Tag: Greg Mulholland

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise of 10 March 2016, Official Report, column 425, in what way Mr Newby has been assisting with the Pubs Code.

Anna Soubry

Mr Newby has not been involved in the drafting of and consultation process for the Pubs Code.

Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills met the Adjudicator after his appointment to provide him with a high level briefing on Part 4 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act and some areas of the draft Pubs Code in order to familiarise him with key aspects ahead of him taking up this important role. During the course of this briefing there was a discussion of some technical aspects of the Market Rent Only arbitration process – for example, the length of time it takes to appoint an independent expert – where the Adjudicator shared his professional insights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of victims rescued by the Forced Marriages Unit in each year since 2005 have been under 18 years old.

Karen Bradley

The jointly led Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leads on the Government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. Figures on the number of cases reported to the FMU via its public helpline and email inbox are published annually and are available on GOV.uk. The figures include a breakdown of cases by age range. The FMU acts in an advisory capacity, and information on the number of cases which resulted in prosecutions is therefore not collated centrally.

We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to send a clear message that this brutal practice will not be tolerated in the UK. We are encouraged by the first conviction in June 2015, and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent report shows that the volume of referrals from the police to the CPS has risen from 67 in 2013-14 to 82 in 2014-15. But there is still work to be done, and we will continue to work with partners to lead efforts to tackle this abhorrent crime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the NHS England consultation on a proposed method to support investment decisions in specialised commissioning launched on 12 April 2016 does not disadvantage potential treatments for rare diseases.

George Freeman

The consultation on a proposed method to support investment decisions in specialised commissioning closed on 11 May 2016. All responses will now be independently analysed, and NHS England will consider the report before making a final decision on the method to be used by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) when it meets in June 2016 to look at areas for future investment.

In recognition that there may be limited evidence to support proposed treatments for rare conditions, NHS England has proposed that the CPAG may recommend that interventions for rare conditions are funded where there is limited published evidence on clinical effectiveness. CPAG will also be able to seek advice from NHS England’s Rare Diseases Advisory Group – whose membership comprises of both clinicians and patient and public representatives.

To ensure people with rare diseases are not disadvantaged, NHS England’s consultation includes an Equality Impact Assessment which explicitly considers the impact of the proposed process on people with rare conditions, and respondents to consultation have been invited to submit their views on this issue.

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

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

Guto Bebb

The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right and is subject to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) policies for pay purposes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people in (i) Leeds North West constituency, (ii) the Leeds City Region, (iii) West Yorkshire and (iv) Yorkshire are paid less than the Living Wage Foundation’s living wage.

Chris Skidmore

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had representations on the research conducted by Professor Malone-Lee and University College London researchers on the effectiveness of the standard NHS tests for diagnosing urinary tract infections.

David Mowat

A search of the Department’s ministerial correspondence database has identified 12 items of correspondence received since 1 January 2016 about the research conducted by Professor Malone-Lee and University College London researchers on the effectiveness of the standard National Health Service tests for diagnosing urinary tract infections. This is a minimum figure which represents correspondence received by the Department’s ministerial correspondence unit only.

NHS commissioners are responsible for making decisions on individual treatments on the basis of the available evidence, taking into account guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) where available. NICE guidance is always evidence based, assuring us of the latest clinical thinking and research to determine the best treatment for patients.

NICE quality standards for urinary tract infections can be found here:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs90

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what treatment options are available to adults with uveitis to access anti-TNF treatment therapy who do not meet the exceptionality criteria of the individual funding request process.

David Mowat

Due to a lack of clinical evidence anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) to treat uveitis in adults is not currently routinely commissioned by the National Health Service. Therefore patients can only access the treatment through the individual funding request process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the senior management team at the Royal Bank of Scotland on that Bank’s global restructuring group and that group’s treatment of small businesses during the financial crisis.

Margot James

Since the beginning of this Parliament, no discussions have taken place between the Department and the senior management team at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) about the bank’s Global Restructuring Group. This matter is currently being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to support the increased use of wind and solar power.

Andrea Leadsom

In 2014, renewables provided nearly one fifth of the UK’s electricity needs[1] and we are on track to reach our aim of delivering 30 per cent by 2020. Generation from onshore wind, offshore wind and solar PV is making a significant contribution to achieving this aim due to the support these technologies receive through the Renewables Obligation (RO). The deployment of substantial amounts of solar PV and wind capacity has also been supported through the small-scale Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme.

In addition to the support provided through the RO and FITs, fifteen onshore wind, two offshore wind and three solar PV projects, with a combined installed capacity of nearly 2 gigawatts, signed a Contract for Difference (CfD) earlier this year following the first CfD allocation round. These projects are expected to commission between 2016/17 and 2018/19.

Onshore wind and solar PV have now reached the point where there is enough capacity in the pipeline to help the UK meet its 2020 renewables commitments. We are therefore proposing changes to RO and FITs support which are intended to ensure that deployment from these technologies remains affordable under the Levy Control Framework. The changes proposed to RO support for onshore wind through the Energy Bill will also deliver our election commitment to end subsides for new onshore wind.

[1] Energy Trends

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many replies to constituent correspondence from hon. Members his Department sent by (a) email and (b) letter in each of the last three years; and what the cost breakdown of each method was in each such year.

Justin Tomlinson

We have received representations from a small number of hon. Members and where appropriate the Department obliges with email replies. Where there is sensitive personal information in a reply, it will be posted for security reasons.

The cost differential between sending postal replies and email replies is minimal.

The exact information requested on the method of dispatch is not available other than at a disproportionate cost.