The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many items were borrowed from prison libraries in each year from 2010 to 2013.
Jeremy Wright
The requested information is not held centrally and would need to be collated through enquiries at each prison in England and Wales. This would incur disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Virendra Sharma on Health.
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Jane Ellison
Officials from the Department, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England are currently discussing how hepatitis C services might be strengthened, including how local Health and Wellbeing Boards can be encouraged to include hepatitis C in their Joint Strategic Needs Assessments, where appropriate. The findings of the HCV Action report will help to inform those discussions.
PHE is developing local profiles that include indicators of performance for hepatitis C which are aimed at local authorities and Health and Wellbeing Boards. These profiles include a summary of the issues around hepatitis C including those most at risk, as well as questions for Health and Wellbeing Boards to ask about local provision of hepatitis C services. PHE has produced a fact sheet for the Local Government Association on hepatitis B and C to support their scrutiny and oversight role.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brian H. Donohoe on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to meet the costs of the National Air Traffic Service’s employee share scheme if the Civil Aviation Authority decides that these costs will no longer be allowed for in the next regulatory settlement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The regulatory settlement is a matter for the Civil Aviation Authority. We would expect the NATS Board, in the first instance, to continue to consider the benefits of the employee share scheme and the terms on which it operates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has made to the current review of European strategy on health and safety at work; and if he will make a statement.
Mike Penning
The UK Government responded to the public consultation on a new policy framework for health and safety at work in the EU conducted by the European Commission in 2013. We emphasised the need for any new policy framework to be rooted in the principles of better regulation. The Commission has said that it expects to publish a communication on the outcome of that consultation this year and I look forward to seeing it in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued to personal independence payment providers on calling in clients for personal independence payment assessments who are terminally ill.
Mike Penning
The ‘PIP Assessment Guide’, the Department’s guidance for Personal Independence Payment assessment providers, states that face-to-face consultations are not required where a claim has been referred under the ‘Special Rules for Terminal Illness’ provisions.
More information can be found at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the early operational performance of each private sector company providing personal independence payments assessments.
Mike Penning
Personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. The Department’s contracts with Capita and Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department’s expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department.
Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. We are closely monitoring their progress against the Department’s expectations for service delivery and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. Special rules claims for terminally ill claimants are dealt with urgently by our assessment providers. The latest published statistics show that over 99% of people with terminal illnessess who have applied have been awarded the benefit, which means over 9,500 terminally ill claimants are now receiving personal independence payment.
Although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy. An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in HM Treasury to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.
Lord Deighton
HM Treasury does not have a prescribed percentage for which a forecast overspend is tabled at the executive management board. Each month the board receives a summary of the forecast expenditure against budget and a commentary in which any significant forecast variances to individual budgets are described and explained.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept claims for hearing loss from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who served before 1986; and if not, why not.
Lord Astor of Hever
Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 prevented service personnel, including former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, from suing the Crown for alleged negligence which occurred before that section was repealed in 1987. The repeal was not retrospective. Depending on their level of hearing loss, they may, however, be eligible for a War Disablement Pension.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-04-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to encourage the governments of China and Vietnam to cease the trade in ivory.
Lord De Mauley
The Governments of both China and Vietnam participated at Ministerial level in the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade on 12 and 13 February 2014. They joined the other participating countries in agreeing to the London Conference Declaration. In this, Governments have committed to support the existing CITES commercial prohibition on international trade in elephant ivory until the survival of elephants in the wild is no longer threatened by poaching. They have also committed to taking a wide range of actions to reduce the demand for wildlife products, including ivory, and to agreeing for the first time to renounce the use of any products from species threatened with extinction. We very much welcome this strong signal by China and Vietnam of their commitment to join the rest of the international community in tackling the scourge of the illegal trade in ivory and other wildlife products.
In the margins of the Conference I had constructive meetings with both Forestry Vice Minister Jianlong Zhang of China and Deputy Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Ha Cong Tuan of Vietnam to discuss the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade and the action needed to tackle the problem. I hope to visit Vietnam in the near future to continue this constructive dialogue.
We will also fund two projects in Vietnam which applied through the 2013-2014 Darwin Initiative Funding Round, at a total cost of just over £0.5m. These will be supported from the £10m of new funding for tackling the illegal wildlife trade, announced on 23 December 2013 by the Secretaries of State for Environment and International Development. One project is focused on combating wildlife trafficking by cutting out the ‘middle man’. The other will support action to reduce demand for rhino horn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) bonuses, (b) additional salary increments and (c) premiums are offered to UK Trade & Investment staff for proficiency in foreign languages; for which foreign languages these are available; what level of financial support is available for each language; and how many staff receive support for each foreign language for which support is offered.
Michael Fallon
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) draws mainly on civil service staff employed by one or other of its two parent departments – the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).
BIS does not give bonuses, additional salary increments or premiums to the staff of UKTI for proficiency in any foreign languages. BIS does however actively encourage individuals to learn languages and they have access to the FCO’s language school.