The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Ms Patricia Hart was employed on a full-time basis continuously from 2011 until her retirement.
Ben Gummer
This information is not collected centrally.
We have written to Deborah Jenkins, Chair of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2015-11-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the amount of the Bus Service Operators Grant in (1) 2014–15, and (2) 2015–16.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The amount of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) paid out for services in England during 2014/15 was some £253 million. As BSOG is demand-led, it is too early to estimate accurately the amount likely to be paid out during 2015/16, although we would expect it to be broadly similar to that for 2014/15.
The amount to be paid out in future years will depend upon the number of eligible claims submitted by the operators of bus services in each year.However, I can confirm that we were able to protect the grant as part of the 2015 Spending Review. Moreover, we will be publishing more details early next year of how we will be reforming the way BSOG is paid to make it even more effective in supporting bus services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many affordable rent-to-buy houses are being constructed.
Brandon Lewis
Through the Autumn Statement 2015, the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2020/21. This includes £1.7 billion to deliver around 100,000 homes for affordable or intermediate rent, of which 10,000 are to be affordable rent to buy homes that enable tenants to have the opportunity to save for a deposit while renting.
Bids into the Rent to Buy 2015-2017 programme are currently being considered. The prospectus for the new Affordable Homes Programme 2016-21 will be launched shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2015 to Question 902477, when he expects the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information to publish its review of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Matthew Hancock
It is for the independent Commission to determine the timing for submitting its response to Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effects of proposed changes to the way in which drugs are assessed for inclusion in the Cancer Drugs Fund on cancer drug patients.
George Freeman
NHS England has advised that it envisages, under the new arrangements for the Cancer Drugs Fund, that a greater number of cancer drugs will be funded from baseline commissioning. This will be as a consequence of more appropriate pricing arrangements proposed by pharmaceutical manufacturers and better evidence being available through the Fund as to longer term patient outcomes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that community pharmacies are not adversely affected by the localising of clinical pharmacists in GP surgeries.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We have been in detailed discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, including the proposal for a Pharmacy Access Scheme. In parallel, we also want to hear views on our proposals from across the sector and from patient groups. We published our open letter to the PSNC on 17 December 2015 and on 27 January 2016 we published a set of slides setting out the proposals with a foreword by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.
We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.
Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.
The role of the general practice pharmacist is distinct from the role of the pharmacist in a community setting. However, they are synergistic. Pharmacists working in general practice will, in the main, work with patients who have long term conditions to support them with their medicines and self-management of their condition by helping with the development and review of individual care plans. These patients will not generally be those with minor illnesses which can be treated by seeing a pharmacist in a community setting and for whom community pharmacy will remain the first, and most appropriate, option.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the financial strength of the Pension Protection Fund.
Baroness Altmann
The Pension Protection Fund is run by an independent Board and reviews its financial position regularly. It manages over £23 billion of assets and, in the 2014/15 Annual Report, the last published, declared a funding ratio of 115.1 per cent and a surplus of £3.6 billion.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that North Korean workers are producing garments for Burberry Group Inc.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
We have made no such assessment.
The Modern Slavery Act, enacted last year, includes a demanding transparency in supply chains disclosure provision. This provision requires businesses operating in the UK, with an annual turnover of more than £36 million, to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement setting out the steps they have taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or its own business.
The provision obliges eligible companies to publish this information on their website, with a conspicuous link from their homepage, so that consumers, investors and the general public know what steps businesses are taking in this regard.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to review the BIS 2020 programme in the light of the restructuring of government departments.
Joseph Johnson
A number of former BIS policy areas are shifting to the Department for Education. Around 450-500 people and posts, working in these areas will be shifting to the Department for Education. Approximately 90 of these are in the regions.
Given the machinery of government change we will be considering in the coming months how the reform plans of BEIS’ two predecessor departments should best be aligned.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to local NHS consortium formed of Lewisham and Greenwich Healthcare Trust, Local Care Networks and Oxleas Trust was of preparing their unsuccessful tender for the contract to provide musculoskeletal services in Greenwich; and if he will assess the effect of such spending on resources available for services to patients; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
The information requested is not centrally held and is a matter for the local National Health Service consortium which submitted the tender in question.