The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for the future of the homelessness prevention grant.
Mr Marcus Jones
Decisions around locally funded services will be set out in the provisional Local Government Settlement, which we intend to announce before recess.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.
Mr John Hayes
The Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice, which came into force on 10 December 2014 following approval by Parliament, set out the safeguards in relation to covert surveillance activity under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which is likely or intended to result in the acquisition of knowledge of matters subject to legal privilege.
There are similar safeguards in the existing Interception of Communications and Equipment Interference Codes of Practice which were approved by the House of Lords in December 2015 and the House of Commons earlier this month. The Investigatory Powers Bill and its associated codes of practice will replace the existing codes of practice for the interception of communication and equipment interference and will set out the powers available to public authorities to obtain communications and communication data and the safeguards that will apply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Cabinet Office on the Zika virus.
Jane Ellison
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health regularly discusses matters across his portfolio with Ministers from the Cabinet Office and other Government departments. He will continue to closely monitor the Zika virus situation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each member of his Department’s Council of Economic Advisers.
Harriett Baldwin
The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the carbon emissions of UK forces operating abroad were in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Mr Julian Brazier
Information on the Department’s carbon emissions can be found in the Sustainable Ministry of Defence Annual Report 2014/15, using the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447951/20150723-Sustainable_MOD_Annual_Report-internet-ver.pdf
These figures cover carbon emissions from the Defence estate, including overseas sites and domestic business travel; the Department does not hold data on emissions from UK military operational activity overseas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement to the House of 16 July 2015, HCWS113, on Publication of Learning not Blaming and Review of NHS Leadership, what assessment he has made of the consistency of the abolition of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s statutory Midwifery Committee with his plan to end the statutory supervision of midwives.
Ben Gummer
In the ‘Learning not blaming: The government response to Freedom to Speak Up, the Public Administration Select Committee report on clinical incidents, and the Morecambe Bay Investigation’, the Government accepted the recommendation to remove the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) current responsibility and accountability for statutory supervision of midwives in the United Kingdom and committed to changing the law as speedily as possible.
The abolition of the statutory Midwifery Committee at the NMC is a consequence of the Law Commission review of professional regulators. The Midwifery Committee does not have a role in the statutory supervision of midwives. The NMC is considering how midwifery advice will be secured by the NMC if the Midwifery Committee is, after consultation, abolished. It has set up a Midwifery Panel of interested parties to do this.
The proposals for a new design of supervision for midwifery, incorporated setting up a task force in each country of the UK under the auspices of each UK Chief Nursing Officer. They are currently working through plans to create new mechanisms and considering what systems and processes will replace the Local Supervising Authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and UK Space Agency cross-boundary research proposals submitted through the Joint Electronic Submission System received funding in each of the last three years.
Joseph Johnson
In the last financial year one cross-boundary research proposal was considered for co-funding by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK Space Agency. This proposal was discussed at the relevant EPSRC funding panel and was awarded funding. In the two years prior, no proposals were received which were considered for co-funding in this respect.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reason the decision was taken that NHS England will in future fund only one stem cell transplant for blood cancer patients; what estimate he has made of the number of patients who will be affected by that decision; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of that policy change on blood cancer survival rates.
David Mowat
The provision of second stem cell transplants was considered as part of NHS England’s annual prioritisation process by the Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group (SCOG). Decisions by SCOG are based on recommendations made by Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) which uses a defined process to prioritise treatments based on a combination of cost and patient benefit.
NHS England announced on 2 August that CPAG will re-run the prioritisation process to include proposals previously prioritised in levels 3, 4 and 5. The re-run of the prioritisation process is expected to take place later in the year. Until the process is completed clinicians, on behalf of their patients can continue to apply for funding for second transplant for relapsed disease where there is clinically exceptional or clinically critical need.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if he will make a statement.
Margot James
Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for transposition of the following agreed Directives: 2013/30/EU, 2013/55/EU, 2013/53/EU, 2014/33/EU, 2014/34/EU, 2014/29/EU, 2014/30/EU, 2014/35/EU, 2014/31/EU, 2014/32/EU, 2015/13/EU, 2014/53/EU, 2014/68/EU, 2014/95/EU, 2014/104/EU, 2015/2302/EU, 2015/2436/EU, 2014/87/EU, 2013/59/EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 5.2 of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Is Britain Fairer, published October 2015, what steps he plans to take to address that report’s conclusion that the employment rate for young people has fallen and the unemployment rate has risen, even accounting for increased participation in education.
Priti Patel
The employment rate of young people who have left full-time education is 73.9% – its highest level in more than a decade and above the UK working age average. The rate for young people not in full-time education is the highest for over ten years
Over time participation in education has grown, and the majority of young people in full-time education are outside the labour force. The proportion of all young people who have left full-time education and are unemployed is 6.2% – below where it was before the recession and close to the lowest on record. The UK performs well internationally, with the fourth highest youth employment rate in the European Union.
The employment rate for young people fell during the recession and, as a result, unemployment rose. The EHRC report did not take full account of the recovery in the labour market, including the youth labour market that has since taken place.