Tag: Andrew Gwynne

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had to date with representatives of pharmaceutical companies on the UK voting to leave the EU.

Mr Robin Walker

Ministers have met with the Association of The British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) , and The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union will be attending the EU UK Life Science Steering Board. We will continue to consult with a broad range of stakeholders on the implications of the referendum result, including the pharmaceutical industry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to introduce a limit to the number of Hackney carriage and private hire driver licences local authorities can issue.

Andrew Jones

Under section 16 of the Transport Act 1985 local licensing authorities outside of London have the power to limit the number of licensed Hackney carriages if they are satisfied that there is no significant demand for the services of Hackney carriages (within the area to which the licence would apply) which is unmet. There are no powers to restrict the number of Hackney carriages in London or private hire vehicles in or outside of London and the Government has no plans to introduce any such legislation at this time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what data his Department has that demonstrate the effect of the Troubled Families programme on rates of domestic violence and abuse in (a) England and (b) the Greater Manchester authority area in each year since 2012.

Mr Marcus Jones

Domestic violence was not included in the target outcomes of the first Troubled Families Programme (2012-15). Given this, we did not have a robust national or local measure to assess prevalence of domestic violence families for the first programme.

Domestic abuse has now been included as one of the six key headline problems of the new Troubled Families Programme (2015 – 2020). As part of the evaluation of the new programme, we are collecting data from all local authorities on police recorded incidents of domestic violence. This includes the Greater Manchester authority areas. We are also measuring self-reported domestic abuse through a survey of over 1,000 families using the same measure as the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The evaluation will report, in due course, the changes in these measures once sufficient families have progressed beyond intervention to make a robust assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

Nick Gibb

Information in the form requested is not held centrally and could be estimated only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many aircraft owned by each service branch of the armed forces are leased to private businesses; and how much is paid to each such branch in respect of such leases.

Mr Philip Dunne

No aircraft owned by the Armed Forces are leased to private businesses.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve integrated working between health visitors and children’s centres.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Children’s centres provide access to health services – either by providing the services or by providing advice and assistance on gaining access to services. Local authorities and local health commissioners have statutory duties to consider providing services through children’s centres to ensure that families get access to the services they need. The transfer of responsibility for public health services to local authorities in October this year provides new opportunities for local areas to configure health services to best effect.

The Department of Health has been working with local authorities in order to ensure sharing regular and timely updates of live birth data between NHS trusts and children’s centres and have mapped out a process for putting in place appropriate arrangements to support a national solution.

Children’s centres can also have a key role in delivering integrated reviews, which check a child’s health and educational progress at age two.

Future policy on children’s centres will be informed by the planned consultation on the future of children’s centre services, which is due to be launched shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce errors in the dispensing of aseptic pharmaceutical products.

George Freeman

The manufacturing process for aseptic pharmaceutical products by licensed Specials manufacturers is subject to Good Manufacturing Practice and Good Pharmacovigilance Practice – both of which are monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Aseptic compounding in pharmacies and health clinics under the section 10 exemption of the Medicines Act 1968 is carried out under the supervision of a pharmacist and is subject to periodic audits by National Health Service quality assurance pharmacists.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Leader of the House, what the order of precedence is for induction to the Privy Council.

Chris Grayling

By custom and convention, the Order of precedence for the induction of new members of the Privy Council is that those wishing to take an Oath are appointed first, followed by those wishing to make affirmation. Other than this distinction, the Order of induction is alphabetical. Privy Counsellor appointments are published after each Privy Council meeting and are available at http://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/privy-council/privy-council-meetings/.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) arrests and (b) convictions have been made under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 in each month since May 2013.

Andrew Selous

The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under Section 127 of the Communication Act 2003, in England and Wales, in each month since May 2013 to December 2014 (the latest available) can be viewed in the attached table.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times debt repayments to his Department have been written off in each year since 2010; and what the value of such debts were in each such year.

Alistair Burt

The number and value of debt repayments written-off in each year since 2010* is outlined in the table below.

Year debt written-off	Value of Debt written-off	Number of cases written-off
2014/15	£682,428	9
2013/14	£47,909	4
2012/13	£155,615	8
2011/12	£344,897	3
2010/11	£1,806,698	8

*2015/16 data is still being audited and will be available when the final accounts are published later this year.

Debt repayments written off occur when income due was not collected and deemed not recoverable.The value of debt written-off can vary year on year as they relate to largely external factors. There can be a variety of reasons, but mainly where companies enter liquidation and are unable to pay. This is known in the Departmental Annual Report and Resource Account publication as claims waived or abandoned. Some of the detail of significant claims waived and abandoned (above the reporting threshold of £250,000) are reported separately in the Annual Report and Resource Account Publication and further details are shown below.