The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the self-esteem of female hospital staff of having to wear a uniform.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Department has not assessed the effect on the self-esteem of female hospital staff having to wear uniform.
There is advice available to hospitals on the NHS Employers website via the following links:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to address variations in stroke care and treatment across England.
David Mowat
The Sentinel Stroke National Audit programme (SSNAP) continuously monitors the quality of stroke care across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Audit results are returned to providers so that they can identify areas for improvement.
There is good evidence that providing detailed information in a timely way has enabled the quality of stoke care to steadily improve. Since the introduction of SSNAP nearly four years ago when no teams scored an ‘A’, there are now units achieving this level, indicating excellent care. The National Clinical Director for Stroke, in association with the clinical networks, continues to work with hospitals to support those in need of improvement.
NHS England is aware that the provision of stroke care in the community remains an area that has not progressed as quickly as hospital care. However, providing data to teams and working with the clinical commissioning groups to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned should help to improve care.
In August this year, NHS England’s Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, and Professor Anthony Rudd, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for stroke, met with Juliet Bouverie, the Chief Executive of the Stroke Association to discuss issues of common interest. Additionally, Professor Rudd meets regularly with various members of staff of the Stroke Association to ensure that the views of the charity are heard and understood. Departmental officials have also met with the Stroke Association.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-11-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13969, what information his Department has to help inform policy development on the payment of child and tax credits to foreign nationals.
Damian Hinds
In his speech on Europe on November 10th, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s proposal that people coming to Britain from the EU must live here and contribute for 4 years before they qualify for in work benefits or social housing. This proposal is included in the Prime Minister’s letter to Mr. Tusk.
DWP’s statistical release from November 10th explained that it is estimated that, at March 2013, between 37 and 45% of the EEA nationals (excluding students) who were resident in the UK having arrived in the preceding 4 years were in households claiming either an in-work or out-of-work benefit or tax credit.
This represents between 195,000 and 235,000 EEA nationals in recently arrived households claiming benefits or tax credits at March 2013 out of 525,000 recently arrived EEA nationals resident in the UK at March 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (a) what representations he has received on and (b) whether his Department plans to incentivise employers to offer the National Living Wage.
Nick Boles
From 1 April 2016 every employer is required by law to pay the new statutory National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to implement the Paris climate change agreement.
Andrea Leadsom
The Paris Agreement marks a significant step forward towards reducing, on a global scale, the emissions that cause climate change. The agreed long-term goal of net zero emissions in the second half of the century shows that the world is committed to decarbonisation and the agreement drives us forward on our path to limiting the average global temperature rise to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts to 1.5 °C. We must now work hard to continue the global momentum created by the Paris deal by supporting countries to implement their emission reduction commitments; ensuring we meet our own commitments; and continuing to build the conditions for the transition to a low carbon economy to enable further ambition in the future.
The UK’s contribution to the Paris Agreement will be determined by our commitments to meeting EU climate and energy targets, and by the UK’s own domestic framework, comprising a 2050 emissions reduction target of at least 80% on 1990 base year levels and a series of five-year carbon budgets, as established by the Climate Change Act 2008.We will also set the level of the Fifth Carbon Budget, covering the period 2028-2032, in law by the end of June this year. This will be followed by our new emission reduction plan, which is due to be published towards the end of the year.
Governments alone cannot deliver the scale of action required, businesses, investors and civil society all have a role to play. Many are already acting and Paris saw an unprecedented level of engagement and commitment to reduce emissions and drive forward low carbon growth and markets. This action will help unlock the transition to a low carbon economy and support the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25400, which academies and free schools made those applications to her Department to vary admissions requirements.
Edward Timpson
Pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25400, one academy and two free schools have made applications to the Department to vary admissions requirements, these are as follows:
Academy
The Victory Academy (Thinking Schools Academy Trust) – not approved.
Free Schools
Nishkam School West London (Nishkam School Trust) – approved.
Cobham Free School – approved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from transport organisations on the impairment threat of laser pens.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Ministers and Officials in the Department have received direct representations from the British Air Line Pilots’ Association (BALPA) on the threat to pilots from a laser strike.
Further representations have been received through industry membership to the UK Laser Working Group. The Group which was established by the CAA to develop measures to reduce laser strikes to aircraft includes representatives from British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA), Honourable Company of Air Pilots, various airlines and airport operators, as well as Government Departments and Agencies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to promote research and development in the UK.
Greg Hands
At the Spending Review 2015 we protected the current £4.7 billion science resource funding in real terms for the rest of the Parliament and re-affirmed our long term science capital commitment of £6.9 billion between 2015-2021.
The government also continues to support business research and development investment through R&D tax credits. In 2013-14, R&D tax credits provided £1.75bn of relief to over 18,000 companies, supporting around £14.3bn of innovative investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol.
Karen Bradley
An impact assessment of a minimum unit price for alcohol was published before a consultation on the Government’s Alcohol Strategy proposals in 2012.
The consultation raised questions concerning possible unintended consequences of minimum unit pricing, such as the impact on responsible drinkers on low incomes. The Government continues to monitor the research being carried out by the University of Sheffield and others on the potential effects.
The Government has also noted the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the proposed introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland and will continue to monitor the legal proceedings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures are in place to regulate the prices of everyday drugs sold to the NHS by pharmaceutical companies.
George Freeman
There are arrangements in place to ensure that the prices paid by the National Health Service for medicines provide value for money for the NHS. The prices and the profits made on the sales of branded medicines to the NHS are controlled by the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. If a company chooses not to join the voluntary scheme, it falls under a statutory scheme which controls the prices of branded medicines.
The Department does not control the price of generic medicines; instead it relies on competition to drive down prices. A report in 2010 by the National Audit Office showed that the reimbursement arrangements had delivered savings for the NHS of £1.8 billion between 2005/6 and 2008/09.
Concerns about possible anti-competitive behaviour by pharmaceutical companies are investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Department and the CMA work closely together on such matters. The CMA is committed to investigating suspected infringements of competition law, including suspected excessive pricing in the pharmaceutical sector. The CMA has strong powers of investigation and, where it finds that a firm has breached competition law, it may impose penalties of up to 10% of a company’s worldwide turnover.
The CMA has been asked by the Secretary of State to undertake further work to look into specific instances of excessive pricing.