Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 28925, if his Department will begin collecting information on the proportion of foreign graduates who take up employment in the NHS; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that the public purse receives value for money when subsidising medicine degrees for foreign nationals.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department has no current plans to collect information on the numbers of foreign medical graduates who take up employment in the National Health Service.

    Non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals pay full tuition fees when studying medicine in the United Kingdom and make a contribution to the UK economy. The Government has no current plans to introduce legislation to secure better value for money from non-EEA nationals studying medicine in the UK.

  • Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Naseby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what definition of lobbying” is used by the Department of Health in its grant application process.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department does not provide definitions of specific words used in the grant application processes, used by Voluntary Sector organisation. The Department policy clearly states that grants will not be awarded if there is any indication within the application that some or all of any funding awarded will be used to support political activities.

    Grants Hub issued award letters have a standard term in the award letter which reinforces that no aspect of the activity being funded by the Department should be party political in intention, use or presentation.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of (a) salaries, (b) pension contributions and (c) indemnity costs and other associated costs of running a GP practice.

    Alistair Burt

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes an annual report on general practitioner (GP) earnings and expenses. The most recent report was published in September 2015 and covered 2013/14.

    The report showed that the average income of a contractor GP working under a General Medical Services (GMS) contract, or a Personal Medical Services (PMS) contract in the United Kingdom in 2013/14 was £99,800. The average total expenses for GMS or PMS contractors in the UK in 2013/14 was £173,800.

    Source: GP Earnings and Expenses 2013/14, Health and Social Care Information Centre. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many full-time equivalent trade negotiators his Department has in post (a) in total, (b) with at least a year’s experience, (c) with at least five years’ experience and (d) with at least 10 years’ experience.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade has a strong and capable trade policy team with many years of negotiating expertise. We will continue to hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere in order to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 404 of the Education Act 1996, what her Department’s policy is on the teaching of sex and relationships education in proposed new grammar schools.

    Edward Timpson

    Our plan is that the curriculum requirements that apply to existing grammar schools will apply to any proposed new grammar schools.

    The requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996 for schools to have a statement of their policy on the provision of sex education applies to maintained schools, and the requirement to teach sex education (under section 80 of the Education Act 1996) applies to maintained secondary schools only. Grammar schools operating in the maintained sector are required to teach sex education and must adhere to the requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996.

    Academies, including grammar schools which are academies, must teach a broad and balanced curriculum and in respect of sex education, they must – like maintained schools – have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education guidance issued in 2000. The guidance stipulates that schools must have an up-to-date policy in relation to their sex and relationship education provision. The guidance can be access via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sex-and-relationship-education

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the 5,000 peacekeepers proposed by the African Union to protect civilians within Burundi will be safely accepted by the Burundian government.

    James Duddridge

    The UK supports the African Union’s efforts to address the current security situation in Burundi, including the proposed peacekeeping mission. We are working with African and other international partners to encourage Burundi to accept the mission and to cooperate fully with the peacekeepers. I have regularly engaged the Burundian Government and key bilateral and multilateral partners on the deteriorating situation in Burundi, including a visit to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi on 15-17 December 2015. I intend to raise these issues with the Burundian Foreign Minister at the African Union Summit at the end of this month.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department has provided to the European Commission on whether criteria for triggering the proposed emergency brake on EEA welfare payments have been met.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government has had detailed technical talks with the European Institutions, during which information was shared across a range of issues including the nature of the United Kingdom’s welfare system.

  • Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made by his Department or NHS England of the effect of minor ailments services provided by community pharmacies on demand for the services of GP practices and other parts of the NHS; and what assessment he has made of the effect of planned reductions in funding for pharmacies on those services.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England has taken account of the potential impact of a pharmacy minor ailments service on general practitioner services and other parts of the National Health Service. The findings of the Minor Ailment study (‘MINA’ study), conducted by the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with NHS Grampian and the University of East Anglia, on behalf of Pharmacy Research UK in 2014, were considered. In addition, evaluations of local minor ailments schemes have continued to inform decision-making about local commissioning of such schemes.

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

    Local commissioning and funding of services from community pharmacies, such as minor ailment services, will be unaffected by these proposals.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimates his Department has made of the range for the value of liabilities arising from the sale of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    Government policy is to move the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in to the private sector. Following a sale, GIB’s contractual liabilities will be funded by its new shareholders. To the extent that HM Government retains a minority stake, the Government will contribute funds towards those contractual commitments on a pro rata basis for UK based investments.

    Separately, as part of the sale process, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has entered into an agreement with Poyry (provider of electricity market reports and price forecasting) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider) (electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)(electricity market report and associated price forecast provider)to share information with potential bidders to help them to undertake due diligence. This agreement requires BIS to provide an indemnity to Poyry in relation to any resulting liability Poyry might incur. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills set out details of the indemnity in his written ministerial statement of 21 March (HCWS633) including his view that the likelihood of it being called upon is low. A Departmental minute explaining the procedure followed and describing the liabilities undertaken has also been placed in the Libraries of the House.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK Erasmus students, lecturers and research fellows in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    Over 200,000 British Students have been able to study abroad on the Erasmus programme. Access to this programme is just one of the many reasons why the Government believes we are safer, stronger and better off inside a reformed EU.