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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how people and organisations can make representations to the inquiry into the safety of hormone pregnancy tests.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The terms of reference for the inquiry into the safety of Hormone Pregnancy Tests (HPTs) state that the Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Commission on Human Medicines will consider all available evidence on the possible association between exposure in pregnancy to HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy (in particular congenital anomalies, miscarriage and stillbirth). This will include scientific studies as well as wider sources of evidence.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is providing the secretariat to the review and is compiling all the available information. To date, the MHRA has requested relevant published and unpublished information from all companies whose predecessors marketed HPTs and has conducted a search of the National Archives with a view to obtaining a complete set of historical documents relevant to this issue. The MHRA will also search for all relevant published literature and review all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been submitted in association with HPTs in the United Kingdom. All of this information will be made available to the EWG.

    Interested individuals and organisations were invited to provide any information relevant to a possible association between the use of oral HPTs and adverse outcomes in pregnancy through a public call for evidence between 25 March and 30 June 2015. In addition, the EWG will hear evidence from a number of individuals who feel their lives have been adversely affected by HPTs.

    The report of the review and all documents will be made public subject to the usual legal requirements.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish the timetable setting out when each area will have its post-16 education and training reviewed.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), along with respective funding agencies, have re-prioritised staffing resources to support the review of post-16 education and training.

    There are seven reviews in the first wave of area reviews which have either launched since September or will launch in the next few weeks. Each review will take 3-4 months to complete and will be supported by resource from the DfE, BIS, Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency.

    The area reviews of post 16 education and training are being undertaken in waves and can be triggered by either the local area requesting a review or the FE Commissioner or Sixth Form College Commissioner identifying the need for a review because one or more colleges in an area are at risk of failing. The first wave is underway now and details of the following reviews have been announced and can be found on the gov.uk website :

    Birmingham and Solihull

    Greater Manchester

    Sheffield City Region

    Tees Valley

    Sussex Coast

    Solent

    West Yorkshire

    The second wave will start in January 2016 and we aim to announce details in November 2015. We are currently looking at the geographies and phasing for other areas and will aim to issue further information on this before the end of the year but in doing this we recognise that the position should remain fluid to take account of the views of local partners and also cases of failure.

    We expect all reviews to be completed by March 2017.

  • Sammy Wilson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Sammy Wilson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent to date on legal fees in respect of the case against the Aggregates Levy brought by the British Aggregates Association.

    Damian Hinds

    The lawfulness of the Aggregates Levy been challenged in the UK and European courts for over thirteen years by the British Aggregates Association. No court has ever found the levy to be unlawful.

    The legal challenges have also caused many years of uncertainty for industry, and have prevented the government from making any significant changes to the levy.

    The government’s legal costs are not finalised and are continuing to rise. This should be viewed against over £4 billion (and rising) in levy revenue that the government’s defence is protecting.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made under what working assumptions of the potential annual running costs for the office of a North East regional mayor.

    James Wharton

    We have made no such estimates as all these costs are matters for the councils concerned which will have considered such matters when giving their provisional agreement to the North East Devolution Deal, which in addition to establishing a North East regional mayor, will create an Investment Fund to support the North East, worth up to £1.5 billion, with an initial allocation of revenue funding for capital financing of £30 million a year for 30 years.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 11 of his Department’s Defence Equipment Plan 2015, what the reasons are for the increase in spending on support arrangements for new equipment; on what items that additional funding will be spent.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the Defence Equipment Plan 2015, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2015. Paragraph 11 explains the movements in the high level elements of the equipment plan from the previous financial year. Each of the operating centre breakdowns in Section C of the Equipment Plan contains an explanation of any increase or decrease in spending from the previous financial year.

    “

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 41 of his Department’s Defence Equipment Plan 2015, what the reasons are for the increase in planned spending on surface ships; and on what items that additional funding will be spent.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the Defence Equipment Plan 2015, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-equipment-plan-2015. Paragraph 11 explains the movements in the high level elements of the equipment plan from the previous financial year. Each of the operating centre breakdowns in Section C of the Equipment Plan contains an explanation of any increase or decrease in spending from the previous financial year.

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 12263, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils who will qualify for free school meals in each of the next five years.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The continuation of free school meals was a commitment in the Conservative Party’s election manifesto. The government is currently conducting a spending review across all its programmes. We are not able to report on free school meals until after the outcome of that review.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has made available for the maintenance of waterways in (a) Pendle, (b) the North West and (c) England in 2015-16.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government provides grant-in-aid funding to the two largest navigation authorities in England and Wales: the Canal & River Trust (CRT) and the Environment Agency.

    Under the terms of the grant agreement, for 2015-16, the CRT will receive a total of £49.546m for the navigations it owns in England and Wales. The distribution of maintenance funding across CRT’s waterways is a matter for CRT.

    The Environment Agency does not own or manage any navigations in Pendle or the North West.

  • Kwasi Kwarteng – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kwasi Kwarteng – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kwasi Kwarteng on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the Government plans to give to authorities in South Africa to help tackle high levels of crime in (a) rural and (b) other areas of that country.

    James Duddridge

    Her Majesty’s Government provides assistance to South Africa to help tackle organised crime networks and minimise the threat they pose to the UK. This co-operation includes the sharing of information and expertise and the provision of capacity building. It does not differentiate between rural and other areas of the country.

    These activities form part of the UK’s contribution to counter organised crime and it is our policy not to disclose specific details about assistance given.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 12247, on breast cancer, what assessment his Department has made of the 26 recommendations produced by charities on access to off-patent, repurposed drugs following the roundtable event of February 2015.

    George Freeman

    The Government hosted a Roundtable Event to explore the issues around off-label prescribing as part of its response to a Private Member’s Bill presented in the last Parliament. The Government’s position on the current Off Patent Drugs Bill and how that relates to issues identified at the Roundtable Event will be shared at the Bill’s second reading on 6 November 2015.