Tag: Helen Jones

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to issue guidance that staff employed by contract cleaning companies in government departments should not be disciplined for seeking a living wage; and if he will include this in future contracts.

Matthew Hancock

We are the first Government ever to deliver a National Living Wage. From April 2016, every employer in the country will pay the National Living Wage, including all Government contractors, for workers aged 25 and above.

Consequently, we have no plans to issue the specified guidance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the number of homes in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency which were sold under Right to Buy legislation and which have subsequently become privately rented properties.

Brandon Lewis

No estimate has been made as to how many homes sold under the Right to Buy have become private rented properties.

What a Right to Buy owner chooses to do with their property after they’ve bought it is up to them, just as it is for other home buyers on the open market. Mortgage providers and landlords may place restrictions on letting in the terms of the sale.

Under Right to Buy there are financial restrictions in place for re-sale within 5 years, and councils have the right of first refusal to buy back the property for up to 10 years at market value.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the expected capacity margin of the National Grid during winter 2015-16.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid has recently published their Winter Outlook Report with a capacity margin of 5.1% for winter 2015-16.

National Grid continually assesses the risks to security of supply and system stability across GB. They have confirmed they have all the tools they need to manage the system this winter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has received on the probability of electricity shortages during winter 2015-16; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Ensuring that hardworking families and businesses across the country have secure, affordable energy supplies they can rely on is our top priority.

National Grid has recently published their Winter Outlook Report with a capacity margin of 5.1% for winter 2015-16.

National Grid continually assesses the risks to security of supply and system stability across GB. They have confirmed they have all the tools they need to manage the system this winter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with Interserve on the inappropriateness of disciplinary action taken against cleaners who wrote to him requesting a living wage.

Mr David Lidington

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have been in contact with Interserve and have asked them to comment on allegations that Interserve cleaners had been disciplined for writing to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) in July. Interserve informed the FCO that they had instigated an investigation to establish whether the letter breached their confidentiality agreement with staff. Interserve has since confirmed that their investigation has concluded and that no disciplinary action will be taken against any of the signatories to the letter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communication of the hon. Member for Warrington North since her election; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report Research spend in the UK, published by the Stroke Association on 3 December 2014, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The report published by the Stroke Association compares research spend in four disease areas (stroke, cancer, coronary heart disease and dementia) by governmental organisations and charities.

The usual practice of the two main public funders of health research – the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) – is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics or disease areas: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available.

NIHR expenditure on research on stroke, cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) (including coronary heart disease) and dementia is shown in the following table.

£ million

	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14
Stroke	20.2	20.9	20.4	26.1	26.3
Cancer	101.5	100.9	104.1	133.2	129.9
CVD	31.6	31.0	34.1	42.7	46.3
Dementia	12.6	18.3	24.9	24.4	26.8

Through its training and career development programmes, the NIHR supports clinicians at all stages of their career: integrated clinical and academic training; doctoral training; postdoctoral training; and more senior awards. The prestigious NIHR Senior Investigator award provides an additional incentive for the country’s most outstanding clinical researchers. These programmes make a major contribution to the building and developing of research capacity in stroke and other disease areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the total amount spent from government sources on research into (a) stroke, (b) cancer and (c) coronary heart disease.

George Freeman

Spend on research funded directly by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is categorised by Health Research Classification System health categories. NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure and systems where spend cannot be attributed to health categories is excluded. In 2013/14, the NIHR spent £26.3 million in the category ‘stroke’, £129.9 million in the category ‘cancer’, and £46.3 million in the category ‘cardiovascular’ (including coronary heart disease – CHD).

Research Councils UK has provided the following information on expenditure in 2013/14.

£000s

	Stroke	Cancer	CHD
Arts and Humanities Research Council	–	34	–
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)	323	10,269	1,829
Economic and Social Research Council	1,376	2,177	1,205
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	–	–	–
Medical Research Council (MRC)	4,140	79,900	26,300
Natural Environment Research Council	–	–	–
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)	–	395	–

The BBSRC does not fund research directly relating to understanding/treating specific human diseases. The underpinning health research that the BBSRC supports seeks to provide a better understanding of what makes a healthy biological system – and the key moderators of this health (both positive and negative) – and also informs strategies to help maintain resilient health across the life-course and reduce the risk of emergence of diseases typically associated with age-related health decline. In the context of stroke/cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer this may include basic bioscience of angiogenesis/tissue repair, inflammation, cell cycle/signalling/molecular transport, and immune system functioning, and how these processes operate and are influenced (e.g. by genetics and environmental factors such as diet and exercise) across the lifecourse. The BBSRC figures provided are based on examples where specific linkages can be made from the basic bioscience to potential applicability to stroke/CVD and cancer research, but there will be a wider body of more indirectly linked bioscience that may also contribute to developing important baseline understanding.

The EPSRC invested £59 million in 2013/14 in research to develop new technologies that have applications across healthcare from diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation, and also supports a much wider portfolio of research that underpins advances in medical science. The EPSRC supports basic research which delivers new techniques and technologies, ultimately delivering solutions that underpin the healthcare and life sciences sector, including the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries and the National Health Service. Around 25% of the £4 billion EPSRC portfolio is of relevance to healthcare and the life sciences.

MRC cancer research expenditure shown in the table is taken from National Cancer Research Institute data for 2013.

In addition to the expenditure shown in the table, the STFC also makes support available through its large facilities. For instance, cancer-related research is carried out using ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) in support of the University of Liverpool, who have an EPSRC grant. The grant pays the marginal staff cost and the running cost of the ALICE facility.

In 2013/14 Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency has invested in research concerning stroke, cancer and CHD. The following table details spend for each condition. Figures include research into detection technologies and post-surgery therapies.

£000s

	Stroke	Cancer	CHD
Innovate UK	972	18,728	345

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average debt level per capita is of local authorities in (a) England and (b) the North West; and what the level of debt per capita is in Warrington Borough Council.

Kris Hopkins

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the rt.hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East (Mr Nicholas Brown) on 14 July 2014, Official Report, Column 532W.

My Department does not publish regional statistics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last discussed violence against women and girls with representatives of the Indian government; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are committed to working with the Indian government and international partners to address the problems of gender-based violence, human trafficking and child exploitation and regularly discuss these issues with the Indian authorities. Our High Commissioner Sir James Bevan recently met India’s Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi on 17 June to discuss a range of issues, including gender-based violence and the UK’s plans to host the 2014 Girls Summit aimed at tackling female genital mutilation (FGM) and early and forced marriage. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has also discussed the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and its efforts to prevent violence against women and girls, with India’s new Foreign Minister, Sushma Swaraj.

Through the Department for International Development (DFID) the UK supports measures in India’s 120 poorest districts to promote the empowerment and access to benefits and services of excluded groups. DFID India also provides support to national and state governments in India, which includes helping girls to complete basic education and further tackling violence against women and girls.