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Tag: 2015

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to develop an in-year draft commissioning policy for the use of everolimus to treat tuberous sclerosis complex.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is currently developing a clinical commissioning policy statement to cover the use of Everolimus in adults with angiomyolipoma in association with tuberous sclerosis complex, as part of its in-year policy work programme.

    In common with its standard process, NHS England has formed a policy working group and commissioned a clinical evidence review. This is now complete and is informing the development of a draft policy statement. The draft policy statement, along with the evidence review, will be shared and tested with stakeholders prior to formal consideration by NHS England in early 2016. The policy statement will be published in due course.

    In the meantime, NHS England will continue to consider funding this treatment for individual patients in clinically exceptional and/or critically urgent clinical circumstances.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the traffic commissioners have made on reviewing and modernising the regulation of commercial vehicle drivers.

    Andrew Jones

    The Senior Traffic Commissioner has reviewed and redrafted a number of Statutory Guidance Documents (SGDs) including SGD6 on Vocational Driver Conduct. This reviewed guidance was publically consulted on in July 2015 and the responses published in October. As stated in the Traffic Commissioners Strategic Objectivesdocument these guidance documents will be published before the end of this calendar year.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding will be provided to local authorities for each Syrian refugee they resettle in the (a) first and (b) second year of resettlement.

    Richard Harrington

    Local authorities are required to provide refugees they resettle under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme with a 12 month support package which is being funded using the overseas aid budget. Many of the refugees have significant medical and social care needs, and the costs therefore vary according to their individual circumstances.

    At the Spending Review, the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme. This will be allocated on a tariff basis over four years, with £5,000 per refugee provided for their second year in the UK.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of sanctions on employment outcomes for people with disabilities.

    Priti Patel

    Claimants are only asked to meet reasonable requirements taking into account their circumstances and capability, including mental health conditions, disability and caring responsibilities.

    International evidence is clear that benefit systems supported by conditionality are effective at moving people into work.

    Sanctions encourage claimants to comply with reasonable requirements. These requirements are developed and agreed by claimants with their Work Coach to help them move into/prepare for work. Evidence shows that sanctions have a positive impact on behaviour – over 70% of JSA and over 60% of ESA claimants say that sanctions make it more likely they will follow the rules.

    The Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the effects sanctions have on the employment outcomes of people with disabilities

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to Help to Work scheme since April 2014 have left the scheme after a job outcome fee was paid to the relevant provider.

    Priti Patel

    From April 2014 to the end of June 2015 there were 25,340 participants who started a Community Work Placement. These would all have triggered a start fee to the relevant provider.

    The department intends to publish further information on Community Work Placements on the 22 December 2015. This release will cover the number of Short placement completion, Long placement completion and Job Outcome fees paid to providers.

  • Rupa Huq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Rupa Huq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to reduce gender economic inequality.

    Nicky Morgan

    You cannot have true opportunity without real equality. Achieving gender equality isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s vital for our economy. We cannot afford to waste the skills of a single person, let alone half our population.

    The Government wants to support all women to fulfil their potential and progress in work. One of the greatest issues affecting both women AND men is childcare. That is why we are doubling the amount of free childcare available to working parents and introduced flexible working and shared parental leave.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the Government’s policy is on negotiating legally binding targets at the Paris World Climate Summit 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK Government is committed to securing at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 in Paris, an ambitious, legally binding global Agreement on climate change with mitigation commitments from all Parties and a set of rules that ensure transparency and accountability of commitments that will allow the world to track progress.

    The Prime Minister at the G7 Summit prioritised an ambitious climate package, and more recently at the G20, all Leaders were clear that an ambitious climate deal remains a global priority. My Ministerial colleagues and I are taking every opportunity to press for an agreement that meets these objectives.

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure its programme of work contributes to Goal 10 of the Sustainable Development Goals on reduced inequalities.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK welcomes, and is committed to championing, the Global Goals. Through our commitment to global development, and by honouring our 0.7% aid commitments, we will play a key role in helping countries to achieve these goals – especially on eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and disease. The UK has played a key role in creating a set of goals that are universal and inclusive, and underpinned by a commitment to leave no one behind.

    Given the focus of DFID’s work and interventions on those living in extreme poverty, DFID programmes contribute to reducing within country inequality. The new UK Aid strategy commits the government to being a world leader in implementing the Leave No One Behind Promise agreed by the Prime Minister and other world leaders in September 2015. To deliver the new strategy, the government will focus on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, the most excluded, those caught in crises, and those most at risk of violence and discrimination.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department plans to monitor the Government’s progress on halving the disability employment gap; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Progress against the disability employment gap is a key factor in progress towards full employment. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’. The annual report on progress towards full employment will include an update on the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.

    Bringing disabled people out of inactivity and into employment increases the productive capacity of the economy. While it is not possible to quantify exactly the economic impact of halving the disability employment gap, it would directly benefit both the individuals affected, through higher employment allowing more people to support themselves and their families, and also the wider economy, by supporting economic growth and the public finances.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the net level of borrowing by the public sector in October 2015.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government has made significant progress to date in reducing borrowing – the deficit has more than halved as a share of GDP since 2009-10 and as the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast shows, the national debt as a share of GDP is forecast to be falling this year for the first time in over a decade. October public sector finance figures show government borrowing is falling, down £6.6 billion so far this year compared to last year. However, the job is not yet done. The government is committed to eliminating the deficit and returning the public finances to a more sustainable path. To achieve this, the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 sets out the action required to return the country to surplus over the course of this Parliament.
    On the basis of these plans, the latest OBR forecast estimates that borrowing in 2015-16 will be on a like-for-like basis £73.5bn, £0.6bn lower relative to Summer Budget. The forecast also shows the government is on track to meet its fiscal targets, with a budget surplus of £10.1bn by 2019-20 and debt falling as a percentage of GDP in 2015-16 and for each year in this Parliament.