The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any pay rises were awarded to special advisers in the Cabinet Office since 17 December 2015.
Ben Gummer
No pay rises have been awarded to Special Advisers in the Cabinet Office since 17 December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has (a) received from and (b) made to the Colombian government on the amount of coal mined in Colombia by children and young people aged under 16; and if he will make a statement.
Jesse Norman
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not engaged with the Colombian government on this issue. Departmental officials have had discussions with NGOs and industry bodies regarding coal mining in Columbia but have not been made aware of evidence to support these claims. We are aware that Columbia has laws in place to prevent child labour; if there is evidence to the contrary we would encourage the Hon Member to share it with officials.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether sixth form colleges that choose to become academies will be able to enter into contracts with the Skills Funding Agency.
Nick Boles
Sixth form colleges which become 16-19 academies will be able to enter into funding agreements with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), providing that they are enabled to do so at the time when the college becomes an academy. Applications from sixth form colleges which wish to hold SFA contracts will be considered in the light of forthcoming detailed guidance. This guidance will be published in February, and will set out the full criteria and process for sixth form colleges to apply to become academies as part of the post-16 area review process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Chairman of Committees what is the new role of the previous manager of Catering and Retail Services; what are his responsibilities; and to whom he reports.
Lord Laming
The postholder has been transferred to lead the Catering and Retail Services Change Programme on a full time basis until programme closure and then to embed its success into the Department’s business as usual activities. He reports to the Director of Facilities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 25611, on employment: telephone services, if he will commission an assessment of the outcome for workers of the transfer of the functions of the Pay and Work Rights Helpline to Acas from 1 April 2015.
Nick Boles
There is currently no plan to undertake a formal assessment of the outcome for workers regarding the transfer of the functions of the Pay and Work Rights Helpline to Acas.
Acas regularly monitor and test the service to help continually improve the customer journey.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shinkwin on 2016-03-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the RAPID study into cell-free DNA, non-invasive prenatal testing techniques, which projects that a further 102 babies with Down’s Syndrome will be detected every year if the screening is implemented; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such screening on the percentage of babies with a Down’s Syndrome diagnosis which is aborted, and of the prospective annual increase in the number of such abortions resulting from those detections.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) commissioned a full review of the published scientific and cost evidence (systematic review) relating to Non Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT). Based on the evidence from the systematic review and the pilot study, the UK NSC ran a three month consultation that closed on 30 October 2015 seeking views on whether NIPT be offered as an additional test to women identified with a higher risk of carrying a baby with a chromosomal condition.
The consultation was sent directly to 38 organisations and responses were received from 30 stakeholders. Details of the evidence recommendation can be found in the document titled, ‘cfDNA Systematic Review Final Report.’ Details of the organisations contacted can be found in Annex A of the document titled, ‘cfDNA Cover Sheet’ and consultation responses can be found in the document titled, ‘Screening for cfDNA Compiled Comments.’ All three documents were published on the UK NSC website and copies are attached.
The UK NSC review included the early findings from the Reliable Accurate Prenatal non-Invasive Diagnosis study. However, the possible introduction of NIPT for Down’s, Patau’s and Edwards’ syndromes to the National Health Service foetal anomaly screening programme does not fundamentally alter the choices presented to prospective parents regarding entering the foetal anomaly screening programme or not, or in options and choices available when testing identifies a foetus with a syndrome. Therefore, no assessment was made of the impact of NIPT on the number of abortions, Down’s Syndrome community and medical professional and society’s attitudes towards people with Down’s syndrome.
As NIPT for Down’s, Patau’s and Edward’s syndromes is giving more accurate information than women already get, the UK NSC does not consider it to raise any new ethical issues. However, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics held a workshop in January 2016 to consider the ethical aspects of introducing NIPT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government about the possibility of Wales hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Alun Cairns
The Wales Office continues to show its support for Wales to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I recently met with the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales and would welcome an opportunity to explore the details of a possible bid further with the new Welsh Government after the National Assembly Elections have taken place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more UK nationals to take up traineeships in the European Parliament and European Commission.
Mr David Lidington
The EU staffing unit, established in April 2013, promotes EU careers across the UK and supports candidates through the application process. It has increased secondments in positions of strategic importance to the UK. The European Fast Stream within the Civil Service has also been re-launched.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in home ownership in Calderdale since 2005.
Gavin Barwell
The department collects information on home ownership via the English Housing Survey (EHS). The size of the EHS sample does not permit us to produce local authority estimates. England figures going back to 1980 can be found in AT1.1 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501068/2014-15_Section_1_Households_tables_and_figures_FINAL.xlsx
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to negotiate with the Chinese government to seek concessions for UK companies affected by the recent decision of the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine to delay an update to the UK Health Certificate to allow UK exports of goat milk products.
George Eustice
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the British Embassy in Beijing are working closely with the Chinese Authorities to take forward these negotiations and review options for accelerating progress on an ongoing basis.