Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29831, on how many occasions his Department has provided advice and support upon request from local authorities who wish to undertake post-implementation value for money assessments.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    None. However, carrying out post-implementation reviews is an established practice of good policy making for both local and central government.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will reconsider the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority exemption which prior to 2013 enabled organisations to send surplus medicines to (a) developing countries and (b) other countries outside of the EEA.

    George Freeman

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is the government body responsible for the safety and licensing of human medicines in the United Kingdom. The supply of a medicine for human use by way of wholesale requires the holding of a wholesale dealer’s licence. Following the transposition of the European Falsified Medicines Directive, the provisions of which are intended to prevent counterfeit medicines from entering the regulated supply chain, this requirement was extended to the export of medicines outside of Europe by way of wholesale from October 2013. The Directive does not allow any exception or exemption from this requirement.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to China on retracting its law on the management of foreign NGOs, passed on 28 April 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 9 May in response to written question 36260.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a list of all secondees to his Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    There have been no secondees to the FCO from any of the named companies, or any other consulting firm, in any of the last three financial years.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the future viability of care providers after the introduction of the national living wage.

    David Mowat

    Social care continues to be a key priority for the Government. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances; the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. The Government is giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. This should mean local government has access to the funding to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament. This will support councils to continue to focus on core services and to pay fees which reflect provider costs including the National Living Wage.

    The spending took into account a range of financial and economic factors, including projections and data on the National Living Wage from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.

    The National Living Wage is an important step in rewarding the valuable contribution made by care workers, who often fall into the lowest earning occupations. Out of an estimated 1.16 million workers in adult social care in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit.

    Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must have regard to fostering an effective workforce with the appropriate capabilities when shaping their local markets. The Act and its statutory guidance make clear that prices and fee rates agreed with providers must reflect these new duties, including the National Living Wage. The Department continues to monitor the whole of the market of care providers and engage with the sector to better understand the challenges they face and support local authorities who purchase services.

  • Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to improve awareness, diagnosis and treatment of heart valve disease.

    Jane Ellison

    The initial diagnosis, and follow-up, of those with heart valve disease is commissioned by clinical commissioning groups. NHS England is working with professionals across the system to look at ways in which services and outcomes for patients can be improved further, for example, by encouraging all practitioners to follow clinical guidelines.

    Service specifications for the surgical and interventional treatment of heart valve disease are published by the NHS England Cardiac Clinical Reference Group, which is co-chaired by the National Clinical Director for Cardiac Services, Professor Huon Gray. These are important in clearly defining what NHS England expects to be in place for providers to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. NHS England is working on the next iteration of these specifications, which will include important standards relating to mitral valve surgery.

    In addition, novel interventions on the mitral valve (Mitraclip) are being evaluated through the Commissioning through Evaluation initiative.

  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to improve the administration of the Rural Payments Agency.

    George Eustice

    The Secretary of State and I have regular meetings and discussions with the Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). The Chief Executive of the RPA also attends the department’s weekly Executive Committee.

    Around 33,000 Basic Payment Scheme claims were paid promptly and accurately on 1st December, the first day of the payment window that runs through to 30 June.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the back-to-work support which is available for people with mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments through the Work and Health Unit. Over the next three years the Work and Health Unit are investing over £43 million in a range of voluntary mental health and employment trials to test what works in improving both the employment and health outcomes for people with common mental health problems. The Work and Health Unit will also invest around £115 million in testing wider support to improve health and employment outcomes. Additionally, The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme has already helped over 100,000 people to move off sick pay and benefits, with nearly 25,000 moving off in 2014/15.

    In each of the last five years the Department of Health has not provided specific central programme funding for back-to-work support for people with mental health problems.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what ways they are currently supporting the education and advancement of women in Afghanistan.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has prioritised education for girls as part of its development support to Afghanistan. The UK provides £58 million through its Girls Education Challenge Fund, which supports over 180,000 girls in some of the poorest rural and hard to reach areas of Afghanistan to have better access to a quality education. In addition the UK supports the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a World-Bank managed multi-donor fund. A proportion of this is used to support education and as a result, in 2015 there were more than 3.2 million Afghan girls attending school compared to virtually none in 2001.

    The UK also supports programmes to protect women from violence, promote women’s economic empowerment, and strengthen political participation – all necessary to achieve lasting and transformative change for women in Afghanistan.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what issues were discussed at the meeting that took place between Ministers of his Department and representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority on 23 January 2015; and who the attendees were at that meeting.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.