The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what overseas visits she has made since her appointment.
Priti Patel
The Secretary of State has visited a range of countries overseas since her appointment. Information on Ministerial Travel is published as part of DFID’s quarterly transparency return on www.gov.uk.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consultation his Department has undertaken with organisations that provide supported housing for vulnerable people (a) before and (b) since the announcement that housing benefit for tenants in supported housing will be capped at the local rate of local housing allowance.
Brandon Lewis
Ministers from the Department of Communities and Local Government and the Department of Work and Pensions regularly consult with a wide range of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Ministers and officials from both Departments are meeting relevant organisations from all sectors.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people the £7 million fund for Employability in Scotland will assist in 2016-17.
Priti Patel
As funding for the new Work and Health Programme will be devolved in Scotland, by definition it will be for the Scottish Government to decide how many people it chooses to support through their devolved programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what 10 Downing Street’s wellness strategy is.
Matthew Hancock
The Cabinet Office takes the well-being of its employees seriously and provides a range of support, including the recent launch of the Cabinet Office Listening Service, resourced by staff who have been trained in active listening and emotional support. The service can provide upfront support to Cabinet Office staff dealing directly or indirectly with specific issues in their personal or working life or to help them to cope with mental health issues of any kind including depression, anxiety or stress. Listeners can also signpost individuals onto other relevant services such as the external Employee Assistant Programme which offers counselling, impartial advice and access to online health and wellness related resources.
The department has established an employee led WorkWell community to further develop and implement a strategy for wellness. Progress to date includes establishing resilience training for senior leaders and their teams, signing up to the Time to Change pledge on mental health, providing access to coaching and training in skills to improve wellbeing such as mindfulness. WorkWell are also seeking to increase awareness of opportunities to improve physical wellbeing at work including provision of on-site health checks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Commonwealth countries as trading partners for British exporters.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Shared systems and language mean the cost of trade between Commonwealth countries is estimated at 19 per cent lower than with non-Commonwealth countries. Increasing trade across the Commonwealth is a UK priority. The UK is committed to helping the Commonwealth unlock its vast potential in the area of trade and will use the opportunity of hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018 to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Government plans to provide to working parents who wish to claim tax-free childcare but who are unable to access the internet; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.
Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.
The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a British field hospital for Kurdish Peshmerga; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
The UK keeps its contribution to the Global Counter-Daesh Coalition in Iraq (including the Kurdish region) under review with wider Coalition partners, but has no plans to deploy a field hospital to the region. Any such deployment would need to be carefully balanced against medical commitments to current and future planned operations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England plans to consider mechanical thrombectomy for the treatment of stroke in its specialised commissioning prioritisation process.
David Mowat
As yet, there are insufficient patients being treated with mechanical thrombectomy to assess its impact on processes, such as length of hospital stay and bed occupancy rates, outcomes of care and the effect on post stroke rehabilitation.
However, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is now collecting data on patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and the results will be reported as soon as it is feasible. Sufficient cases will need to be undertaken before conducting the necessary statistical analyses and reporting the data.
NHS England is considering whether mechanical thrombectomy should be an area covered by its specialised commissioning portfolio and work is underway on this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will review the contract awarded to Working Links for the delivery of probation services in Wales.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Contracts with the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) in England and Wales commenced in February 2015, and are of seven years duration. The Wales CRC is continuing to provide services in accordance with its contract, and is being robustly managed by our contract management team to make sure they fulfil their contractual obligations in relation to service delivery, reducing reoffending, protecting the public and providing value for money to the taxpayer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) establishment and (b) strength personnel of (i) 6 SCOTS and (ii) 7 SCOTS have failed a medical in each year from 2012 to 2015.
Mr Julian Brazier
Army medicals result in the allocation of a graded "medical deployability standard" reflecting those active roles for which personnel are declared fit. It is not a simple pass or fail. Unlike their regular counterparts, Army Reserve personnel do not undertake annual medical assessments. The only mandatory medicals are during the recruitment process and during mobilisation. The medical care of Reserve personnel lies with their General Practitioners and the National Health Service unless they are mobilised at which point the medical care responsibility transfers to the Defence Medical Services.