Tag: 2016

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the rate of compliance on routes from (a) Hull and (b) in the North Sea with lower sulphur dioxide emission limit for merchant vessels which came into force on 1 January 2015.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are no figures for 2015.

    However, since 1 January 2016 the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has inspected 34 ships within the North Sea Sulphur Emission Control for compliance with the lower 0.1 per cent sulphur limit. Eleven of these ships had fuel samples taken and analysed, and one ship was found to be marginally non-compliant.

    The one ship that was inspected and had its fuel sampled at the port of Hull was found to be within the limit.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers she intends to extend to farmers in relation to the dredging of watercourses on their land.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 were laid before Parliament on 2 February. Subject to parliamentary approval, from April the Regulations will remove a number of low risk activities from the need for a flood defence consent permit from the Environment Agency, enabling it to focus on the highest risk activities. This includes allowing farmers to maintain ditches up to 1.5km long subject to a number of conditions.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The average days’ sickness absence per full time equivalent employed by DCMS during the last financial year was 2.0 days.

    The Civil Service takes a holistic approach to managing sick absence and improving wellbeing and we have focussed on specific actions to reduce the incidence of mental disorders, including stress related absence. This includes

    • early referral to occupational health experts, particularly for mental health, stress or musculoskeletal conditions,

    • early referral to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for CBT based counselling support for mental health issues,

    • workplace adjustments that help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening, whilst reducing the barriers to work for those affected by mental or physical impairments,

    • extensive training for managers and employees including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.

    Financial Year

    Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Proportion of total sick such sick leave was in the department

    Apr 14 – Mar 15

    1

    0.2%

    0.5%

    Apr 13 – Mar 14

    2

    0.5%

    0.9%

    Apr 12 – Mar 13

    3

    0.8%

    1.2%

    Apr 11 – Mar 12

    5

    1.1%

    2.1%

    Apr 10 – Mar 11

    6

    1.4%

    2.5%

    Background

    We have reported on the average sickness absence in the annual report (link) and do not specifically report on sickness absence due to stress.

    The DCMS sick absence data is low in comparison with the Civil Service average of 7.4 Average Working Days Lost. We do not have any evidence to know why this is. HR continues to remind all staff and managers of the importance of accurate and prompt recording on the HR system.

    Financial Year

    Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress

    Department FTE

    Total sickness in department

    Percentage of staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absence

    Apr 14 – Mar 15

    1

    0.2%

    461

    203

    0.5%

    Apr 13 – Mar 14

    2

    0.5%

    381

    234

    0.9%

    Apr 12 – Mar 13

    3

    0.8%

    376

    259

    1.2%

    Apr 11 – Mar 12

    5

    1.1%

    457

    243

    2.1%

    Apr 10 – Mar 11

    6

    1.4%

    443

    242

    2.5%

    ¹Department FTE from DCMS Annual Report & Accounts 2010-11 and 2014-15

    “

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mean annual gross pay was for jobs in (a) manufacturing, (b) services and (c) the whole economy in each of the last five years for which data is available.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted on the effect on levels of food waste in hospitals of changing provision of food from in-house kitchen preparation to a cook-chill or cook-freeze system.

    George Freeman

    The Department has not conducted research on the subject requested. Data on unserved patient meals was collected through the Estates Returns Information Collection until 2013-14, but it excluded data on waste generated during food production and waste from uneaten patient meals. The question was removed from the 2014-15 collection onwards as the data did not present an accurate picture for all food waste.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has made of research published in Nature regarding mitochondrial and nuclear DNA matching shapes metabolism and healthy ageing; and how that assessment relates to the recommendations contained within guidance note 33.23 on the HFEA website.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The noble Lord appears to be referring to the recent work by Latorre-Pellicer et al (2016). The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that this research will be considered by the reconvened Expert Panel which will assess the safety and efficacy of mitochondrial donation techniques more widely.

    The guidance referred to by the noble Lord refers to haplotype matching in the provision of mitochondrial donation treatment. At present, no clinics in the United Kingdom are licenced to provide such treatment. The HFEA has further advised that the research published in Nature is consistent with that guidance. The HFEA will continue to advise clinics to keep themselves up to date with the scientific research in this area.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to raise awareness among young people of the dangers of so-called smart drugs.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Government’s drug information website FRANK is updating its content to include enhancement drugs, including so-called smart drugs.

    FRANK forms part of a wider programme of education and prevention that should be delivered locally in line with evidence on what works best in effective prevention programmes.

    Public Health England (PHE) commissioned Mentor’s Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service (ADEPIS) programme to helps schools and practitioners share information and resources to help them deliver good quality drug prevention activities. PHE also delivers the Rise Above campaign to 11–16 year olds, which provides content that aims to delay and prevent uptake of risky behaviours including smoking, drinking alcohol and drug use, to build resilience and enable young people to make good life choices.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has made of recent research suggesting that the eggs of older women can be rejuvenated through injections of mitochondria from other cells; what data collected from clinics the HFEA holds regarding the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, and what evidence it has received from (1) OvaScience, (2) Professor Simon Fishel, and (3) other sources, that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related exponential increases in oocyte aneuploidy; what published randomised trials the HFEA has been made aware of regarding the Augment technique, and what assessment it has made of those trials; and what assessment the HFEA has made of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advises that it does not hold data from clinics on the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, nor has it received evidence from OvaScience, Professor Simon Fishel or other sources that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related increases in oocyte chromosomal aneuploidy.

    The HFEA also advises that it has not been made aware of any published randomised trials regarding the Augment technique and has not made an assessment of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals. It is currently considering whether techniques, which involve addition of autologous mitochondria to eggs, would be legal in the United Kingdom (under the framework of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended). Part of this consideration involves considering the claims made for Augment by Ovascience.

    The HFEA has not received any formal applications for clinical use of the Augment technique, and has not made an assessment of the ruling by the US Food and Drugs Administration to which the Noble Lord refers.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what general steps they plan to take to ensure that all schools change their admission arrangements in line with recommendations by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

    Lord Nash

    Where the Schools Adjudicator determines that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the School Admissions Code, the admission authority has a statutory duty to revise its admission arrangements. The school must comply with the Adjudicator’s decision within two months of the decision or by 28 February following the decision, whichever is sooner, unless an alternative timescale is specified by the Adjudicator.

    An Adjudicator’s decision is binding and enforceable by the Secretary of State.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent progress has been made on the Government’s application to the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood affected areas.

    James Wharton

    The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February and we continue to refine our cost estimations.

    At the date the application was made, the Government had not been approached on this matter by the Northern Ireland Executive.