The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what PREMs and PROMs data his Department holds for people with (a) sickle cell disease and (b) thalassaemia.
George Freeman
NHS England does not currently routinely collect this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to protect native tree species.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
Defra is acting to protect native tree species from a range of threats. Current examples include:
it is an offence to fell trees without a licence if an exemption does not apply;
the particular value and irreplaceable nature of ancient woodlands and veteran trees is recognised in the National Planning Policy Framework;
we use the UK Plant Health Risk Register to identify, assess and tackle tree pests and diseases at source (pre-border), at the border and inland, including several that threaten native trees;
support for some landowners on specific tree diseases and measures to support squirrel control through the Countryside Stewardship Scheme;
working with the Squirrel Accord to deliver the December 2014 grey squirrel action plan for England;
Forestry Commission advice on how native woodlands can be adapted to be more resilient to the effects of climate change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pat Glass on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on cases in which workers do not receive compensation awarded by an employment tribunal because the companies which were paying them less than the national minimum wage have moved into voluntary liquidation.
Nick Boles
The Government is committed to the effective enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and will take tough action where employers are found to have underpaid their staff. BIS Ministers regularly discuss issues of enforcement with colleagues in other relevant Departments to ensure the system is effective.
Ensuring employees get the money they are owed is a priority. Where employees are owed monies but their employer has gone in to liquidation, they are entitled to claim for the difference between their rate of pay and the NMW, through the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS). The RPS will consider these claims and make payments, within certain statutory limits, to employees.
The Government has also taken action to strengthen the enforcement powers available for NMW breaches, including ensuring that every criminal breach of the NMW Act is considered for Director Disqualification.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 25882, if he will list the (a) 27 categories of information held in the Asset Management data set, (b) 13 categories of information held in the Facilities Management data set and (c) four categories of information held under the Finance data set.
George Freeman
The information requested is contained in the accompanying table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stringer on 2016-03-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the evidential basis for new guidelines on alcohol limits in respect of proposed metabolisation of alcohol by men and women.
Jane Ellison
The Government asked Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), to oversee a review of the alcohol guidelines, to ensure these are founded on the best science and so that the guidelines help people at all stages of life to make informed choices about their drinking.
The Guidelines Development Group considered questions of individual variation, of which one issue is variations in the rates at which individuals metabolise alcohol. Their advice is clear that the weekly guideline is advice for the general population, which individuals need to consider in the light of their own individual characteristics.
A “List of supporting evidence” on the consultation page (where all the documents, such as the reports and evidence papers are listed) can be downloaded at:
https://app.box.com/s/wlludrmim3gd83r28c4oqb3upj68cqia
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to maintain the statutory status of all the farm animal welfare codes.
George Eustice
The Government intends to retain statutory farm animal welfare codes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-05-18.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the aim of the Government’s policy on the new soft drinks levy is to persuade manufacturers to stop selling the regular full sugar versions of their drinks products.
Damian Hinds
The aim of the soft drinks industry levy is to help tackle obesity by encouraging producers to reformulate their overall product mixes by reducing added sugar content, helping their customers to choose low-sugar and sugar-free brands, and by reducing the portion sizes for high sugar drinks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that staff in her Department receive religious literacy training.
James Brokenshire
Civil Service Learning, the main training provider for the Home Office, has a broad range of diversity and inclusion learning opportunities which are available to all staff.
Horizon (the Home Office intranet) hosts an information portal with resources to develop staff’s religious literacy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop peer support networks for breastfeeding.
Mr Philip Dunne
Public Health England (PHE) works with local services to create breastfeeding friendly communities, with midwives and health visitors to promote best practice, and, through our Start4Life social marketing programme, to provide parents with trusted National Health Service advice.
PHE has developed an infant feeding commissioning resource in partnership with Unicef to support local authorities in the delivery of a comprehensive approach to the commissioning of services that protect, promote and support breastfeeding. PHE also shares innovative approaches for supporting breastfeeding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) UK embassies, and (2) UK consular offices, have been closed since 6 May 2010, and where those closures took place.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has not closed any Embassies over this period. Operations were suspended in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli and Sana’a for security reasons. Tehran re-opened in August 2015.
The FCO currently has 268 posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices – Consular Offices are not classed as posts) worldwide. Since 2010 we have opened nine posts: in Juba (South Sudan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), San Salvador (El Salvador), Seattle (USA), Vientiane (Laos), Mogadishu (Somalia), Port au Prince (Haiti), Asuncion (Paraguay) and Wuhan (China). We have also upgraded eight posts: in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Calgary (Canada), Monrovia (Liberia), Recife (Brazil), Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad (India).
Since 2010, we have closed the following Consulates and Consular Offices in Europe and elsewhere:
2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland
2011: Three: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy; Consulate Florence, Italy
2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Funchal, Portugal; Consular Office Oporto, Portugal
2013: Four: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand; Consular Office, Thessaloniki, Greece; Consular Office, Andorra; Consular Office Willemstad, Curaçao
2014: Two: Consular Offices in Cali and Cartagena, Colombia. The FCO also withdrew its Provincial Reconstruction Team from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan
2015: Two: Consulate Chiang Mai, Thailand; Consular Office Bodrum, Turkey.
The FCO downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:
2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy
2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain.
Since 2010, we have developed new technology and new ways of working that has enabled us to deliver services differently in some areas. We now have three Consular Contact Centres that take calls from all consular customers, and are able to support around 80 per cent of those calling without further escalation to post, helping to ensure that Consular staff in-country are able to focus their time on those most in need of help. Some services have also been centralised, with customers able to access them by post, and increasingly through digital channels.