Tag: Chris Ruane

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the savings to the NHS from the use of mindfulness interventions to reduce the number of GP visits.

Norman Lamb

No such assessment of the saving to the National Health Service from the use of mindfulness interventions to reduce the number of general practitioner visits has been made.

The Department is aware of the Mental Health Foundation’s research into the impact of mindfulness. The benefits of mindfulness are widely recognised. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance for the NHS has recommended Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for recurrent depression since 2004. MBCT is available through a number of Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of children were in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last 20 years.

Esther McVey

Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income in the UK have consistently been reported using the FRS since 1998/99; these estimates are available for each financial year up to 2011/12, the latest period for which estimates are available.

All of these estimates can be found in the latest HBAI publication, available at the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201112 (ISBN 978-1-78153-531-8).

Relevant estimates can be found in Tables 4.16ts-4.17ts for relative low income (pages 135-136) and Tables 4.22ts-4.23ts for absolute low income (pages 141-142).

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of zero hour contracts on workers’ wellbeing.

Jenny Willott

No assessment of the effects of zero hours contracts on worker’s wellbeing has been made by this Department. However the Workplace Employers Relations Study (WERS) found that overall well-being of employees increased between 2004 and 2011 despite the recession. Overall job satisfaction also increased and is very high by international standards.

Zero hour contracts have a place in today’s labour market, supporting business flexibility, making it easier to hire new staff and providing pathways to employment for young people.

Following a public consultation, which closed in March this year, this Government has introduced legislation via the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill to ban the use of exclusivity clauses in contracts which do not guarantee any hours.