The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hoyle on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of the contract awarded to Sport and Entertainment Ltd for organising the Queen’s Patron Lunch on Sunday 12 June; and why this contract did not go out to tender.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Patron’s Lunch, held on Sunday 12 June is not a government-run event.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under their counter-terrorism policy, it is acceptable to debate the nature of, and to criticise, all religions, including Islam, even if those arguments or criticisms offend adherents to those religions; and if not, whether they plan to clarify any limits on freedom of speech that that policy might impose.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
As the Prevent Strategy explicitly states the Government is absolutely committed to protecting freedom of speech. Section 31 of the Counter-Terrorism & Security Act 2015, for example includes specific protection for universities in this regard, and statutory guidance for schools makes the Prevent duty affirm our commitment that schools should be safe spaces in which children and young people can understand and discuss sensitive issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the net change in the number of jobs in the UK since 23 June 2016.
Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage manufacturers to introduce resource and energy efficiency measures.
Anna Soubry
The Government’s top priority is to continue creating a highly competitive business environment that makes the UK an attractive location for new manufacturing investment in sustainable processes. We are protecting spending on innovation and the cutting-edge smart manufacturing technologies that will encourage digital, virtual, resource-efficient factories in the future. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult has skills, expertise and equipment available to help partner companies improve the efficiency and sustainability of their processes. As part of Autumn Statement 2015, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that funding to the nine existing Catapults would increase in real terms over the Spending Review period ensuring the UK remains a world leader in high-value manufacturing.
In addition, we are taking into account UK business opportunities during negotiations on the EU Circular Economy proposals which include aims to improve business sustainability, resource and energy efficiency.
At the Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced a review of the business energy efficiency tax landscape and Government launched a consultation in September. The consultation set out proposals for delivering a simpler and more stable environment for business that will reduce administrative costs and improve incentives to invest in energy efficiency. This will help increase the productivity of UK businesses, save carbon emissions and ensure secure energy supplies. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and is likely to publish its formal response at Budget 2016.
I would be delighted to receive further representations from the Manufacturing Commission on their recent Industrial Evolution report.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will instruct the Working Group conducting the Post Implementation Review of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 to (a) review and (b) make recommendations on enforcement of the national minimum wage for seafarers employed on (i) UK and (ii) non-UK registered vessels.
Mr Robert Goodwill
I refer the honourable Member to my response of 29 January 2016 (UIN 24307) http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=24307.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many housing providers made representations to his Department about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.
Justin Tomlinson
So far representations have been made by 93 individuals and 16 housing providers about the proposed change of social sector housing benefit to the level of local housing allowance.
DWP Ministers and officials will continue to have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-03-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any plans for a database of outcomes from innovative medical treatments will be subject to the patient level extraction process of the Standardisation Committee for Care Information.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Access to Medical Treatments (Innovations) Bill, which has passed through all Parliamentary stages and is awaiting Royal Assent, provides a power to the Secretary of State for Health to direct the Health and Social Care Information Centre to; design, build and operate a database of innovative medicines which clinicians may wish to consider helping their patients gain access to, which will be implemented using internationally standardised medical coding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on how the Government plans to transpose the provisions of the EU Tobacco Products Directive on restrictions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law to take account of Public Health England’s conclusions on the level of harm e-cigarettes cause relative to smoking.
Jane Ellison
The Government recognises that electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) help smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. At the same time, it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and that we continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. For this reason, the Department welcomes the new rules set out in the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) which will apply in the United Kingdom from 20 May 2016.
The Government has taken a minimal approach to transposition of the TPD provisions on e-cigarette advertising into UK law, taking into account existing European case law. The Directive requires a prohibition of e-cigarette advertising in certain media such as TV and newspapers and online, but not for example on billboards. The provisions are compatible with the right to an individual’s freedom of speech and do not prevent individuals’ independent reviews on social media or internet forums. These provisions are enacted by The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016/507 and changes to the Office of Communications Broadcast Codes.
The Department will work in close partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards, including on the need for further guidance for businesses, especially in the first year of implementation to build compliance with the new requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of research proposals submitted through the Joint Electronic Submission System which have been judged to cross the boundary between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the UK Space Agency have gone through to peer review.
Joseph Johnson
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) runs a remit query service which enables researchers to discuss proposals in advance with the UK Space Agency (UKSA) should they consider their research idea to fall between discipline boundaries. This enables research council staff, and those from UKSA, to agree on which agency or council is best placed to carry out peer review to assess the merits of the proposal. Where a proposal is cross-disciplinary, UKSA and EPSRC work together to agree a leading council/agency to carry out peer review functions, with reviewers selected from both organisations. There has been one project in the last three years which was submitted to EPSRC through Je-S and was assessed by programme managers as cross boundary. The proposal went through the peer review process and was funded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2016, to Question 42888, how many clinical commissioning groups were rated as inadequate for 2015-16; and how many such inadequate ratings given in relation, at least in part, to poor IVF provision.
David Mowat
There were 26 clinical commissioning groups rated as inadequate for 2015-16. The ratings do not go into such a degree of granularity as to reference specific services or treatments (for example IVF provision).