The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times he has visited West Cumberland Hospital in an official capacity in each of the last four years.
Ben Gummer
The Secretary of State for Health and his Ministerial team have not undertaken any visits in an official capacity to the West Cumberland Hospital in the last four years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department plans to raise awareness among schools and head teachers of solutions they can choose to help children enjoy physical activity every day.
Nicola Blackwood
The County Sport Partnerships (CSPs) will continue to work with schools to raise awareness of local sport and physical activity opportunities. As announced in the recently published Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action, CSPs will now also be working with the National Governing Bodies of sport and other national and local providers, to ensure that every school in England has access to high quality sport and physical activity programmes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-14.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for mandatory reconsideration of a tax credits decision are awaiting determination by Concentrix.
Mr David Gauke
The number of requests for mandatory reconsideration of a decision about a tax credits award that Concentrix have received since the commencement of their contract with HM Revenue and Customs in November 2014 is as follows:
|
Month |
Number of MRs |
|
November 2014 |
0 |
|
December 2014 |
2 |
|
January 2015 |
6 |
|
February 2015 |
38 |
|
March 2015 |
29 |
|
April 2015 |
137 |
|
May 2015 |
100 |
|
June 2015 |
45 |
|
July 2015 |
71 |
|
August 2015 |
108 |
|
September 2015 |
1221 |
|
October 2015 |
925 |
|
November 2015 |
871 |
|
December 2015 |
2371 |
The total is about 1.6% of all decisions Concentrix made in the same period.
As of 15 January 2016, there are 566 mandatory reconsiderations in progress that have been opened and Concentrix are waiting for customers to provide further evidence. Concentrix have 30 further mandatory reconsiderations that are awaiting determination.
The average length of time taken between Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and making a decision is 24 days. This includes the time needed for customers to provide any further evidence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-02-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total sum to date that has been paid in compensation to persons found guilty of terrorist-related offences in Northern Ireland whose convictions have been overturned because the activities of British agents were not disclosed to the courts; how many further such claims for compensation are pending; and whether compensation will be paid if more claims are made.
Lord Dunlop
It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny the involvement of agents of the Security and Intelligence Agencies in any specific activity in order to protect the UK’s national security. I am therefore unable to comment further.
However, where national security sensitive information is relevant to an application for compensation for a miscarriage of justice in Northern Ireland, for example where the Court of Appeal is unable to make public its full reasons for quashing the conviction, the decision on whether compensation is payable is one for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. In making that decision, she will apply the new test set out in section 133(1Z) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, namely that compensation is payable “if and only if the new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that the person did not commit the offence”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department applied in selecting the areas for the campaign, Together we can tackle child abuse.
Edward Timpson
This is the first ever nationwide campaign on this issue promoted by the Government. Its aim is to raise awareness amongst the public about abuse and neglect and how to report suspected instances. This is a nationwide campaign and we have been working with all local authorities to promote it. We have provided a toolkit of materials, which can be used across the country to support the campaign locally.
This year, we ran a pilot, paid-for campaign in 33 local authorities in the West Midlands and Outer London where we have paid for out-of-home, digital and radio advertising. These areas were chosen because of their dense and diverse populations. The overall cost of the campaign has been up to £1m.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many medically qualified panel members of HM Courts and Tribunals services in the North East of England are orthopaedic specialists.
Mr Shailesh Vara
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not hold the requested information centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Office of Rail and Road super-complaint response report, published in March 2016, paragraph 207, which three train operating companies scored 0 per cent for their sampled mystery shops.
Claire Perry
The Department does not have this information. We understand the Office of Rail and Road intends to publish the results of this work, alongside its first annual report on consumers titled ‘Measuring Up’, shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-06-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make the police information number 101 a free phone number.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The public have always paid to contact the police for non-emergencies and the 15 pence per call charge is a competitive and transparent rate, especially when compared to previous police non-emergency numbers (such as 0845 numbers) which could cost up to 40 pence per minute.
Research by Ofcom shows that a small fixed charge does not deter people from calling the service and reduces the likelihood of it being used inappropriately.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NICE last approved a breast cancer medicine for routine use on the NHS through the technology appraisal process.
Nicola Blackwood
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has confirmed that the last piece of technology appraisal guidance recommending a breast cancer drug was on gemcitabine for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (TA116), published in January 2007.
A number of drugs for the treatment of breast cancer have been made available through the Cancer Drugs Fund since it was established in 2010. The Fund has now helped 95,000 people in accessing life-extending cancer drugs that would not otherwise have been available to them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McLaughlin on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the UK’s ratification of the European Charter for Minority or Regional Languages, what steps the Government is taking to facilitate and promote use of the Gaelic language in reserved agencies and policy areas.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Whilst there is currently no UK legislative requirement for Gaelic language broadcasting to be funded by the Exchequer, some of the UK Government’s commitments under Article 11 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages are fulfilled by BBC Alba’s content, in tandem with the Gaelic radio service provided by the BBC, Radio nan Gaidheal. MG ALBA is a public body, set up by UK legislation and funded predominantly by the Scottish Government. In addition, two one-off funding allocations of £1 million were provided for MG ABLA for the period 2014-16.
MG ALBA’s principal functions relate to the provision of Gaelic programmes. It works in partnership with the BBC to operate the channel, BBC ALBA. Scotland continues to enjoy the live stream from BBC ALBA and programmes are available on the BBC website via iPlayer for the rest of the UK.