The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 4.75 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, whether his Department has recruited an experienced, commercial specialist to lead the new nuclear enterprise sponsor team.
Mr Philip Dunne
Options for the new team continue to be developed and assessed. We expect to announce further details later this year once decisions have been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-11.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the implications are for the Government’s policy on balanced budgets of the decision of the Scottish Government not to enhance the powers of the Scottish Fiscal Commission; and if he will make a statement.
Greg Hands
The Treasury is continuing to discuss all elements of the fiscal framework with the Scottish Government, including the Scottish Affairs Committee’s recommendation that economic forecasting for the Scottish government should be done by a body independent of government.
The UK government remains optimistic that a deal can be reached that is fair for taxpayers across the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-03-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the process by which the World Anti-Doping Agency informs athletes of the drugs added each year to the list of banned substances.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
WADA issues communications to a range of stakeholders to ensure that everyone knows the timeframes by which the Prohibited List is published and when it takes effect. This information is freely available on WADA’s website.
In the UK, Athletes and Athlete Support Personnel receive information about changes to the Prohibited List through communications from UK Anti-Doping. This is done via the respective National Governing Bodies of sport in advance of the changes coming into place, as well as through information given on the UK Anti-Doping website, social media channels and the Clean Sport App.
However, it is ultimately the responsibility of athletes and their support personnel to be aware of the annual changes to the Prohibited List.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions court cases have been listed in the same time slot as another case since 2010.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that NICE guidance is followed in the use of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on faecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection under the interventional procedure programme. This programme makes recommendations about the safety of the procedures and how well they work. However the guidance does not constitute a direction to National Health Service trusts to provide the interventions. Decisions about whether to provide a treatment are taken locally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the implementation plan and monitoring framework for the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Sarah Newton
While there are no plans to publish an additional plan or monitoring framework, the Government has several mechanisms overseeing implementation and monitoring of the Modern Slavery Act and Strategy. The Inter-Departmental Group for Modern Slavery, chaired by the Hoe Secretary, publishes an annual report on Government work to tackle modern slavery. The Modern Slavery Threat Group chaired by the National Policing Lead, oversees the operational response. And the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner will publish his first annual report about the UK’s response this Autumn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many audiology services there are in England.
David Mowat
Comprehensive data on the number of audiology services in England is not collected.
NHS England has no current plans to introduce financial incentives for the achievement of Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation.
As of 1 September, there are 39 organisations with IQIPS accreditation for audiology, covering 28 adult and 21 paediatric audiology services. If an organisation is accredited for both adult and paediatric audiology, United Kingdom Accreditation Service considers that one accreditation.
In Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups, published in July, NHS England strongly encourages clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.
In the contract for Genomics Medicines Centres, Annex M requires National Health Service trusts nominated as Lead Organisations and Local Delivery Partners to be working towards diagnostic accreditation across all available schemes, including IQIPS.
NHS England is also working with the Care Quality Commission to agree the use of scientific and diagnostic schemes as an information source for inspection purposes, as set out in their latest strategy.
We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average distance between home and school was for school-aged children in (a) London and (b) each London borough on 1 January in each year from 2010 to 2016.
Nick Gibb
Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many staff have been seconded to his Department to analyse responses to the BBC Charter Review consultation.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Given the number of responses, DCMS brought in additional resource into the BBC policy team. Based on demand, an average of 25 additional people per week supported the process to review the consultation responses, which included 19 staff seconded from other departments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25985, whether he plans to publish his response to his Department’s consultation on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges before the period of purdah for the EU membership referendum begins.
Nick Boles
The Government is analysing the responses to the Call for Evidence on tips, gratuities, service and cover charges and will publish a response in due course.