The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many open access contracts operate on the railway; and how many such contracts are currently under consideration.
Claire Perry
There are now three open access operators running passenger services on the national rail network, with a fourth planning to start in 2018. Applications from two further operators are currently under consideration by the Office of Rail and Road.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 15090, how much his Department spent on costs associated with the roll-out of universal credit between October 2014 and October 2015.
Priti Patel
DWP’S audited and approved accounts are available for the period October 2014 to March 2015 inclusive. These show DWP spent £139m on costs associated with the delivery of Universal Credit (UC).
Expenditure for the period from April 2015 to October 2015 has not yet been audited and approved, and has not been included as it is subject to change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people making a new benefit claim in the last 12 months were offered training on IT literacy.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in the light of any representations they have received from Clinical Commissioning Groups about removing current barriers preventing them from using the drug bevacizumab in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.
Lord Prior of Brampton
No action has been taken in response to the correspondence from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to remove current barriers to prevent them from using bevacizumab (Avastin) in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Bevacizumab is not licensed for use in the treatment of wet AMD. Unlicensed medicines can be used to treat patients where there is a special clinical need. There are two other effective licensed treatments for wet AMD recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions in each of the last five years bed occupancy rates reached (a) 85, (b) 90, (c) 95 and (d) 100 per cent in each hospital trust in London.
Jane Ellison
Official statistics for average daily occupancy rates for beds open overnight are published every quarter by NHS England on their website at the following address:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the expected incidence of mesothelioma over the next fifty years in children born since 2010 in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Spending Review has not made assessments on the incidence, or expected incidence, of mesothelioma in constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that protective clothing is provided to hospital workers treating victims of Ebola in (a) Sierra Leone and (b) Liberia.
Justine Greening
There are currently no active cases in either of the countries. However, DFID continues to work closely with the Government of Sierra Leone and international partners to maintain and develop the systems, structures and capabilities needed to respond effectively should they be needed. Measures to protect healthcare workers and other frontline responders from infection are an important element of this preparedness. DFID has provided Personal Protective Equipment compliant with WHO standards to all of our UK funded facilities throughout this epidemic via our dedicated supply chain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Attorney General, how many Crown Prosecution Service staff worked on (a) referrals for suspected non-compliance with minimum wage legislation and (b) prosecutions for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation in each of the last five years.
Robert Buckland
All cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the purposes of considering a prosecution for an offence contrary to national minimum wage legislation, are dealt with by the Specialist Fraud Division. The number of people dealing with such cases at any given time depends on the number of cases received and how they are allocated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what weighting was given to the (a) disciplinary records of and (b) number of signatures of ongoing complaints against bidders in the procurement process for legal aid duty solicitor contracts.
Mr Shailesh Vara
13 temporary staff were employed through the Brook Street Agency and a Crown Commercial Services Recruitment framework and were selected by the Legal Aid Agency and interviewed by permanent members of staff to ensure their suitability. These individuals made up 19% of the overall assessment team. In addition contracts were entered into with legal practices to provide additional resource.
The key criteria for employment were analytical skills and the ability to conduct a qualitative assessment. A legal or procurement background was considered an advantage but not essential, given that they would be supervised by permanent staff from the Legal Aid Agency.
The procurement was undertaken in line with the Public Contract Regulations and applicant organisations were required to pass a number of stages of assessment in order to be considered suitable to hold a duty provider contract. The criteria against which organisations were assessed is set out in the Information For Applicants which govern this procurement process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the document Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, what the evidential basis is for funding to UK Collaboration for Research in Infrastructure and Cities increasing productivity.
Joseph Johnson
As discussed in the “Fixing the foundations” document, long term investment in economic infrastructure is key to raising productivity[1].
The aim of the UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure & Cities (UKCRIC) is to coordinate research in UK cities and promote collaboration between disciplines and across sectors, boosting industrial engagement and helping to develop future infrastructure.
[1] HM Treasury (2015) “Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation” https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443898/Productivity_Plan_web.pdf