The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department took to publicise the recent NHS Mandate Consultation.
George Freeman
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for High Peak (Andrew Bingham) on 2 December 2015 to Question 18482.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of rectifying faults in the power and propulsion system of the Type 45 Destroyer; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified and the ongoing programme to implement these changes continues to deliver positive results. In addition, and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we are committed to improving system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity. Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with several competing industrial partners.
A number of early modifications were implemented under the Type 45 Destroyer Contract for Availability arrangement with BAE Systems at no additional cost to the Ministry of Defence. The total cost and timetable for implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision. I am withholding details of our current time and cost estimates as premature disclosure of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an ambulance was (a) nationally, (b) in London and (c) in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publish the total number of Category A (most urgent) calls resulting in an emergency response and the proportion of responses against the three national ambulance performance standards.
This data is published on a monthly basis at both a national and individual ambulance trust level. Latest data for December 2015 for England and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
– see interactive ambulance systems indicators time series to December 2015
Data is not available at constituency level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that consumers have adequate advice and information about the benefits and risks of investing in a lifetime ISA.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is committed to ensuring that people have access to affordable financial advice and guidance, at all stages of their lives. As announced at Budget 2016, the Government will take forward all the recommendations of the Financial Advice Market Review for which it is responsible, to support the development of a market which provides affordable, high-quality advice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to create a Best Practice Tariff or similar sustained improvement incentive for sepsis.
Ben Gummer
In 2015/16, NHS England introduced an incentive payment (a national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation measure) to encourage the timely recognition and treatment of sepsis for emergency admissions. In 2016/17 this was extended to include in-patients who deteriorate in hospitals. NHS England will continue to review the best way of incentivising high performance in recognising and treating sepsis promptly and appropriately.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to reduce his Department’s vacancy rate.
Joseph Johnson
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is developing a Resourcing Strategy that will include targeted recruitment over the next few years including apprenticeships, graduate recruitment, loans from other Government Departments and increasing the use of secondments from the private sector. These interventions, along with having clear workforce plans across the organisation, including undertaking more internal managed moves to deliver priority work, will help reduce the Department’s vacancy rate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much to date the NHS has paid BT for licensing, deployment and support of acute IT systems in London.
Nicola Blackwood
Information regarding payments made by National Health Service trusts to BT is not held centrally by the Department.
The Department, to the end of financial year 2015-16, has paid BT £1.1 billion for services it delivered to acute and community and mental health trusts in London under the BT Local Service Provider contract. This contract has now closed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adding a five years sunset clause to the proposed Great Repeal Bill governing the expiry of EU legislation which has entered the statute book.
Mr David Jones
The Government has committed to introducing a Bill in the next parliamentary session which will repeal the European Communities Act 1972. The principle of the Bill is about creating legal certainty for the UK on exit day and we will set out its content in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress there has been on delivering support to NATO aspirant countries since the NATO summit in Wales in 2014.
Mr David Lidington
There is no formal list of NATO aspirant countries. However, this term is presently understood within the Alliance to refer to Georgia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. The United Kingdom strongly supports NATO’s open door policy for any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. We therefore support the membership aspirations of all countries currently seeking to join the Alliance.
At the NATO Summit in Wales, the Alliance agreed a ‘Substantial Package’ of support for Georgia to strengthen defence capabilities and interoperability with the Alliance, and provide a new “enhanced partnership” status. Separately, Allies agreed to establish Defence Capacity Building (DCB) Missions in Georgia. The initial infrastructure for the first DCB project, the Joint Training & Evaluation Centre, was inaugurated by the NATO Secretary General at the end of August. The UK has provided a Strategic Communications Subject Matter Expert to the NATO Core Team in Georgia, while other Allies have offered similar secondments. The UK has also contributed £1,750,000 to a new Trust Fund to help facilitate these.
Following the Wales Summit, NATO intensified talks with Montenegro to help them further prepare for future membership. The UK has supported Montenegro’s aim to increase public support for NATO membership and has initiated a number of Defence Engagement activities focussed upon changing public perceptions and putting Montenegro’s international credentials and capabilities into the public eye. The UK has supported a NATO Trust Fund set up to decommission surplus arms and ammunition in the country, and has provided financial and managerial support for the provision of English Language training in Montenegro, underpinning the ability to deploy officers on international operations including NATO. Foreign Ministers are due to take a decision in December on whether to invite Montenegro to open accession talks.
Since January 2015, the UK has been the NATO Contact Point Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Embassy organised its first outreach event in Bijelijina in June, with the new NATO Commander and a representative of the Bosnian Armed Forces on the panel. Complementing its role as Contact Point, the British Embassy continues to run its officer Selection and Training project, which provides a framework and support for the Bosnian Armed Forces to recruit and train a new cadre of officers.
NATO Allies, including the UK, continue to support the conditional invitation granted to Macedonia in 2008, subject to stipulated conditions. Macedonia completed its latest Annual National Plan process in September. The UK has continued to underline to Macedonia the importance of reforms in areas such as democratic dialogue, media freedom and judicial independence in order to meet the standards expected of a future NATO Ally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with business and tourism representatives in Northern Ireland on the Davies Commission and increased airport capacity in the south east of England.
Mr Robert Goodwill
There have been no discussions with business and tourism representatives in Northern Ireland on the Davies Commission and increased airport capacity in the south east of England.