The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department has made no estimate on the value of any stationery (a) lost or (b) stolen in any of the last five fiscal years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Johnson on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department plans to allocate for specialist services for kinship carers in the period to March 2019.
Edward Timpson
We will set the Department’s individual budgets as part of the internal business planning process. We will announce the future of specific programmes in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK funding of Bahraini reform programmes.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We believe that UK support to Bahrain’s reform programme is the most constructive way to achieve long-lasting and sustainable reform in Bahrain. While it will take time to see the full results of much of this work, UK support is having a direct, positive impact on areas of concern. All FCO programmes and project work is routinely monitored and evaluated to inform and improve future assistance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-11-27.
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 26 November 2015, Official Report, columns 1489-94, what assessment he has made of the reliability of the 70,000 ground forces referred to as international partners in the fight against Daesh.
Mr David Cameron
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Ms Lucas) on 1 December 2015, UIN 17826 and 17854, and to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) of the same date, UIN 18014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to address the political crisis in Syria before March 2016.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are closely involved in international efforts to facilitate a political solution to the conflict in Syria. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) attended discussions convened by US Secretary Kerry in Vienna on 30 October, which may be the begining of a political process in Syria.
Foreign Ministers agreed to meet again within two weeks. The UK will fully support this process including by hosting ministerial or official-level meetings. We are supporting the moderate Syrian opposition to ensure they are represented in the political process. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the Foreign Office is also providing a broad range of support to Syrians inside Syria on peace building, governance, human rights, and civil society issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they and the major aid agencies have made for protecting refugees who are still in, or are crossing, south-east Europe this winter.
Baroness Verma
The UK has so far provided nearly £16 million to ensure migrants and refugees arriving in and travelling through Europe are provided with warmth, comfort and lifesaving humanitarian support and protection during the winter. DFID is funding humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, as well as humanitarian NGOs in southern Europe and the Balkans. These organisations are tailoring interventions to meet the needs of children, families and older people. This includes medical assistance, special transport services to help keep families together and support the most vulnerable, referral of children and other vulnerable people to specialised services, and efforts to reunite families that have become separated during their journey. We have also delivered in-kind assistance via the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism. Through this, the UK has provided migrants and refugees in Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia with blankets, sleeping bags and tents so that 11,000 people in each country are provided with warmth and comfort during the winter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the meningitis B vaccine will be available for children and young people; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The MenB immunisation programme was introduced in September 2015, with the vaccine being offered to babies at 2, 4 and at 12 months of age. The vaccine is also available for the small number of older children who are at increased risk of infection, such as those with specific immune problems.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisatio (JCVI) carried out a comprehensive and careful review of a wide range of evidence in relation to MenB vaccine and did not recommend the use of MenB vaccine in other age groups, including older children.
The Department, in collaboration with the JCVI and Public Health England, has identified that preparatory research is needed before the effects of MenB carriage in adolescents can be addressed. This preparatory research is in the process of being contracted and it is hoped that this work will begin in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assumptions they have made about the increase in demand for social care in calculating that the new 2 per cent council tax levy and the £1.5 billion for the Better Care Fund, announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, would meet future demand; and whether they will list the assumptions made and the projected increase in demand for each year from 2015 to 2020.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Spending Review decisions take into account a range of financial and economic factors as well as changes in demand. Our analysis of adult social care demand drew on:
‒ academic modelling of future demand for services;
‒ projections and data on pay including the National Living Wage from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care;
‒ gross domestic product deflators for inflation; and
‒ consideration of the potential for efficiencies and savings, based on a range of sources.
That analysis informed the decision to provide a settlement which means local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament, including:
‒ The social care precept which puts money raising powers into the hands of local areas who understand the need in their area and who are best placed to respond;
‒ From 2017-18, social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20, to be included in an improved Better Care Fund; and
‒ More than double the funding for the heavily oversubscribed Disabled Facilities Grant to over £500 million per annum by 2019-20.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he had with Monitor on South East Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust’s project relating to the prioritisation of NHS 111 calls in winter 2014-15 before Monitor announced it was taking action on that matter.
Jane Ellison
Departmental officials were first notified of a project which was run between December 2014 and February 2015 in the south of England on 23 October 2015 by Monitor, the independent health sector regulator.
We are advised that Monitor is taking action with South East Coast Ambulance Service Foundation Trust regarding concerns about the project and the regulator is working with the Trust now to identify the negative impact this project could have had on patients. It is Monitor’s function to undertaken such investigations independently of the Department where there are no immediate patient safety issues. Monitor and Departmental officials regularly discuss such issues on a routine basis.
As part of regulatory action, Monitor advises it has asked the trust to carry out a detailed independent review of the impact the project had on patients. Monitor has asked the Trust to do this with the help of an external expert, who the regulator will select. The full details of what the review will look at and how long it will take are being worked on by the trust and Monitor, including consideration of publication of the review finding.
In March, NHS England convened a risk summit meeting involving all partners following the suspension by South East Coast Ambulance Service of their unofficial call-handling project. It was agreed that NHS England would undertake an external investigation. The report of the investigation was published by NHS England today and is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current level of spending on infrastructure in the UK, compared to the rest of the G7.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The National Infrastructure Pipeline outlines over £410 billion of planned investment to the end of the decade and beyond; this includes both public and private investment.
At the Spending Review, it was announced that the Government will exceed its commitment to invest £100 billion in infrastructure by 2020-21. It will now make a public investment of £120 billion. (This includes social infrastructure).
HM Government does not hold figures on infrastructure spending in other G7 countries, and methodological discrepancies prevent reliable comparison of infrastructure spending.