The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her plans are for assessing the effect of badger culling on the spread of bovine TB among cattle; and who she plans to undertake that assessment.
George Eustice
The Animal and Plant Health Agency continues to assess the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in areas where badger control is licensed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make an assessment of the report by the Refugee Support Network After Return, in particular with a view to preventing hardship and persecution of 18-year-old refugees sent back to their country of origin and to gaining benefits for the UK from the education of those individuals by not insisting on return in all cases.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
We do not send refugees back to their country of origin. Those who no longer need protection are not refugees and are expected to apply under other provisions of the Immigration Rules if they want to stay in the UK.
We have noted the content of the report but believe that the current policy framework meets the needs of this group and strikes the correct balance. Decision makers take into account the specific vulnerabilities of individuals when considering applications for further leave in addition to considering whether there are other exceptional or compassionate reasons to justify granting leave.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on ensuring that repurposed, off-patent drugs are consistently available to NHS patients where evidence supports their use.
Nicola Blackwood
Current prescribing arrangements already allow off-patent drugs that are found to have new uses to be prescribed to patients.
The Government and medical research charities are working together to ensure that robust evidence showing new uses for existing drugs can be brought more systematically into clinical practice to benefit patients.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of jobseeker’s allowance claimants have used Universal Jobmatch in the last 12 months.
Priti Patel
Universal Jobmatch is open to anyone to use in order to look for work, whether they are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance or not. We do not differentiate between different types of users and are not able to provide statistics on the numbers of each.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with hepatitis C have commenced treatment under the commissioning policy for the treatment of patients with cirrhosis since June 2015.
Jane Ellison
At 10 November 2015, NHS England had received 2,667 applications to treat from clinicians. Applications relate to patients who either meet NHS England’s commissioning policy for the treatment of hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis or who meet the NICE Technology Appraisal guidance for sofosbuvir and simeprevir. The number of applications is likely to be slightly higher than the number starting treatment, as some patients may have decided not to proceed. NHS England expects to have an automated system in place by April 2016 to collect data on treatment referrals and treatment history, including clinical outcome data.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Crawley on 2016-01-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many lone parents have received letters from Concentrix since 1 January 2015 questioning their reported living arrangements and requesting proof that they are not cohabiting in order to assess their continued eligibility to receive tax credits.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) routinely carries out checks on tax credits claims to make sure people are receiving the right amount of money and identify fraudulent claims. Since November 2014, Concentrix has been carrying out routine tax credit checks on behalf of HMRC, in addition to the checks HMRC carry out themselves. There are more than 4 million tax credit claimants overall.
From the number of claimants contacted by Concentrix, HMRC and Concentrix do not categorise data under the heading of lone parent cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-02-19.
To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.
Mrs Caroline Spelman
The Church of England will mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty with a large number of events and activities at national and local levels, including a national service of celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral. Alongside these events, the Bible Society and HOPE have released a companion book titled “The Servant Queen”, with a foreword written by Her Majesty that discusses how her faith has influenced her service of this nation over the last 90 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether (a) legal costs and (b) compensatory payments resulting from investor state dispute settlement claims relating to acts by the Scottish Government would be paid by the Scottish Government; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
If the UK were to lose a claim brought under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism of a trade and investment treaty which relates to an act of a devolved administration, the memorandum of understanding between the UK and the devolved administrations would apply. This provides that the devolved administration would be responsible for the payment of legal costs and awards made by the tribunal to the extent that they arise from the failure of the devolved administration to implement or enforce an obligation or fail to meet their share of an international quota. However, the UK has a good record of creating the right environment for investors and treating them fairly – we have over 90 such agreements in place with other countries and there has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government plans to raise the projected demolition of the villages of Susiya and Um Al Hiran with the government of Israel.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Our Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised UK concerns with the Israeli Government on the issue of demolitions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aung San Suu Kyi, on human rights for the Rohingya.
Mr Hugo Swire
We remain deeply concerned about the plight of the Rohingya community. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) raised the situation of the Rohingya with Aung San Suu Kyi during his conversation with her after the Burmese election in November. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), subsequently wrote to Daw Suu in December, again raising this issue. The Burma Resolution at the March Human Rights Council, which we co-sponsored, placed Rakhine as the central and most pressing human rights matter facing the incoming administration.
While the new Government has been in power for a few weeks only, we will continue to support and encourage Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy-led Government in making progress on this important issue.