The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how many mental health beds are available on specific dates.
Alistair Burt
NHS England collects information on mental health beds available for children and young people on specific dates. Departmental officials are considering with NHS England whether further bed availability data can be collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what programmes being taken forward by his Department are subject to Project Assessment Reviews instead of Gateway Reviews.
Justin Tomlinson
DWP Projects on the Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) follow the procedures outlined in the ‘HM Treasury and Cabinet Office, Major Project Approval and Assurance guidance’ introduced from April 2011. All DWP GMPP projects can therefore potentially have both Project Assessment Reviews and Gateway Reviews during their delivery lifecycle.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with mental health charities on the sections of the Editors’ Code of Practice that cover reporting on mental health and suicide.
Alistair Burt
I meet regularly with a number of mental health charities to discuss a range of issues, including suicide prevention.
Departmental officials work closely with the Samaritans on suicide prevention and support the excellent work they do on advising the media on adhering to the Ofcom Broadcasting Code and the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Code of Practice. The Samaritans also publishes guidance to the media on its website on the sensitive reporting of suicide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what dates in the last 24 months the government of the Republic of Ireland attended in any capacity meetings held under section 1 of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
Lord Dunlop
The Government has held regular meetings with the Irish Government over the last two years in accordance with the established three-stranded approach.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government is providing to countries in West Africa to reduce the chances of Ebola returning to areas from which it has been eradicated.
Mr Nick Hurd
We are working closely with the Government of Sierra Leone, the World Health Organisation and other partners to reduce the risk of future outbreaks and prevent them from growing into epidemics.
The UK has announced a two-year £240 million package of support to Sierra Leone’s long term recovery, which includes boosting capability to respond to future Ebola outbreaks and other emergencies. A key part of this joint strategy with the Government of Sierra Leone is the strengthening of health systems. Another component will boost capacity at district levels, empower youth and communities and support women and girls.. DFID will also support Liberia’s Health Pooled fund with £6 million to help ensure that its health system is resilient to future shocks.
Beyond Sierra Leone and Liberia, DFID’s Regional Preparedness Programme prevents the transmission and spread of Ebola in at-risk countries in West Africa, focusing on prevention of a fourth country outbreakand strengthening national capacities to contain disease outbreaks.
At the global level, the UK is supporting urgent reform of the World Health Organisation to ensure that it will respond effectively to future health emergencies and is also supporting their new Contingency Fund for Emergencies. At the Spending Review the Government announced the new Ross Fund to support the global fight against infectious diseases including Malaria and Ebola, which will be jointly administered with the Department of Health.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the cost effectiveness of the Trident programme over the last five years.
Michael Fallon
We regularly review all major programmes to ensure that they operate in the most efficient and effective manner possible. The 2010 Trident Value for Money study and the 2013 Trident Alternatives Review both confirmed the cost effectiveness of a Trident-based deterrent on continuous patrol.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons have children’s play areas.
Andrew Selous
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of information maintained by the NHS to enable his Department to assess the reasons why women choose to have a BRCA1/2 test.
George Freeman
NHS England does hold data on the individual reasons patients may have for seeking referral for a BRCA1/2 test. A new clinical commissioning policy to guide and expand access to BRCA testing was published by NHS England in July 2015. This policy is intended to provide greater clarity and equity for patients across England wishing to consider testing by providing consistent criteria for referral, where a referral is made by a specialist clinic.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to include a commitment to constructing safe paths alongside busy roads in rural areas in the forthcoming National Road Safety Strategy to improve cycle safety.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Conservative Manifesto 2015 had a commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year. We have been working closely with road safety groups to consider what more can be done and expect to publish our Road Safety Statement shortly.
The Road Safety Statement will set out the high level plan and overarching approach to road safety that we expect to take over the rest of the Parliament, and will be followed by a series of more detailed proposals and consultations. The Department for Transport will publish a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy in 2016 which will set out our plans for investment in safer cycling and walking infrastructure.
Busy roads in rural areas will either be the responsibility of Highways England or local authorities.
Highways England have committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users. To support this, the Government has outlined a commitment to invest £100m between 2015/16 and 2020/21 to improve provision for cyclists on the strategic road network.
On a local level, provision of cycling infrastructure is for local traffic authorities. The Department encourages them to ensure cycling is considered as part of the planning process.The Department for Transport’s Cycle Infrastructure Design guidance supports local authorities on providing cycle-safe infrastructure for cyclists.
It is also worth noting that from within the record £6 billion to be allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding will be based on footway and cycleway lengths.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 7 November 2015 on broadband access, what public funding has been assigned for the delivery of the Universal Service Obligation for broadband; and whether he plans to publish this information as part of the comprehensive spending review.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Government will be consulting in early 2016 on the Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband. The USO will be designed to be as efficient as possible, and ensure value for money for the consumer and taxpayer.