The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.
Stephen Crabb
I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer given by my hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, on 29 February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26920, if he will offer the Iraqi government British forensic team support to investigate mass graves discovered in Sinjar.
Mr Philip Hammond
We are aware of reports that mass graves have been discovered in northern Iraq but our position on the matter has not changed. We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the targeting and persecution of Yazidis, Christians and other communities by Daesh. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all communities in Iraq. We are working to build consensus around the importance of freedom of religion or belief, including by funding practical projects designed to enhance community dialogue between civil society and faith groups.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will represent the UK at the World Humanitarian Summit meeting to be held in Istanbul.
Baroness Verma
Preparations for the Summit are proceeding and a final decision on who will be in the UK delegation will be taken nearer the time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of engagement they have had with the insurance industry about reducing costs to consumers.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
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.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his estimate is of the number of people in receipt of universal credit in regular employment and paid monthly whose pay date will fluctuate with their universal credit assessment period resulting in two sets of earnings in one assessment period and no earnings in the following assessment period since the roll-out of the digital service.
Damian Hinds
The specific information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Unlike tax credits which meant that claimants received demands for repayments and could never be sure they were receiving the correct entitlement, Universal Credit assesses monthly earnings and income in that month. That lessens the burden on claimants who have fluctuating incomes or irregular payments so they can budget with greater confidence and without the anxiety they will be hit with a demand for repayment.
We are currently implementing a test and learn approach to understand the interaction of Universal Credit and employer pay cycles and its effect on awards. This work will include discussions with employers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of training for midwives on foetal alcohol syndrome.
Mr Philip Dunne
The new United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking. The guideline for women who are pregnant or think they could become pregnant, is that the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to reduce risks to the baby to a minimum.
The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service.
In the Mandate from the Government to HEE for the period from April 2013 to March 2015 the Government stated that HEE should work with NHS England and others to ensure that sufficient midwives and other maternity staff are trained and available to provide every woman with personalised one-to-one care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and during the postnatal period.
HEE led, completed and published the findings of the Personalised Maternity Care Project, which made recommendations on how women who have mental health or substance misuse support requirements will receive appropriate support from specialised trained midwives.
The Personalised Maternity Care Project findings are available at:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people attended each A&E department within the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust in each of the last three years.
Jane Ellison
The information is not available in the format requested. Information is available by National Health Service trust and can be found using the following link.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the expected timetable for the Lloyds Banking Group share offer.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government is committed to creating a share owning democracy in Britain. The Lloyds Banking Group share offer will help build that by giving the general public the chance to have a greater stake in our economy and encouraging long-term share ownership.
However, given ongoing events in financial markets, now is not the right time to sell shares to retail investors. We have always been clear that sales are dependent on market conditions and the timing of the offer will be kept under review in light of this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the distribution of teacher training places in the (a) North Staffordshire sub-region and (b) West Midlands region.
Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has changed the approach to initial teacher training (ITT) allocations for the 2016 to 2017 academic year. The National College for Teaching and Leadership are not allocating a specific number of places to individual organisations for postgraduate ITT courses due to start in the 2016 to 2017 academic year. Instead, eligible schools, school-centred initial teacher training providers (SCITTs) and higher education institutions (HEIs) will be able to recruit as many trainees as they feel they need (subject to a limited number of controls), until the overall system has recruited a sufficient number.
School Direct lead schools, SCITTs and universities across all regions have been given greater freedom for the 2016/17 academic year to manage their recruitment according to local need.
We are monitoring regional recruitment across all subjects, including the West Midlands region. However, as School Direct and SCITT partnerships cover large geographical areas, we are not monitoring recruitment at a sub-regional level.
To date, the only challenge in geographical distribution of ITT places has been found in the London region in recruitment to primary, which was recruiting slower than other regions. In this case we have allowed school led routes (i.e. School Direct (tuition fee) and SCITTs) in this region to continue to recruit to primary courses to ensure that enough trainees are recruited. For all other regions, recruitment is broadly the same as in 2015/16 with some areas showing an increase.
We are prepared to use reserve recruitment controls in other subjects, or for other regions, as required.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people using cannabis in the UK for medicinal purposes; and if he will make a statement.
George Freeman
We have made no such estimates.
Herbal cannabis is not licensed as a medicine and, under section 7(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a pharmacist would need to obtain a licence from the Home Office if they were to dispense cannabis.