commissioning policy programme for specialised services in early 2015. The recommendation for contract award followed consideration by the Efficiency Controls Committee, which is a subcommittee of NHS England’s Board. This was subject to ministerial sign off.

    Following the completion and approval of a business case by NHS England’s Efficiency Controls Committee, a competitive tendering process was undertaken within the Department of Health’s Framework Agreement. A contract award was subsequently made in September 2015, following ministerial approval.

    NHS England has not published a list of the clinical commissioning policies under development in 2015/16. However, individual clinical commissioning policy proposals are made available through NHS England’s website once they have met NHS England’s governance gateways and have been agreed as ready for public consultation, together with a range of supporting information including a clinical evidence review and impact assessment.

    While the Department approved the initial procurement of these services, they have not been involved in official discussions with NHS England regarding the contract since 1 January 2016.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the UK has received in grants and funding from the EU to fund research into cancer under (a) the EU’s seventh framework programme 2007-2013 and (b) the current Horizon 2020 programme.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 24 of the interim report of the Accelerated Access Review, published in October 2015, what steps he is taking to ensure that drugs that target the genetically validated targets (a) PCSK9 and (b) BCL2 are introduced into routine NHS care; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review, chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include drugs that target genetically validated targets such as PCSK9 and BCL2.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26284, on NHS England: Deloitte, what the overall value of the contract is.

    Ben Gummer

    Due to the need to safeguard commercial-in-confidence information, we are unable to provide this information, as to do so risks materially affecting NHS England’s ability to secure value for money in any subsequent procurement.