Tag: 2016

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish an annual report on the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy in 2016; and when he expects the next five year report on that strategy to be published.

    Jane Ellison

    The UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy (2013-2018) annual progress report, 2015, was delayed to give the Report a stronger ‘one health’ perspective and to better reflect progress across the four nations, which required additional analytical work. We hope to publish the report shortly.

    The Department has just commissioned an independent scoping study to inform the evaluation of the current strategy which will inform any future strategy document.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the loss of local authorities’ access to housing benefit claim data on their ability to target services and support tenants effectively; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Local authorities are the data owners of Housing Benefit data. DWP shares customer data with local authorities in order for them to assess claims more effectively and quickly and to help them to keep claims right. We have contingency arrangements in place, should those interfaces fail.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) internal and (b) externally commissioned research his Department has conducted on potential links between the levels of tax and illicit trade in the alcohol and tobacco sectors.

    Jane Ellison

    The government considers a number of different factors when deciding duty rates for alcohol and tobacco, including the impact on the illicit trade.

    HMRC have published econometric analysis of cigarette and alcohol consumption, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-revenue-and-customs-research-working-papers.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Simon Kirby

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose. More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with energy suppliers on the effect of pre-payment meter tariffs on low-income households’ energy costs.

    Amber Rudd

    My Right Hon member, DECC Ministers and officials meet with energy companies on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.

    The Government shares the CMA’s concerns that there is a lack of competitive tariffs for pre-payment customers, despite the recent increase in competition from independent suppliers.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the market works effectively for all consumers, including through implementing the final recommendations of the CMA following their investigation.

    In the meantime, we will continue our focus on keeping bills down through promoting competition, making switching quicker and easier and providing direct help to the most vulnerable.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant the Answer of 18 December 2015 to Question 20074, on mental health services: children, when he expects that the thematic review will be (a) finished and (b) published.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England aims to finalise and publish its thematic review of how the mental health needs of children and young people in vulnerable groups have been addressed as part of the overall Local Transformation Plan analysis by 30 April 2016. A number of thematic reviews have been commissioned as part of the overall analysis of the Local Transformation Plans. One of these thematic reviews focuses on vulnerable groups of children and young people, which will include children who have been abused.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many (a) Arabic speakers with an operational level (C1) examination pass and (b) Mandarin Cantonese speakers were employed by his Department in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2010.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I refer my rt hon. Friend to my answer of 10 February 2016 (PQ 25484).

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that private contractors invest in prisons throughout the length of the management contract.

    Andrew Selous

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for the management of the 14 private prisons in England and Wales.

    The terms of each contract include an agreed level of service. There are financial remedies which apply where a provider fails to achieve this expected level of performance, making sure that they have an incentive to properly support the rehabilitation of offenders on an ongoing basis.

    There are clear processes in place to monitor performance and identify emerging issues. Each private prison has an on-site Controller, accountable for providing assurance that the contracts for each prison are delivered in accordance with agreed contractual delivery indicators, and that the prison provides safe, decent and secure services in line with performance standards.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative information his Department holds on the rate of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects in the UK and in other EU member states.

    Ben Gummer

    The prevalence of neural tube defects in live births, fetal deaths (over 20 weeks’ gestation) and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly in 2012 in the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers, registers (covering 36% of the births in England and Wales) was 12.5 per 10,000 births (source: Congenital anomaly statistics 2012, England and Wales (2014)).

    In European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies registries (covering 25.8% of the births in the United Kingdom) the prevalence of neural tube defects in 2012 for the UK was 12.53 neural tube defects per 10,000 births. By comparison, other European Union member states ranged from 1.75 per 10,000 births to 17.37 per 10,000 births. Differences in total prevalence rates may reflect a number of factors including genetic and environmental differences.

    Data on prevalence is available at:

    http://www.eurocat-network.eu/AccessPrevalenceData/PrevalenceTables

    “

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the economy in Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government is clear that we are safer, stronger and better off in the EU.

    Reports by HM Treasury are clear that leaving the EU would bring serious economic costs that would affect businesses, jobs, living standards and public finances for decades to come.