The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provided to Lancashire County Council on the formulation of its service planning areas.
Mr Marcus Jones
DCLG does not have a record of advice given to Lancashire County Council on the formulation of its service planning areas, or requests for such advice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on air, rail and taxi travel in 2015-16.
David Mundell
The Scotland Office spend on air, rail and taxi travel in 2015-16 is shown below.
|
Air |
Rail |
Taxi |
|
£209,037.45 |
£63,698.82 |
£23,244.64 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England on the future of the common cancer clinical reference groups.
David Mowat
NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, Professor Chris Harrison, has been working with the four common cancer ‘clinical reference groups’ to clarify their role within the system, especially in relation to the Clinical Reference Groups that provide advice and expertise to NHS England on the best ways that specialised services should be provided.
NHS England has decided to continue the common cancer groups as ‘clinical expert groups’ and to bring together their chairs to form a clinical steering group for the national programme, to support a pathway approach to care management and measurement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps have been taken to speed up completion of the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government has published detailed Impact Assessments for the Bill – on the Trade Union Bill, on the Reporting of Facility Time in the Public Sector, and on the Prohibition on Deduction of Union Subscriptions from Wages in the Public Sector. At a meeting with Peers in December, Ministers committed to publishing prior to the Lords Committee stage of the Bill, and they were published in good time on 21 January.
The Trade Union Bill’s impact assessment has been subject to scrutiny by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee, and its opinion has been published alongside the impact assessment.
They were reviewed and approved by the relevant Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office. The Permanent Secretary has been kept informed of progress on all stages of the Bill.
Policy officials and analysts in both Departments have worked together to produce the impact assessments as quickly as possible while ensuring that the analysis was thorough.
We have not asked civil servants working on the Bill in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office to fill out time sheets.
We do not record which particular documents each special adviser reads. Special advisers have access to departmental papers in line with the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct and provide advice to Ministers.
I am placing copies of the relevant documentation in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations she has received on the effect on Northern Ireland of proposals for new runway capacity in the London area.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I have discussed the importance of air connectivity between Northern Ireland and London and the work of the Airports Commission with Ministers in the Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and airport operators.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether provisions in the Buses Bill will seek to require bus operators to publish data on fares.
Andrew Jones
The Bill will include powers to require the release of open data on routes, timetables, punctuality and fares, in a specified format.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who was responsible for appointing the NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprint Leaders.
George Freeman
Sustainability and Transformation Plan areas have been determined by local health and care services coming together in ways that make sense for their local areas, in order to transform the way that health and care is planned and delivered for their populations.
Following local discussions about who is best placed to play the role of footprint leaders, together with discussions with national bodies, 41 of the 44 planning areas have identified and agreed leaders.
They are mostly a mix of trust chief executive officers, clinical commissioning group leaders and local government executives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what research on the effect of fixed odds betting terminals his Department has (a) commissioned, (b) carried out and (c) assessed from external sources since 2010; and whether his Department plans to carry out or commission any further such research.
David Evennett
The Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), was set up to by the Gambling Commission to advise on priorities for research, education and training (RET) relating to responsible gambling. The Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) an independent charity, then commissions research into gambling related harm and funds education and treatment programmes, taking into account the priorities set out by the RGSB.
It is a requirement on all gambling licence holders to make an annual financial contribution to one or more organisations that perform research, education or training for gambling-related harm. The vast majority choose to make that contribution to the Responsible Gambling Trust, which has raised £7.5 million in 2016 (unaudited); £6.5 million in 2015; £6.3 million in 2014; £5.7 million in 2013; £5.2 million in 2012; £5 million in 2011 (each year relates to the previous 12 months to 31 March). RGT’s accounts for these years are available on the Charity Commission website and include the breakdown of expenditure between research, treatment and harm prevention.
RGT is committed to working with RGSB to estimate the cost of the education activities identified in the recently published National Responsible Gambling Strategy, 2016-19, that will be expected to raise from businesses who profit from commercial gambling in Britain.
The Responsible Gambling Trust has published a number of research reports into FOBTs since 2010, which are available on the RGT website: http://www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk/research/research-publications/
Further RGT commercial and independent research on Category B Gaming Machines was published on 24 May, and can be found here http://www.responsiblegamblingtrust.org.uk/research/research-publications/
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford of improvements to rail connectivity in and around the Bradford area.
Andrew Jones
The Government recognises the economic benefits of investing in transport and is committed to spend £13 billion on transport in the north of England which through the new franchises will provide more than 500 brand-new carriages, the removal of the outdated and unpopular Pacer trains, room for 40,000 extra passengers at the busiest times, and more than 2,000 extra services a week.
As part of the North of England programme we are investing in journey time, capacity and connectivity improvements to give passengers more and faster services to and from Bradford.
Specific improvements in improving connections to and from Bradford include:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of training of assessors for asylum applications where religious persecution is the reason for the application.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on their individual merits, including claims based on religious persecution. We grant protection to those who genuinely need it in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Published guidance on the interviewing and consideration of asylum claims is regularly reviewed and takes into consideration the views of stakeholders, including religious groups. The current training and support available for asylum caseworkers includes a the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees endorsed Foundation Training Programme. This, and follow-on courses, covers all aspects of the asylum interview and decision making process, including the assessment of credibility and country information in religious based claims. Real-life case studies and role-play are used throughout the training programme to reinforce knowledge and understanding of the issues.
We are carefully considering the report and recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief published in June 2016 and will provide a response in due course.