The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anas Sarwar on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish details of alternative proposals for fire fighter pensions which have been considered by his Department.
Brandon Lewis
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 June, Official Report, Column 152W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what compensation will be available to train operating companies as a result of the rail line closures in the South West of England in early 2014.
Stephen Hammond
Any compensation for the train operators in respect of the rail line closures in the South West of England in early 2014 would be paid by Network Rail in accordance with the track access agreement between Network Rail and the individual train operating companies, as regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) pharmacological treatments and (b) associated indications the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended for (i) prostate cancer, (ii) lung cancer, (iii) bowel cancer, (iv) breast cancer and (v) kidney cancer through either single or multiple technology appraisals and under the end of life criteria in each year since NICE was established.
Norman Lamb
The consideration of end of life criteria was introduced into the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) technology appraisal process in January 2009. NICE has advised that it has recommended the following treatments for prostate, lung, bowel and kidney cancer under its technology appraisal programme where the end of life criteria were applied. No treatments for breast cancer have been recommended under the end of life criteria.
|
Cancer |
Appraisal |
Technolo-gy appraisal |
|
Prostate |
abiraterone in combination with prednisone or prednisolone for the treatment of castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with one docetaxel-containing regimen |
TA259 |
|
Lung |
oral topotecan for small cell lung cancer |
TA184 |
|
pemetrexed (maintenance treatment) for non-small cell lung cancer |
TA190 |
|
|
Bowel |
sunitinib for gastrointestinal stromal tumours |
TA179 |
|
Kidney |
sunitinib (first-line) for renal cell carcinoma |
TA169 |
|
pazopanib for the first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma |
TA215 |
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the benefit cap.
Esther McVey
We expect a full evaluation of the policy to be published in autumn 2014.
Latest figures show that 4,250 households that were previously subject to the benefit cap found jobs since the limit was introduced in April 2013.
In total, more than 38,600 households had their benefits capped by January 2014
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Ward on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 364W, on entry clearances, what options the policy and operational teams in her Department are considering to best accommodate a clearance programme once the appeal against the judgment of Mr Justice Blake on 5 July 2013 on the Government’s visa income threshold is published.
Karen Bradley
We will study the Court of Appeal judgment in MM and Others closely when this is handed down. We will then decide and announce how we will deal with those applications placed on hold pending the conclusion of the litigation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2014-04-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2014, Official Report, columns 971-2W, on Remploy, what proportion of the £4.2 million spending has gone to Jobcentre Plus; and who the recipients are of the majority of that funding.
Mike Penning
Of the £4.2 million spent on providing individual support to former Remploy disabled employees, up to the end of January 2014, £0.7m has been provided to Jobcentre Plus to fund Personal Case Workers, who provide personalised one-to-one help to find and keep employment. As at 21 March 2014, 1,513 disabled former Remploy workers have chosen to work with our Personal Case Workers to find another job and 716 are in work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the National Clinical Director for Cancer on the performance of the NHS against the waiting time targets for cancer treatment.
Jane Ellison
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, has had a number of discussions with senior members of NHS England’s executive team on the performance of the National Health Service against the waiting time targets for cancer treatment, but not with the National Clinical Director for Cancer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether people who live outside the Rural Support Zone whose properties are affected by HS2 will be considered for a property bond scheme.
Baroness Kramer
The Government is not yet able to confirm the outcome of the recent consultation on property compensation for Phase One of HS2, but expects to make an announcement soon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-06-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the extent to which there is a gender imbalance in the composition of Local Enterprise Partnership boards.
Michael Fallon
Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) board membership is a matter for LEPs themselves and they are best placed to ensure it meets the needs of their businesses and local people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2014-03-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for large occupational defined benefit pension schemes to be active owners or stewards of their assets, in line with the definition of stewardship as highlighted in the Financial Reporting Council’s Stewardship Code.
Lord Freud
The Government supports the principles set out in the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) UK Stewardship Code including schemes becoming active stewards of their investments and reporting on that stewardship. The Code sets out a number of areas of good practice to which the FRC believes institutional investors should aspire, and operates on a ‘comply or explain’ basis. It includes guidance for pension schemes and other asset owners on steps they can take to protect and enhance the value that accrues to the ultimate beneficiary. The FCA requires UK authorised asset managers to report on whether or not they apply the Code.
The UK stewardship code is voluntary, however we would encourage workplace pensions schemes to comply with the principles set out in the code. In addition we are developing governance standards of workplace defined contribution schemes, and have asked the Law Commission to investigate how fiduciary duties currently apply in the investment chain. The Pensions Regulator’s defined contribution Code of Practice also sets out the legal requirements and standards they expect trustees of defined contribution schemes to attain. This includes a section on investment which also references the FRC Stewardship code. These initiatives are part of our on-going work to ensure schemes are governed and administered to deliver in members’ interests.