The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the numbers of (1) employed males, and (2) employed females, aged 65 years or older (a) five years ago, (b) 10 years ago, and (c) 20 years ago.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the current emphasis by NHS Choices on starchy foods such as potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice and bread products for people with diabetes, or who are pre-diabetic, is based on sufficiently rigorous evidence.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government takes a whole population approach to healthy eating, and therefore does not provide specific dietary advice to individuals with medical needs. It is recommended for anyone with a medical condition in search of dietary advice to consult their local general practitioner or a dietician.
In July 2015, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published its report on Carbohydrates and Health, a review of the latest evidence on dietary carbohydrates and health. This included a review of the evidence on incidence of type 2 diabetes as well as a number of pre-diabetic markers and carbohydrate consumption. SACN continue to recommend that total carbohydrate, which includes starchy foods, should provide approximately 50% total dietary energy. They also advised reducing sugar consumption, increasing fibre consumption and minimising consumption of sugars-sweetened drinks. A copy of the report is attached.
Following publication, advice on what constitutes a healthy balanced diet for the general population, including those with diabetes, was updated on the NHS Choices website reflecting SACN’s recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the Ministry of Justice no longer has responsibility for Government policy on freedom of information and data protection.
Matthew Hancock
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statements of the 17 July [HLWS134] and 17 September [HCWS209]. As set out in the Ministerial Code, the Prime Minister is responsible for the overall organisation of the executive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to quantify the overall impact on independent retailers of the tobacco control measures introduced in the last Parliament.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments specifically look at the impacts on small and micro businesses including retailers. All of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average duration of a claim for tax credits was in the most recent (a) 12 and (b) 24 months for which data is available.
Damian Hinds
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to increase their financial assistance for family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights in Myanmar, in the light of the reduction in funding by other donors.
Baroness Verma
DFID is helping to improve the health of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Burma, including funding programmes to increase access to modern methods of family planning and other reproductive health services. We are supporting the 3MDG health fund in Burma with nearly £90 million between 2010 and 2017. The 3MDG health fund is providing family planning services for a population of 4.4 million. DFID is currently reviewing our approach for all country programmes for the next five years as part of the government’s overall spending review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will publish an updated evaluation of the operation of the Homelessness Prevention Grant.
Mr Marcus Jones
Homelessness prevention grant is part of our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services. It has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010 and assisted 220,800 in 2014-15 alone.
The Government does not evaluate the effectiveness of local authority grants including the Homelessness Prevention Grant. As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent from Central Government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities. Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government. Together with the money raised through council tax and other local sources, they have considerable freedom to work with their residents to decide how best to spend available resources on local priorities.
My Department regularly engages with a wide range of partners on homelessness prevention. We have received five written representations directly from local authorities on the future of the grant since April 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to increase racial diversity in the workplace in the light of the Business in the Community report Race at Work 2015, which found that ethnic minority Britons are struggling against bias at work.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Equality Act 2010 protects all individuals against racial and other forms of discrimination in the workplace. The Prime Minister has underlined the Government’s commitments to increasing racial diversity in the workplace in his 2020 Vision in which he made a commitment to increase BAME employment by 20% by 2020. Her Majesty’s Government welcomes the publication of the Race at Work report and will study its recommendations carefully,.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the current threat posed to UK undersea fibre optic cables from hostile forces.
Penny Mordaunt
We do not comment on intelligence matters or media speculation relating to these.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2015-11-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how far they expect proposals in the report of the earlier Open Ended Working Group of 2015 in Geneva, and developed in working papers to the 2015 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, to provide a basis for identifying which of those proposals could be negotiated in time to be submitted to the 2016 UN General Assembly in order to prepare for substantial negotiations to begin in 2017.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Any Open Ended Working Group mandated to address the issue of nuclear disarmament should consider proposals and papers related to this issue from previous UN and Non Proliferation Treaty meetings and should take a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment. We remain open to an appropriately-mandated Open Ended Working Group provided that it is conducive to a constructive dialogue and we are considering whether to attend the meeting in Geneva in 2016.