The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether any civil servants that transferred to his Department from other Government departments or public bodies received severance pay or other similar payments.
Mark Garnier
There are no civil servants that will receive severance pay or any other payments as part of their transfer to the Department for International Trade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Prime Minister’s contribution of 12 October 2016, HC Deb, column 297, which countries have actively approached the UK about potential trade deals.
Greg Hands
We are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU. As the Prime Minister has recently said, countries including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea have already told us they would welcome talks on future free trade agreements, and we have already agreed to start scoping discussions on trade agreements with Australia. More recently, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade announced the establishment of a UK-New Zealand trade policy dialogue that will cover market access and trade policy issues of mutual interest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its public bodies allocated to (i) the Greater London Authority, (ii) the Mayor of London and (iii) London boroughs to support cultural projects in the last fiscal year.
Matt Hancock
a) The Government has been clear that the right balance of funding between London and the regions continues to require attention, and, as such, there has been a shift in spending on National Portfolio funding away from London over the last five years. £25.28 was spent per head in 2015/16 compared with £29.09 in 2011/12. ACE have also confirmed that the amount of funding for NPOs outside London will increase in the 2018-2022 portfolio.
In addition, in May last year, Arts Council England (ACE) announced they will increase the percentage of Lottery funding distributed outside London from 70% to 75% by the end of 2018; and invest over £35 million in the Ambition for Excellence fund – over £31 million of which will be spent outside London.
b) This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the 2013 Lough Erne G8 Leaders’ Communiqué, published on 18 June 2013, what progress has been made on implementing the commitments in paragraphs (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 8 and (e) 10 of that document; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Gauke
An update on UK progress of commitments in the G8 Lough Erne Leaders Communique can be found in the 2013 UK G8 Presidency Report, published on the Government’s website at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/271676/G8_report_WEB_FINAL.PDF
Since then the Prime Minister has updated the House in June following the 2015 G7 summit. There has been significant progress on the Lough Erne commitments, including the finalisation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting package (further information published on the OECD website), agreeing global standards on Automatic Exchange of Information in taxation and furthering international free trade agreements.
In addition, the G7 publishes an accountability report which monitors progress on the promises made on development. The last report was published in 2013, and the next one will be published next year under the Japanese presidency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many (a) Saturdays, (b) Sundays and (c) Bank Holidays he has attended meetings, receptions or other official functions in his capacity as Secretary of State.
Jane Ellison
My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the National Health Service, and is on call and briefed on relevant events seven days a week, including public holidays. He routinely works on Departmental business at the weekends, which includes attending meetings, visiting frontline services and carrying out official engagements where relevant.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) clinical commissioning groups, (b) hospital trusts and (c) health and well-being boards on BRCA gene testing for (i) patients who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and (ii) people identified as likely to have the BRCA gene mutation due to their family history.
Jane Ellison
NHS England published a new Clinical Commissioning Policy on Genetic Testing for BRCA1/2 mutations in July 2015, based on updated guidelines issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This policy applies to patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer and people likely to have the BRCA gene mutation due to their family history.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) the Forestry Commission, (b) the Water Services Regulation Authority, (c) the Animal and Plant Health Agency, (d) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, (e) the Rural Payments Agency, (f) the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, (g) the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, (h) the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (i) the Consumer Council for Water, (j) the Environment Agency, (k) the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, (l) the Marine Management Organisation, (m) the National Forest Company, (n) Natural England and (o) the Sea Fish Industry Authority; how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those orqanisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.
George Eustice
Defra is in the midst of a corporate services and network transformation programme which is yielding significant reductions in communication staff. Our rigorous controls on communication spending are expected to save £1 million in 2015-2016. The detail requested will be placed in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many press and public relations staff are employed by her Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by her Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The Northern Ireland Office employs four communications officers who deal with press and public relations as part of their roles. One is paid more than (a) £50,000 and none are paid more than (b) £100,000 per year. Total expenditure for press and public relations for the current financial year is £255,230 which includes staff time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will maintain the policy that payments made by Alliance House in relation to infected blood are disregarded for the purpose of tax or benefit assessments once the reformed system of payments is introduced.
Jane Ellison
As under the existing schemes, the current consultation on reform of the schemes proposes that any future payments would be in addition to any other source of income an individual may receive, and disregarded for the purposes of calculating income tax and eligibility for calculating other state benefits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has investigated the airstrikes of 3 June 2015 in al-‘Eram and Sa’da, Yemen.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Saudi Arabian authorities have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate incidents of concern at a press conference on 31 January. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that civilians have been targeted.