Tag: Greg Mulholland

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22645, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of answering that question for each of the resources that would be so required.

Justin Tomlinson

We estimate that it would require a departmental analyst to spend 4.5 working days to research, collate and analyse the data and around 0.5 further days of oversight and checking of methodology from a senior analyst. This would result in a total cost of around £1,500, which is significantly in excess of the limit for disproportionate costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on empowering tenants in the private rented sector to ensure landlords carry out reasonable repairs.

Brandon Lewis

On 1 February 2016 we issued a new Model Tenancy Agreement and updated our How to Rent Guide which makes clear landlord responsibilities in terms of carrying out repairs. The vast majority of landlords in the private rented sector provide good quality and well managed accommodation. We know that 84% of private renters are satisfied with their accommodation, and stay in their homes for an average of 3 and a half years.

If a tenant feels that the property they are renting is unsafe, and the landlord fails to get the necessary repairs done, they should contact their local authority which has powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to assess the risks and hazards. If a property is found to contain serious (category 1) hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action, which could range from trying to deal with the problems informally at first to prohibiting the use of the whole or part of the dwelling.

The Housing and Planning Bill contains measures to tackle rogue landlords who rent out sub-standard accommodation. Proposals include a database of rogue landlords and property agents, introducing banning orders for serious or repeat offenders, a tougher fit and proper person test, extending Rent Repayment Orders and introducing civil penalties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to announce a decision on access to Translarna after the NICE Highly Specialised Technology Committee meeting on 17 February 2016.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently evaluating Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy through its highly specialised technology programme. The publication date for NICE’s final guidance is to be confirmed.

NHS England has advised that it is in constructive discussions with the pharmaceutical company about the development of a managed access agreement for Translarna and a progress update will be given at the next NICE Evaluation Committee meeting on 17 February 2016.

In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in (a) Leeds and (b) Yorkshire have been diagnosed with autism.

Alistair Burt

This data is not collected centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who was on the interview panels for the recruitment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry

The following individuals formed the Interview Panel for this vacancy:

• Olivia Grant – a Public Appointment Assessor appointed by the regulator – The Commissioner for Public Appointments,
• Katherine Courtney – Enterprise Director from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and
• Lewis Shand Smith, Chief Ombudsman for Ombudsman Services, as the Independent Panel Member.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support children with Kawasaki disease.

George Freeman

The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy contains over 50 commitments to ensure people living with a rare disease, such as Kawasaki disease, have access to the best evidence-based care and treatment that health and social services, working with charities, researchers and industry can provide.

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in both scarlet fever and Kawasaki disease.

Health Education England works with bodies that set curricula such as the General Medical Council and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.

The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not published any specific guidance on the similarities between Kawasaki disease and scarlet fever.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on the assessment and initial management of fever in under 5s sets out the circumstances in which a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease should be considered, and Public Health England (PHE) has endeavoured to keep healthcare professionals, schools and the general public informed of the increased incidence of scarlet fever through timely information, news stories and updates on the PHE website and by using social and other media. These awareness raising measures assist general practitioners and other frontline healthcare professionals in reaching a correct diagnosis more quickly and encourage patients to seek medical advice early so that suspected cases receive prompt antibiotic treatment to reduce the risk of complications and limit further transmission.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations have been received from students and student groups by the taskforce on reducing violence against women and girls on university campuses.

Joseph Johnson

The Government asked Universities UK to establish a taskforce to explore what more can be done by the higher education sector to prevent, and respond effectively, to incidents of violence and sexual harassment against women, hate crimes and other forms of harassment. The taskforce is expected to report its findings in the autumn.

To date Universities UK have received 59 written representations from universities, plus additional evidence from a wide range of agencies and organisations.

Universities UK has published an update of the recent taskforce meeting, which addressed the Zellick guidelines. The Government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.256 of Budget 2016, what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Rugby Football League on his support for the UK’s bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

Greg Hands

As stated in Spending Review 15 the government supports the ambition to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in the Northern Powerhouse.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average hourly earnings were of his Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

Andrew Selous

There are multiple Terms and Conditions and multiple working patterns in operation at the MoJ. Providing an accurate and meaningful answer for both BME and non-BME employees would incur disproportionate costs.

The Civil Service is changing, and our recruitment seeks to reflect the make-up and composition of our nation as a whole. Historically, BME staff were under-represented: both in terms of previous recruitment patterns and the number and proportion in higher grades, both of these factors have contributed to the differences in average salaries.

We are making progress the proportion of BME staff in the Civil Service has risen from 9.2% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2015, but we recognise that there is still more to do.

In March, the Government published its 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 38217, on his Department’s BME pay gap, where the information about this is held; and what estimate he has made of the cost of providing the information.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence does not capture and report data on hourly earnings, and therefore does not provide comparative data in this way.

The Department has recently published an Equal Pay Audit 2015 report which can be found at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-equal-pay-audit-report-2015

This Audit presents a comparison of male to female and White to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) annualised average salaries in the period 1 October 2014 to 1 October 2015. This meets the Department’s obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty to provide information on its workforce identified by the Equality Act 2010.