Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been disbursed from the public purse in legal fees for solicitors, parliamentary agents, barristers and their staff who have been working on behalf of HS2 Ltd.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department has appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to provide support in relation to the HS2 Phase 1 hybrid Bill. The current spend on this contract is £9,594,124.36.

    The Department has also appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to support the preparation of the HS2 Phase 2a hybrid Bill, which is expected to be deposited in 2017. The current spend on this contract is £146,265.10.

    The Department continues to instruct a team of barristers to support the HS2 project. Each barrister is remunerated at agreed government hourly rates. The spend on these barristers for the period from 2013 to the present is £2,219,872.30.

    All figures are correct up to 5 September 2016 and are exclusive of VAT.

    Since approximately 2010, the Department has also instructed a number of barristers on other HS2 related work, primarily litigation. These barristers will have been remunerated at agreed government hourly rates, but unfortunately it would involve disproportionate cost for the Department to provide precise figures.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Foreign Secretary’s recent description of the EU’s position on access to the single market and free movement as complete baloney”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As we leave the EU, the Government wants to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade and operate in the Single Market. Ministers are clear about this objective, and are able to draw on a wide range of expertise within the FCO and across Government, to help achieve it.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether introducing an elected mayor will be a requirement of all future devolution deals with combined authorities.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Development of devolution deals is a bottom up process, in which areas bring us their proposals for the powers and budgets they want devolved to them. The accompanying governance arrangements they propose to support those powers and budgets must be commensurate with the scale of devolution they are seeking.

    Elected mayors provide that strong, single point of accountability which is essential for any devolution deal of the scale and ambition of the deals we have announced for Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley and the North East.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a dedicated research and development fund. Research to inform policy is conducted by FCO Research Analysts and by individual Directorates and overseas Posts, and funded from devolved budgets. It is therefore not possible to identify how much of the FCO’s allocated funding will be spent on these activities over the Spending Review 2015 period.

  • Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department defines the pay envelope in its work on considering the junior doctor contract.

    Ben Gummer

    The pay envelope for junior doctor contract reform is as agreed by the hon. Member in his previous capacity as a Minister for Health in 2013 when he approved the “Heads of Terms” for the junior doctor contract. The basis of the agreement is that the cost of the new junior doctor contract will not exceed the cost of the current contract, (expressed on a per full time equivalent basis). Subsequently, the current Government has made it clear that savings are not being sought and that junior doctors’ average earnings would not reduce as a result of the changes proposed.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is planning to give to countries affected by the Zika virus.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    British officials across the Americas have been working closely with their counterparts on steps to understand and prevent the spread of the disease. We have focused particularly on Brazil, which has seen the highest number of cases in the region. On 26 January, the UK announced a new Zika research project between Glasgow University and Fiocruz, a leading biomedical research centre in Brazil. The following day, a scientist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine arrived in Recife to support Zika research led by the Pan American Health Organsation. Discussions are also ongoing between FCO officials and the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency with regards to combating this virus. On 1 February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) categorised the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This declaration by the WHO allows for the immediate allocation of emergency funds to support their necessary medical research. The United Kingdom is already the WHO’s second largest donor, providing a £15 million assessed contribution in 2015 in addition to a further, voluntary, contribution from the Department For International Development (DFID) of £14.5 million.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) more cases of chronic lyme disease are correctly diagnosed and (b) more people with chronic lyme disease receive the appropriate treatment.

    Jane Ellison

    Our aim is to ensure that cases of Lyme disease at all its stages and manifestations are recognised and treated appropriately. The National Health Service provides medical care following international guidance and most cases are dealt with by general practitioners (GPs). To help ensure people receive the appropriate treatment Public Health England has published a referral pathway for GPs to follow. Where additional investigation is required, specialist referral may be necessary and a small number of NHS clinics will see complicated cases. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has been commissioned to develop guidelines for the recognition and treatment of Lyme disease; this is expected in June 2018.

    Public Health England PHE) regularly review new tests for Lyme disease and participate in a Europe wide Quality Assurance programme to ensure that the most suitable tests available are used.

    In addition, PHE provide information on Lyme disease and tick awareness to the medical profession and the public, and holds regular medical training days, and works with Lyme Disease Action to support the needs and interests of patients.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23886, which UK representatives attended the meeting of the Reaper User Group between 14 and 18 March 2016.

    Penny Mordaunt

    UK attendance at the MQ-9 User Group was limited to representatives from the Royal Air Force, led by the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Force Commander.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has received a reply to his letter of 4 April 2016 to the European Commission Vice President for the Digital Single Market on online platforms.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    A reply to our letter was not expected. Instead the letter on online platforms was designed to influence the Commission’s thinking ahead of the release of the package before the summer. Ministerial colleagues have engaged closely with EU Commissioners as well as a number of Member States about online platforms policy and will continue to do so.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of how long a person with HIV will have to wait to access psychosocial support in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham health authority area following implementation of the proposed reduction in specialist HIV support services.

    Jane Ellison

    Support services for people living with HIV are commissioned by local authorities.

    We are advised by NHS England that the boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham are currently consulting on a new service model, under which advice and advocacy, counselling and assessment and signposting services for people living with HIV would be provided by local non-HIV specialist services.

    We understand that the consultation exercise commenced on 9 May 2016 and is due to end on 28 June.