Tag: Lord Blencathra

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any grant application by or award made to Action on Smoking and Health by the Department of Health in the last five years was not considered first by the Voluntary Sector Grants Hub.

Lord Prior of Brampton

All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current level of financial support they provide to the Woodland Trust and its tree planting programme, and whether they have any plans to increase that support over the next four years.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

In the last financial year, the Government provided £55,338.12 to the Woodland Trust, to plant 35,400 trees with state primary schools across England in spring 2016. This support will increase over the next four years, as we expand the programme to fund the Woodland Trust to provide an additional 400,000 trees for schools for schoolchildren to plant in school grounds and local communities.

The Woodland Trust can apply for grants under the Countryside Stewardship scheme, as part of the Rural Development Programme, in the same way as any other land owner or manager and it receives grants from previous support mechanisms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conducted any research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook; and if not, whether they plan to do so.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department does not itself conduct research, but funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Department’s Policy Research Programme (PRP). The NIHR and the PRP have not funded specific research into the possible mental and psychological impact on children of using Twitter and Facebook and have no plans to commission research on this topic. In 2014-15 (the latest year for which data is currently available), the NIHR invested £72.6 million in research in mental health, including the mental health of children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish details of the Islamist de-radicalisation treatment and of the organisations that deliver it.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The new Desistance and Disengagement Programme will be launched as a pilot in October 2016. The pilot will focus on those convicted of terrorist, or terrorist-related offences, who have served their custodial sentences and are due to be released on licence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 September (HL1842), whether any of the soldiers who fought in Musa Qala in 2006 were considered for medals within the timescale of the five-year rule.

Earl Howe

The Ministry of Defence does not retain unsuccessful recommendations for Military Honours and Awards. It is, therefore, not possible to ascertain whether any Service personnel who fought in Musa Qala in 2006 were recommended for an award outside of the five-year rule.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of the officials and other individuals on the Department of Health’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub.

Lord Prior of Brampton

As at 16 November 2015, the job titles of the officials and other individuals in the Department of Health’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub are:

Civil Service Grade / Job Title	FTEs
Grade 7	1
Senior Executive Officer (SEO) – Team Leader	1.75
Higher Executive Officer (HEO)	1
Higher Executive Officer (HEO) – Senior Account Manager	4
Executive Officer (EO) – Account Manager	7

Job titles provided along with grades in instances where staff share the same job title.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have gathered on the contribution that the 64 million new trees to be planted by the Woodland Trust in England would make to carbon reduction or capture.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government has not gathered any information about the contribution these trees would make towards carbon reduction or capture. However, the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Carbon Code Carbon Lookup Tables, suggest that 64 million trees planted as woodland could capture 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the first 50 years of their life.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which ministers have official ministerial Twitter accounts; and whether they have plans to close those accounts.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

Civil servants manage departmental social media accounts, but not individual MP Twitter handles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the use in Florida of the organophosphate insecticide Naled, which is banned in the EU, what advice they are giving to British citizens intending to visit Florida; and what steps they are taking to place that advice on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The method of mosquito control in other countries is not a matter routinely covered by FCO travel advice. Currently, specific UK health travel advice for Florida and the wider US is supplied by the National Travel Health Network and Centre, to which the FCO website country pages have links.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 16 September (HL1580), which organisations will deliver the new Desistance and Disengagement Programme; and whether the programme targets terrorist groups other than those related to Islamic extremism.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Delivery of the Desistance and Disengagement Pilot Programme will be led by the Home Office in conjunction with key stakeholders and other Governmental Departments.

The Home Office will work alongside experienced practitioners and non-governmental organisations to deliver a suite of mentoring, psychological and theological interventions.

The pilot programme will focus on those convicted of all terrorism, or terrorism related offences, who have served their custodial sentences and are due to be released on licence. It is therefore not limited to Islamist extremists.