The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on the potential connection between the level of diabetes and eating pears to reduce sugar levels.
Jane Ellison
There have been no such recent discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Cryer on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many meetings he or other Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the British Medical Association in each month of (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015 and (g) 2016 to date.
Ben Gummer
External meetings between the Secretary of State for Health and other Health Ministers are published quarterly on the Department’s website here:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Burnham on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 23143, when the Border Force’s budget for 2016-17 will be agreed.
James Brokenshire
The Spending Review announcement set the overall budget for the Home Office. Officials are providing advice to the Home Secretary on individual allocations and spending commitments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33501, on equal pay tribunals, how many (a) men and (b) women were involved in the two large multiple claims referred to in that answer; and against whom those claims were brought.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The two large multiple cases consisted of 11,585 men and 3,475 women, plus one claimant who did not state their gender. We are not able to provide further information about these cases as they have not yet been listed for hearing.
The table below shows the number of equal pay claims accepted by the Employment Tribunal for each calendar year since 2010:
|
Calendar Year |
Gender |
|
|
|
Female |
Male |
|
2010 |
29,754 |
4,083 |
|
2011 |
24,049 |
3,647 |
|
2012 |
15,697 |
4,340 |
|
2013 |
18,398 |
5,039 |
|
2014 |
6,052 |
1,509 |
|
2015 |
6,423 |
13,312 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-06-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what funding is available for third-sector training providers to support young people who are not in education, employment or training and not ready for classroom-based learning since the end of the Youth Contract.
Nick Boles
Third sector providers and local authority adult education services access the Adult Education Budget as prime and sub-contractors, using the funding for training which helps young people who are not in education, employment or training prepare for work, amongst other objectives. They also compete to run local European Social Fund programmes; many of these programmes focus on helping young people improve their skills levels and employment opportunities.
Where combined authorities agree devolution deals which include devolution of the Adult Education Budget, they will assume full responsibility for decisions about what provision to commission from that budget. Nine areas have agreed such deals to date, with devolution of that budget due to take effect from 2018/19, subject to readiness conditions being met. BIS is working with those areas in advance of full devolution to help increase local influence over nationally-funded adult education provision in their locality in the interim.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that planning permission for major housing developments can only be granted if the application includes the appropriate provision of green space for sporting and recreation use.
Gavin Barwell
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning policies should take account of the needs for open space, sports and recreation facilities, and opportunities for new provision. It is for local councils to apply these policies when determining applications for housing development, taking into account existing provision for sport and recreation in the area, and other material considerations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons hon. Members have not been allowed formally to engage in the discussions of those bodies forming sustainability and transformation plans.
David Mowat
We expect all local leaders to be regularly talking to members of the public and stakeholders, including hon. Members. It is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services. No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement and, where required, consultation. There are longstanding assurance processes in place to make sure this happens. NHS England, with other national health and care bodies, released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 11.10 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, whether the figure of £55.7 billion for High Speed 2 is exclusive of the cost of rolling stock for that project.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The £55.7bn long-term funding envelope for delivering HS2 includes funding provision for rolling stock.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents there have been of usage of illegal highs in prisons in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
We do not tolerate drugs in prison. Prisoners are tested for a range of controlled drugs through our mandatory drug testing (MDT) system, which randomly tests up to 10% of the population in each prison, each month. In addition, prisoners can be subject to testing in response to specific threats. Any prisoner found through MDT to have used controlled drugs will face an internal adjudication and could receive a range of sanctions including days added to their time in custody.
We have begun a pilot to expand this testing to include new psychoactive substances and in April we plan to introduce this across the prison estate. We have also introduced new legislation to counter the smuggling of NPS into prisons and are training 300 sniffer dogs to detect NPS.
The table below shows the number of positive MDT tests for illegal drugs over the past five financial years.
|
Year |
Number of positive MDT tests |
|
2010/11 |
10324 |
|
2011/12 |
10268 |
|
2012/13 |
9956 |
|
2013/14 |
8659 |
|
2014/15 |
6742 |
Notes:
Table shows instances where a prisoner has tested positive for a controlled drug, one of amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepine, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, opiates, methadone and buprenorphine.
Where a prisoner is found to have used more than one substance, a separate positive will be reported for each substance found to have been used.
Includes MDT tests arising from all prison MDT programmes including random, suspicion, at risk, frequent and reception testing
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.
Karen Bradley
The Home Office Health and Wellbeing Strategy was launched in February 2015. This sets out three key aims: that every member of staff understands that their health and wellbeing matters; that health and wellbeing is at the centre of change and learning and development programmes and that structural, cultural and demographic factors affecting attendance in the workplace are identified and addressed as appropriate. The strategy is underpinned by a range of modern HR policies and practical advice and services to enhance and promote health and wellbeing such as the employee assistance programme and occupational health services. We also support groups such as ‘Break the Stigma’ and other national mental health campaigns.