The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether any former officials of his Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
Amber Rudd
Our Business Appointments register shows that no former civil servant has taken employment with Rio Tinto plc immediately after leaving the Department of Energy & Climate Change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 Febraury 2015 to Question 223094, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings by the Pernicious Anaemia Society members’ survey, published in the British Journal of Nursing in April 2014, that over 60 per cent of people with pernicious anaemia are unhappy with their treatment and that many such people self-medicate to reduce their pain; and if he will consider the potential merits of revising the relevant guidelines to recommend more regular treatment.
Norman Lamb
The treatment of pernicious anaemia, the result of a vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency, is well established and reported in the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH) document, Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Cobalamin and Folate disorders, which was updated in May 2014. The BCSH operates independently of the Department and NHS England.
Current clinical practice within the United Kingdom is to treat pernicious anaemia with Vitamin B12 intramuscular injections. The BCSH produces evidence based guidelines for both clinical and laboratory haematologists on the diagnosis and treatment of haematological disease, drawing on the advice of expert consultants and clinical scientists practicing in the United Kingdom. The guidelines can be found via the BCSH website at the following link:
Any patient with pernicious anaemia who has concerns about their treatment should discuss this matter with their general practitioner.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed for the first time as obese in each year since 2010.
Jane Ellison
The Health and Social Care Information Centre does not hold data on how many people were diagnosed as obese for the first time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to her Department in the last five years.
Justine Greening
Fewer than 5 former DFID officials have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five year. The exact number has been withheld to protect the identity of those individuals involved. No employees of Rio Tinto have been seconded to DFID in the last 5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in youth unemployment between June to August and September to November 2014.
Esther McVey
Unemployment figures from the Labour Force Survey are based on a sample of individuals and normal sample variation means the estimated level of youth unemployment can fluctuate from any one period to the next. The number of young people in work is increasing, up by over 100,000 in the last year and by over 125,000 since 2010.
The underlying trend has seen falling youth unemployment and during 2014 overall youth unemployment recorded its largest annual fall on record. The number of unemployed 16-24 year olds fell 171,000 in the year to September – November 2014 and is down nearly 200,000 since 2010. Long-term youth unemployment has also fallen by more than 50,000 over the last year. The number of young people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, which is more up to date and not affected by sampling issues, fell by 118,400 in the year to January 2015. It continued to fall in the latest month, down 10,700 between December 2014 and January 2015. This is the 38th consecutive monthly fall and means the youth claimant count is at its lowest level since the 1970s.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward proposals to extend the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to consider complaints from primary producers.
Jo Swinson
The jurisdiction of the Groceries Code Adjudicator is defined by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. The Code governs the commercial relationships between the ten largest UK supermarkets and their direct suppliers, and reflects the findings of the Competition Commission’s market investigation into the supermarket sector conducted between 2006 and 2008.
There will be a statutory review of the performance of the Adjudicator next year in accordance with section 15 of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2015 to Question 221932, when the Joint Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy was published; what discussions he has had regarding the Strategy with his ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills since the fall in international oil prices; and what updates his Department has proposed to the Strategy since July 2014.
Priti Patel
Actions on fiscal matters fall under the responsibility of HM Treasury (as stated in the industrial strategy) and these actions are taken forward in collaboration with the Oil and Gas Fiscal Forum. The Forum is separate from the Oil and Gas Industry Council, who have responsibility for the Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy, in partnership with BIS.
The Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy is kept under review by the Oil and Gas Industry Council. The Council met in November 2014 and is due to meet next in March 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the implementation by local authorities of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.
Mr Rob Wilson
The Cabinet Office asked Lord Young of Graffham, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Enterprise, to conduct a review of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.
The report, published on 13 February, shows the Act is having a positive effect where it is taken up. It finds that a number of local authorities have taken a leading role in implementing social value and names Durham Council as an example.
The report makes a number of recommendations. The Government is considering these to ensure that the Act fulfils its full potential.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Murphy on 2015-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many guests he plans to invite to the service of commemoration at St Paul’s Cathedral on 13 March 2015; and what proportion of those guests are family members of service personnel who died during operations in Afghanistan.
Anna Soubry
Approximately 2,000 invitations will be issued, of which over 900 have so far been allocated to the families of those who lost their lives in the conflict. A further 900 or so have been allocated to Service personnel and veterans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they plan to take in connection with bankers who colluded in tax evasion or oversaw those perpetrating collusion.
Lord Deighton
HL4893
Under the Swiss Agreement HMRC received a list of the top 10 destinations to where funds were moved in the period before the Agreement came into force. They are using this information together with information from compliance work to follow the proceeds of tax evasion.
As with Lichtenstein agreement signed in 2009, HMRC is legally restricted by the Agreement’s terms from publishing the information provided.
HL4896
Where there is evidence of collusion in tax evasion or other wrongdoing, the relevant law enforcement agency would assess that evidence and decide whether to pursue an investigation.
HMRC received the data from the French in April 2010 under very strict international treaty conditions, which limited its use to tax purposes only and prevented HMRC from sharing the data with other law enforcement authorities for investigating other potential offences.
HMRC first asked for the conditions to be relaxed in August 2010. Following a number of more recent representations, the French authorities gave written confirmation on 23 February 2015 that they were lifting restrictions on the use and sharing of the data with other law enforcement agencies and regulators for the purpose of investigating criminal offences.
As a result, HMRC has recently held a multi-agency meeting to discuss how the stolen HSBC Suisse data can be shared with them.