The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which lobbying campaigns organised by charities have been funded by government grants since May 2010.
Lord Bridges of Headley
Information on lobbying campaigns organised by charities is not collected by government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 28610, which outsourced providers his Department uses for cleaning services; and if he will request information from those providers on the rate of pay for cleaners providing services for his Department.
Mike Penning
All employers are obligated to pay a minimum of the new National Living Wage from April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they propose to make in the new contract for doctors in training in the light of the equality analysis undertaken under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The contract published on 31 March is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement and pay progression will be linked to level of training rather than arbitrarily to time served.
All junior doctors should have the same terms and conditions – a level playing field – which is ultimately what employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) want and everyone deserves.
When the Secretary of State published the Equality Analysis on the new contract for doctors and dentists in training in the NHS (“Doctors”) on the 31 March 2016 on the GOV.UK website he made it clear that, as a result of considering the Equality Analysis, in accordance with his duties and obligations, he had asked for a number of changes to the draft contract to address specific issues for certain groups with protected characteristics. This has been done and the contract has been duly amended. These changes included changes that benefited staff who work part time. The new contract is not discriminatory it ensures that all junior doctors receive equal pay for work of equal value. The BMA’s own lawyers have advised that nothing in the new contract is discriminatory. Nevertheless the equality duty is an ongoing duty and it is intended that monitoring will continue after the introduction of the new contract in accordance with the public sector equality duty in the Equality Act 2010.
A copy of the Equality Analysis is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to better connect cycling and rail infrastructure to support more active travel.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department is funding £14.3 in 16/17 to improve integration between cycle and rail through the provision of new cycle facilities at railway stations. This includes new high quality cycle parking, cycle hire and improved access to stations and will support more active travel.
In conjunction with this, a revised version of the Cycle Rail Toolkit was published on 19 May 2016 which will help those implementing cycle-rail facilities to ensure that high-quality infrastructure is in place to encourage new users and to ensure that cycling to stations becomes easy and convenient and the natural choice for short trips to the station.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the definition of statutory homelessness in preventing rough sleeping.
Mr Marcus Jones
The homelessness legislation (part 7 Housing Act 1996) provides a strong safety net for all those who are vulnerable and homeless through no fault of their own. Homelessness is defined at section 175 of the Act. Broadly speaking somebody is statutorily homeless if they do not have accommodation that they have a legal right to occupy, which is accessible and physically available to them (and their household) and which it would be reasonable for them to continue to live in. It would not be reasonable for someone to continue to live in their home, for example, if that was likely to lead to violence against them (or a member of their family).
We have protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2020. In doing so, we expect local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide advice and assistance to all those that approach them for help. Since 2010, this funding has allowed local authorities to prevent more than a million households from becoming homeless. We are determined to ensure that we prevent more people from becoming homeless in the first place so we are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options to prevent more people from becoming homeless.
We have also increased central funding to tackle homelessness to £139 million over the next four years, which will include targeted funding for rough sleeping. This includes a new £10 million fund to support and scale-up initiatives to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, and a £10 million Social Impact Bond to support the most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces and police and crime commissioners on heroin distributed in their areas in line with her Department’s policy set out on page 31 of the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, published by her predecessor in March 2016.
Brandon Lewis
The Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which highlighted the value of supervised injectable diamorphine/heroin in reducing crime, was launched by Home Office Ministers at the International Crime and Policing Conference on 23 March whose attendance included a large number of representatives from the criminal justice system. Police and Crime Commissioners and police forces wishing to explore issues relating to heroin assisted treatment are encouraged to engage with the relevant local authorities which commission drug and alcohol treatment in their areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) surplus and (b) shortfall in childcare places in each London borough on 1 January of each year from 2010 to 2016.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and make this report available and accessible to parents. The Department does not hold borough level estimates centrally.
The Department for Education’s Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey[1] collects data on all registered childcare places, including those in maintained schools and nurseries. However, data is only available at a national and regional level.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2013
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients they expect to benefit from the latest cancer medicines as a result of the proposals for a revised Cancer Drugs Fund to be effective from 1 April.
Lord Prior of Brampton
We have made no such assessment.
NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently consulted on draft proposals for the future direction of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). The consultation outlines a new system, fully integrated into the NICE appraisal process, where the CDF becomes a transitional fund – with clear criteria for entry and exit. The consultation closed on 11 February 2016.
NHS England has advised that the operational detail of the new scheme will be developed over the coming months, informed by detailed analysis and consideration of the consultation responses received. A new Standard Operating Procedure for the CDF will be published by June 2016. Any changes to the list of available treatments through the Fund as a result of the changes in model will be published in due course.
NHS England has advised that it is optimistic that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning in the future as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and the new CDF being able to address issues as to longer term patient outcomes in order to give such drugs the chance of re-appraisal by NICE with greater certainty as to clinical and cost effectiveness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the Cross Government Working Group on Drones to finish its work; and when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Cross Government Working Group on Drones is an ongoing policy group that meets quarterly to discuss a range of cross-cutting departmental issues relating to drones.
My department is working with the European Aviation Safety Agency on the development of new European rules for drones. The Civil Aviation Authority are planning to consult on these proposals in the summer, with a view to making amendments to the Air Navigation Order in 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws on 2016-04-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of freedom of expression in Bangladesh, including the threats of criminal defamation against individual journalists and editors, and whether they will raise any specific concerns with the government of Bangladesh.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We believe that a vibrant civil society and free media, able to challenge and hold authority to account, are fundamental to a democratic and economically successful society. We have made clear our concerns about freedom of expression in Bangladesh, most recently in a press statement about the murder of Nazimuddin Samad. In that statement the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), restated our position that the right to freedom of expression and open debate in Bangladesh must be upheld.