The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing statutory regulations of the funeral industry.
Nick Boles
The Department has not made an assessment regarding this issue.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-12-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of Action on Smoking and Health in providing the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, and in particular whether such activities are designed to influence (1) Parliament, Government or political parties, or (2) legislative or regulatory action.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department has made no assessment of the role of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in providing the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health.
The conditions applicable to grants awarded to ASH for work to support tobacco control are set out in the grant award letters. The Department has made clear that none of this funding is to be used for activities designed to influence Parliament, Government or political parties or to influence legislative or regulatory action. ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at grant monitoring meetings as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-17.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his estimate is of revenue lost to the Exchequer through fuel laundering in Northern Ireland in each year since 2010.
Damian Hinds
Estimates of total revenue losses associated with fuel fraud in Northern Ireland are published in chapter 5 of ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2015′. These estimates cannot be disaggregated by type of fraud such as smuggling or laundering.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Parish on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of postmasters who have been penalised as a result of the Post Office Horizon computer system.
George Freeman
Information on the Post Office Horizon computer system is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.
I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Honourable Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK Reapers have been made available for use by the US or other coalition partners in Syria for operations since January 2015.
Penny Mordaunt
No UK Reapers have been flown on missions by US personnel or those of any other Coalition nation in Syria since January 2015. US personnel have operated UK Reaper aircraft a small number of times to aid with the launch and recovery of the aircraft only, not the mission itself. A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed between the UK and US Air Forces which allows the US to request the use of UK Reaper aircraft to conduct missions and vice versa, though to date this has not occurred. Such use by the US would be subject to UK permissions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 17980, if his Department will consider publishing details of meetings with insurance industry representatives before the next return.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.
As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the appropriateness of the use of amalgam in dental fillings.
Alistair Burt
Dental amalgam has been in use for over 150 years to restore teeth in millions of patients and, apart from rare instances of hypersensitivity, no adverse reactions have been identified. Alternative dental restorative materials are not so easily, quickly and reliably placed. Neither are they so durable. Due to improvements in oral health, the number of restorations is decreasing with the result that the safe management and disposal of dental amalgam is more easily achieved.
The World Health Organization report Future Use of Materials for Dental Restorations November 2009 concluded that dental amalgam remains a dental restorative material of choice in the absence of an ideal alternative. The Department concurs with the conclusions of the report which can be found at:
http://www.who.int/oral_health/publications/dental_material_2011.pdf
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what UK projects received funding under the European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013; what the location of each such project was; and what the amount received in funding was for each such project.
James Wharton
In the 2007-13 programmes, the grant recipients of the European Regional Development Fund generally had to deliver the projects across the region covered by that programme; location details for those grant recipients have been provided and are shown in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in preparation for the introduction of waiting time targets for child and adolescent mental health services; and when he plans for those waiting times to come into effect.
Alistair Burt
The setting of a blanket waiting time target for children and young people’s mental health is not feasible due to the wide range of conditions and services this covers, all with very different care pathways. However, we are introducing the first ever waiting time standards for mental health services.
These include an access and waiting time standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder. This states that National Institute of Health and Care Excellence concordant treatment should commence within a maximum of four weeks from first contact with a designated healthcare professional for routine cases and within one week for urgent cases. In cases of emergency, the eating disorder service should be contacted to provide support within 24 hours. The ability of services to meet this standard will be monitored in 2016. From 2017, NHS England will set a minimum proportion of young people referred for assessment or treatment that are expected to receive treatment within the standard’s timeframe. Data collected in 2016 will help inform incremental percentage increases, with the aim of 95% of patients being treated within the standard’s timescale by 2020.
We have also introduced an access and waiting times standard on Early Intervention in Psychosis announced in Mental health services: achieving better access by 2020 which came into force in April 2015. Whilst focused on all ages, most individuals experiencing a first episode of psychosis are in the 16-25 age group.
NHS England will be working with partner organisations to lead work on the development of further access and waiting time standards for children’s mental health as part of the transformation programme on children and young people’s mental health.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 12762, on broadband, how the £129 million to be repaid to local authorities and the devolved administrations will be divided between those bodies; and how the allocation of that funding will be calculated.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The clawback funding identified by BT remains available for investment by the local authorities and devolved administrations in further broadband coverage within their respective project areas. The funding amounts are based on an assumption by BT that take-up will reach 30% of the premises covered to date.