The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Brazilian government on ensuring adequate security for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mr Hugo Swire
I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 29 May given in response to PQ 38251.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, to which countries of concern on human rights the Government has authorised arms sales in the last year.
Mark Garnier
From January 2015 – March 2016 licences have been granted for military goods to the following countries of human rights concern:
Afghanistan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Burundi; Central African Republic; China; Colombia; Democratic Republic of Congo; Egypt; Iraq; Israel and The Occupied Palestinian Territories; Maldives; Pakistan; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Syria; Turkmenistan; Venezuela; Yemen and Zimbabwe.
Further details on all licences granted for export are publically available as Official Statistics at www.gov.uk.
All export licences are issued in strict accordance with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria and any sanctions or embargoes that may be in place at the time an application is submitted for consideration.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by MiDavies on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of a reduction in the number of healthcare professionals trained to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception on women’s access to contraception.
Nicola Blackwood
No such assessment has been made. Since 2013, local authorities have been mandated to commission open access contraceptive services, including intra-uterine methods that meet the needs of their local populations. Data published by NHS Digital on 19 October 2016 showed that the number of women fitted with intra-uterine methods in sexual and reproductive health services increased slightly from 2014/15 (121,900) to 2015/16 (123,500) and by 79% compared to 10 years ago.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (a) providing more funding through and (b) improving the effectiveness of the feed-in tariff incentive regime for smaller on-site anaerobic digestion in order to encourage cost-effective on-site treatment of food and farming residues and to reduce carbon emissions from the production of food.
George Eustice
The Government is committed to cost-effective decarbonisation of our electricity supply as well as protecting consumer bills by controlling costs passed on to consumers through their energy bills. Officials in Defra and the Department of Energy and Climate Change are currently working closely together in considering levels of support for anaerobic digestion through the Feed-in Tariff scheme and a consultation will be published in the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to amend UK marriage certificates to include mothers’ names.
James Brokenshire
There is agreement that the names of both parents should be included in the marriage entry. The Home Office has, therefore, been working with all interested parties to consider the most efficient and effective way to achieve this. Doing so is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes. A timetable will be confirmed for changes as soon as there is an opportunity to legislate on this matter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials of her Department have had with the trustees of the College of Teaching.
Nick Gibb
Officials from the Department for Education have met regularly with representatives of the trustees, and also with the ‘Claim Your College’ consortium of education organisations that led plans to establish the new professional body. The Department is continuing to hold discussions with trustees on what Government support would be helpful for the College.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which members of the armed forces work with trichloroethylene in the line of duty and the suitability of existing health and safety arrangements when this takes place.
Mark Lancaster
The assessment of exposure to hazardous chemicals, including Trichloroethylene, by Armed Forces personnel is covered by legislative requirements in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). These require that the employer makes a suitable and sufficient assessment of exposure to employees, and that any exposure is prevented or adequately controlled. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) fully complies with these regulations, through risk assessments of exposure to hazardous substances being undertaken at local level by the Chain of Command. This includes an assessment of the suitability of arrangements to prevent or control exposure.
The MOD is also aware that after 21 April 2016, an authorisation will be needed for continued use of Trichloroethylene and has arrangements in place to ensure compliance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34469, where the four portraits referred to in that Answer are located; and what proportion of all paintings and portraits in the Palace of Westminster those portraits represent.
Tom Brake
The four portraits are located in the following locations:
There are approximately 310 painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection.
The majority of the painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection are historical ones depicting members of the Royal Family and Parliamentarians pre-1900, of whom few were of black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) origin.
The Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art is committed to reflecting the diversity of the House today, and to recognising those who have influenced Parliament and contributed to its development in a notable way through the Parliamentary Art Collection. The Committee has agreed to give further consideration to the matter in the current Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is able to take to redistribute funding from clinical commissioning groups that are over their target allocation.
Alistair Burt
Responsibility for clinical commissioning group (CCG) allocations rests with NHS England rather than the Department, as set out in The Mandate. These decisions have been taken independently of Government, in order that such an important issue as funding is made objectively and free from perceived political considerations.
The funding allocated to all CCGs is based on the CCG allocations formula. This is based on advice provided by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). ACRA is an independent committee and reports jointly to the Secretary of State for Health (in regard to public health allocations) and NHS England in regard to CCG and primary care allocations.
In regards to determining how quickly to move CCGs from their current allocation to the target allocation determined by the allocations formula, NHS England’s objective is to reduce the ‘distance from target’ so that areas furthest below their target allocation receive the biggest increases, and areas above their target consequently receive smaller increases. This difference in the size of increases is a judgement – it is important to ensure service stability for those areas above target, and that increases for under target areas are not so large that resources are not used efficiently. The approach also takes account of the distance from target in each area for primary care and specialised services so that the overall funding position for the area is taken into account.
NHS England recently published a technical guide to allocations which sets out all the individual factors used in determining the allocation levels. The guide is available here:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2016/04/allocations-tech-guide-16-17/#
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme were granted in each year from 2008 to 2016; and how many apprentices are currently on the NHS Low Income Scheme.
David Mowat
The table below shows the number of applications to the NHS Low Income Scheme, and the certificates which were granted, in each year from 2008 to 2016:
|
Year |
HC1s Received |
HC2s Issued |
HC3s Issued |
|
2007/08 |
422,652 |
240,288 |
140,501 |
|
2008/09 |
445,608 |
252,037 |
148,018 |
|
2009/10 |
431,129 |
243,350 |
142,135 |
|
2010/11 |
433,075 |
249,193 |
139,375 |
|
2011/12 |
422,591 |
246,808 |
134,276 |
|
2012/13 |
399,375 |
229,618 |
122,580 |
|
2013/14 |
389,324 |
225,275 |
120,391 |
|
2014/15 |
385,131 |
214,975 |
113,964 |
|
2015/16 |
383,487 |
225,239 |
112,414 |
A HC2 certificate entitles the person (and their family) to full remission of the charge, whereas a HC3 certificate provides partial remission and indicates how much of the charge the person must pay.
Figures for apprentices who hold NHS Low Income Scheme certificates are not available, as information on who is an apprentice is not collected.
The overall cost to administer the NHS Low Income Scheme in the last three financial years are set out below. These figures represent the direct costs of the NHS Low Income Scheme service in England, Scotland and Wales. The figures do not include overheads associated with the wider infrastructure of the NHS Business Services Authority:
|
Year |
Cost (£) |
|
2015/16 |
1,469,034 |
|
2014/15 |
1,566,587 |
|
2013/14 |
1,594,957 |