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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Hoyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Hoyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the United Kingdom’s three largest (1) exports to, and (2) imports from, the European Union.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    The three largest UK exports to, and imports from, the European Union in 2014 are set out in the table below. These data are on a balance of payments basis.

    Three largest UK exports to the European Union in 2014 Value (£ billion)
    Finished manufactures (SITC 7+8) 63
    Semi-manufactures (SITC 5+6) 43
    Fuels (SITC 3) 27

    Three largest UK imports from the European Union in 2014 Value (£ billion)
    Finished manufactures (SITC 7+8) 114
    Semi-manufactures (SITC 5+6) 66
    Food, beverages and tobacco (SITC 0+1) 27
    Source: ONS UK Trade August 2015 release
    Note: the assessment of the top three was made across goods and services,
    but services categories do not rank in the top three

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what formal mechanism exists for sharing information between the Accelerated Access Review and Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review (AAR), 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 certain off-patent repurposed drugs, as opposed to the routine availability of medicines or medical technologies.

    Prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR, the Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS including the Innovation, Health and Wealth report. As a result, building upon the lessons of previous reviews is explicit with the terms of reference of the AAR.

    The AAR has regular meetings with senior officials from NHS England via a steering group as recommendations are being developed. In addition, some staff from NHS England have been assigned to support the review team.

    Sir Hugh is still in the process of developing final recommendations which will be published in spring 2016. In his Interim Report published in October, Sir Hugh sets out a proposition on “galvanising the NHS”. This involves supporting the NHS to adopt innovation, more rapidly through better practical support, stronger incentives and the potential streamlining of local structures.

    The Department reviewed evaluation reports and met with officials from previous initiatives on the uptake of innovation in the NHS prior to establishing the terms of reference for the AAR. It was clear that whilst progress has been made on the uptake of innovation in the NHS there is still much to do. Sir Hugh and the head of the External Advisory Group, Professor Sir John Bell, set out the case for uptake of innovation in the recently published AAR Interim Report.

    The AAR has senior level contact with officials working on Lord Carter’s review of NHS efficiency to ensure that information is shared between the two teams.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what proportion of cases heard in the Commercial Court in each of the last five years one or more of the parties was domiciled or registered outside the jurisdiction.

    Lord Faulks

    The attached table shows statistical information for the last 5 years that details the number of claims issued and the number of claims with one or more parties outside of England and Wales. Data for 2014/15 is not yet available.

    Financial Year

    Percentage

    2009-2010

    75.16%

    2010-2011

    81.78%

    2011-2012

    82.34%

    2012-2013

    80.76%

    2013-2014

    80.94%

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Mike Penning

    From July 2014, recruitment for SCS posts have been managed centrally by Civil Service Resourcing. Data prior to that date is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    As part of its long-term economic plan, this Government has reduced the size of the Civil Service by 22%, adjusting for Machinery of Government changes that moved staff into and out of the Civil Service since the 2010 General Election, representing a significant increase in efficiency and productivity that helped save taxpayers £2.8 billion last year alone.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Whitaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the impact of air pollution on the lung function of children in the London Borough of Lambeth.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England has not made any estimate of the impact of air pollution on the lung function of children in the London Borough of Lambeth.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment to Senior Civil Service posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The cost to the Department for Transport (including its executive agencies, but excluding its non-departmental public bodies)using external agencies for therecruitmentof Senior Civil Serviceposts in the last three financial years is set out below:

    Financial year 2012/2013 – £195,596.40

    Financial year 2013/2014 – £219,587.08

    Financial year 2014/2015 – £198,740.56

    The financial data on the cost of using external agencies for the recruitment of Senior Civil Service posts in the financial years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 are not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, if their objectives of European Union re-negotiation are not met, they plan to recommend leaving that organisation.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), is confident that with good will and understanding, he can and will succeed in negotiating reform in the EU and Britain’s relationship within it. As he has said, if he succeeds he will campaign to keep the UK in a reformed EU but if he does not achieve these changes he rules nothing out.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to (a) contribute to the delivery of the Financial Capability Strategy for the UK and (b) ensure that vulnerable young people have the requisite financial skills necessary for working life.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government recognises the importance of impartial financial guidance and that increased financial capability for consumers will lead to better outcomes for both consumers and the wider economy. Helping hard-working people achieve their aspirations at every stage of their lives is at the heart of our long term plan. That is why we launched the Public Financial Guidance consultation in October 2015 to seek input on what role the government should play in promoting financial capability, and how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. In addition, the government recognises the importance of giving young people the skills they need to make financial decisions, which is why financial education has been on the national secondary school curriculum in England since September 2014.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what work his Department has commissioned to identify the number of exchange-only lines on the telecom network that are incompatible with fibre to the cabinet broadband technology.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The vast majority of phone lines across the UK connect to the nearest telephone exchange via a street cabinet, which can be upgraded to deliver fibre broadband. Estimates are not available of the number of premises served by exchange only lines which connect directly to the local exchange rather than via one of BT’s street cabinets. There are a variety of reasons why exchange only lines are created. For example, for rural exchanges serving few premises where there was no need for cabinets, or for urban exchanges where it may have been a more cost-effective. Exchange only lines present a greater engineering challenge to deliver fibre broadband than those connected via street cabinets but technical solutions are available. One solution is to rearrange the existing network, lay new cables to reroute lines to new cabinets. This technique was developed as part of the BDUK Superfast Broadband Programme, and the number of exchange only lines is reducing all the time as roll out under the programme continues.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health currently assessing the application for grant funding made by Action on Smoking and Health.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The assessment of the grant application for funding from Action on Smoking and Health is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team.