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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the joint investigation by the British Medical Journal and The Times which found that contracts made by the Clinical Commissioning Groups with providers could financially benefit board members of the group.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have legal duties under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to manage conflicts of interests when deciding which health services to procure. CCGs must manage any actual or perceived conflicts in a way that is transparent, fair, and protects the integrity of their decision making.

    NHS England publishes guidance for CCGs on their responsibility to manage conflicts of interest. CCGs must have regard to this.

    Monitor must ensure that CCGs follow National Health Service regulations on procurement, patient choice and competition, and have powers of investigation if these are not followed.

    In their recent report ‘Managing conflicts of interest in NHS clinical commissioning groups’ (a copy of which is attached) the National Audit Office found that CCGs generally had arrangements in place to manage conflicts of interest to reduce the risk of commissioners’ decisions being improperly influenced.

    The NAO made recommendations to the Department, NHS England, Monitor and CCGs to strengthen current arrangements and we would expect the bodies concerned to consider these carefully and take appropriate action in response.

    Action is already being taken by NHS England including:

    ‒ strengthening its CCG assurance processes;

    ‒ commissioning an independent audit of conflicts of interest management in ten primary care co-commissioning arrangements, with a review to using the learning to strengthen current arrangements;

    ‒ providing training to CCG lay members on management of conflicts of interest in 2015, with more training planned for next year; and

    ‒ reviewing its own internal rules on conflicts of interest and the statutory guidance it issues to CCGs on management of conflicts of interest to ensure that arrangements are robust.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote wildlife-friendly farming practices.

    George Eustice

    Agri-environment schemes play a major role in the conservation of wildlife in England. More than £900 million will be available for Countryside Stewardship for 2014 to 2020.

    Biodiversity is one of the main objectives of Countryside Stewardship. The Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package options within the scheme will be of particular benefit to wild pollinators, farmland birds and other species. The package will play a key role in supporting Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of government funding for translational research programmes; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government’s Productivity Plan in July set out our ambition that UK Universities will continue to increase their collaborations with industry to drive the translation and commercialisation of research and broader knowledge exchange. Universities’ external income from engagement with business and the community reached £3.93 billion in 2013-14, up by 27% from 2009-10. The World Economic Forum ranks the UK among the top four nations in the world for university-industry collaboration in R&D. The recent Research Excellence Framework 2014 has demonstrated the breadth and extent of economic impact arising from university research, with 84% of submissions assessed as outstanding or very considerable by expert and academic peer review.

  • Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Crisp – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the potential contribution of British scientists and institutions to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.

    Baroness Verma

    Effective disaster risk reduction management is critical to sustainable development.

    Science has a key role to play in helping us to better understand disaster risks and developing more robust DRR approaches. It can help us to better predict and respond to a range of natural hazards such as floods and storms, droughts, extreme temperatures, health epidemics and pandemics.

    The new framework will help encourage greater engagement from and with the scientific community in order to reduce disaster risk and build resilience. British scientists already play a significant role in helping the UK prepare for and respond to disasters. While we expect British scientists and institutions to play an important role, we are still assessing the full implications of the Sendai Framework.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the regulatory implications of use of the financial services messaging system Symphony.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.

    The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Rt Hon Joan Ryan by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from The Law Officers’ Departments in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Robert Buckland

    All of the Law Officers’ Departments exercise appropriate controls over the purchasing and issue of stationery to mitigate against any potential for material loss or theft. However no central records are held of stationery items that may have been lost or stolen and it is therefore not possible to make any estimates without incurring a disproportionate cost.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on discretionary payments in respect of administrative errors in each financial year since 2010-11.

    Mr David Gauke

    Information relating to complaints handling can be obtained from the HMRC Annual Report and Accounts.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Prime Minister’s Office is part of the Cabinet Office. No stationery was reported as lost or stolen from the Cabinet Office in any of the last five fiscal years.

  • Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ian Liddell-Grainger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Liddell-Grainger on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many telephone masts have been erected under the Government’s mobile infrastructure project.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    This Government has committed to ensuring that 90 per cent of the UK landmass will have voice and SMS coverage by 2017.14 telephone masts have been completed and are providing mobile coverage in areas of Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Suffolk and Northern Ireland. Over 50 other ​potential mast sites are currentlybeing progressed by our supplier with the aim of delivering as many of these as possible by the project end date of 31 March 2016.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the likely effect on house building of the Office of National Statistics reclassifying housing associations as public sector bodies.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Office of National Statistics has concluded that housing associations should have been classified as public rather than private since 2008, due to several of the regulatory requirements imposed by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 introduced by the last Labour Government. This decision is purely a statistical change. Reclassification makes no material changes to the operation of housing associations. The Government is committed to developing deregulatory measures to help housing associations build more homes and help more people into home ownership.