The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24355, whether his Department has carried out any feasibility studies or other assessments of basic income or similar schemes since 1990.
Damian Hinds
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 1 February 2016, reference 24355.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in her Department.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
My Department directly employs one Band F cleaner whose rate of pay is between £15,440-£16,000 per year. We also have a contract with Serco to provide cleaners at an hourly rate of £7.65. These cleaners all work in our Belfast office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will meet with NICE, NHS England and Vertex to discuss the provision on the NHS of the drug Orkambi to treat cystic fibrosis.
George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently consulting on its draft technology appraisal guidance on the use of Orkambi (lumacaftor in combination with ivacaftor) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis in people who are homozygous for the F508del mutation. Stakeholders, including the Department, NHS England and the manufacturer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, now have an opportunity to comment on this draft guidance.
Departmental officials remain ready to discuss any proposals from the company that could enable National Health Service patients to access the drug at a cost-effective price.
NICE expects to publish its final guidance in July 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what evaluation his Department has undertaken of the adequacy of the (a) current and (b) future workforce requirements for clinical psychologists under the NHS England transformation plan for achieving the goals of the five-year forward view.
Alistair Burt
Health Education England (HEE) is working with NHS England, Public Health England, professional bodies, charities, experts-by-experience and others to develop and deliver a costed, multi-disciplinary workforce strategy for the future shape and skill mix of the workforce (including clinical psychologists) required to deliver the independent Mental Health Taskforce’s Five Year Forward View and the workforce recommendations set out in Future in Mind. This strategy will deliver the necessary workforce skill mix and capacity to support the core Mental Health Taskforce recommendations for improved access and quality of care. In 2015/16, HEE commissioned 526 training places for clinical psychologists, maintaining its previous level of investment in this staff group.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employers received (a) one, (b) between two and four and (c) more than five fixed penalty fines for illegally employing immigrants in each of the last seven years.
James Brokenshire
The information provided refers to civil penalties for illegal working served to employers and is included in the table below.
| Civil penalties for illegal working issued to employers | ||||
| Employers issued 1 penalty in year | Employers issued 2 – 4 penalties in year | Employers issued 5+ penalties in year | TOTAL penalties issued (matches certified data) | |
| 2009/10 | 2167 | 172 | 0 | 2339 |
| 2010/11 | 1788 | 111 | 0 | 1899 |
| 2011/12 | 1291 | 50 | 0 | 1341 |
| 2012/13 | 1230 | 40 | 0 | 1270 |
| 2013/14 | 2046 | 98 | 5 | 2149 |
| 2014/15 | 1847 | 122 | 5 | 1974 |
| 2015/16 | 2328 | 220 | 46 | 2594 |
The data provided is for initial penalties only and penalties may have been reduced or cancelled at the objection or appeal stage.
N.B The data provided is sourced from a Home Office management information system which is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve ambulance response times.
Mr Philip Dunne
NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review is working to reform and improve the provision of urgent and emergency care in England. As part of the review, NHS England is considering how to improve responses to 999 calls and patient outcomes under the Ambulance Response Programme. We expect the programme will report its findings in autumn 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking fully to utilise the electricity interconnection between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK before the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
We are pleased that the Moyle interconnector is back up to full strength after a period of reduced capacity. This will help with security of supply, and the stability and flexibility of the grid in Northern Ireland.
One of the issues for the Moyle interconnector is that imports into Scotland are constrained by wider constraints on the Scottish grid and on the border between Scotland and England. A number of measures are being taken to strengthen the Scottish grid and grid connections to England. These include the Western HVDC link, which is due for completion in mid-2017 and will provide an additional 2.2GW of capacity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their most recent estimate of the unit cost of the UK’s F-35Bs has been revised (1) upwards, or (2) downwards, as a result of updated information provided by the US Joint Strike Fighter programme.
Earl Howe
We continue to see a reduction in aircraft unit costs which is in line with the estimates shown in the annual US Selected Acquisition Report. The UK’s F-35 programme remains within its cost approval limit as detailed in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the evidential basis is for clearing the 700 MHz band of spectrum requiring £600 million in funding; and what discussions his Department had with representatives of the programme making and special events sector prior to agreeing that figure.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In March 2015, Government announced funding of up to £600m to fund the clearance of the 700MHz band and, as part of the programme, we are committed to safeguarding the ongoing benefits of PMSE to the UK economy. Ofcom have published a consultation outlining alternative spectrum bands for PMSE users, and we are currently working with Ofcom to look at how PMSE users can be supported if they need to buy new equipment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Department of Health to encourage more people to walk.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Since 2013 the Department has worked with the Department of Health (DH) to deliver projects to increase walking levels in Norwich, Birmingham, Cambridge, Greater Manchester and Leeds/Bradford through DH funded Walking Cities programme. These projects have now started to achieve a cultural and strategic shift towards more walkable cities which complements the Department’s investment in measures to increase cycling levels through the Cycle Ambition Cities programme.
A report and evaluation summary of the interventions in Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford and Norwich reveals that 49% were more likely to choose walking and 47% felt fit and healthy as a result of being involved in the programme. The five Cities in receipt of Walking City funding have highlighted the need for capital funding to deliver infrastructure improvements to make walking safer and easier to support increased walking levels.