The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the overall cost was of residential training for civil servants in each of the last three years.
Matthew Hancock
This information is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 15 February (HL5803), what assessment they have made of the criticisms of the admissions practices of a significant number of religiously selective schools in the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association; and what action they are taking to stop any such practices.
Lord Nash
Schools which are found by the Schools Adjudicator to have aspects of their admission arrangements which do not comply with the Schools Admissions Code are required to amend their arrangements to ensure they are compliant.
The Department carefully considers the recommendations of the Chief Schools Adjudicator, as well as feedback from parents and other members of the sector. Where we consider changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) unaccompanied children and (b) partners of refugees who had already been granted asylum in the UK (i) applied for and (ii) were granted asylum in the UK in each of the last three years.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on asylum claims from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) in the Immigration Statistics release. This includes information on applications received, decisions made by sex, age and country of nationality.
The Home Office does not centrally record the number of people that apply for asylum who have a partner in the UK who has already been granted. This could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will bring forward proposals for a national register of wills similar to that used in Spain.
Dominic Raab
This Department has no plans to create a national register of wills for England and Wales. Wills may be deposited for safekeeping with the Probate Service, part of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, on payment of the appropriate fee (currently £20). Various private sector bodies, including many legal practitioners, also offer registration and safekeeping services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that the NHS supply chain does not include products that are produced with forced labour or modern versions of slavery.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department has worked with its national contracting and logistics partner, NHS Supply Chain to develop a range of ethical procurement interventions that increase the scrutiny applied to suppliers, based on the risks presented.
All suppliers contracted by NHS Supply Chain are required to adhere to the NHS Supply Chain – Supplier Code of Conduct. A copy of the Code of Conduct is attached.
This code of conduct includes requirements for suppliers to work in line with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and makes specific reference to forced and compulsory labour. The Supplier Code of Conduct has been a contractual requirement of all Framework Agreements since 2009.
For categories of products where the risk of labour standards abuses has been assessed as high, by the nature of the manufacturing processes, employment practices or location, NHS Supply Chain require all suppliers to implement a Labour Standards Assurance System to specified standards.
NHS Supply Chain continually review the wider contract portfolio, and where appropriate, the Labour Standards Assurance System requirements will be applied to new contract areas.
Contract terms will require suppliers to implement and improve their Labour Standards Assurance System, in line with stipulated milestones, during the life of the framework agreement.
Suppliers are contractually required to evidence compliance by providing details of independent third party audits conducted on their Assurance System.
Where suppliers do not meet the specified standard within the stipulated timescales, their contract will be suspended in the first instance, and then terminated if remediation actions are not undertaken in a suitably timely manner.
NHS Supply Chain provides support for suppliers required to implement a labour standards assurance system with webinars that provide access to expert support and capability building material.
In relation to the British Medical Association (BMA) report In Good Hands, all suppliers awarded on the current Framework Agreement for Examination and Sterile Surgical Gloves are subject to the NHS Supply Chain Code of Conduct and contractual requirements to operate a Labour Standards Assurance System.
Since the framework agreement launched in December 2015, a webinar workshop has been held with all suppliers to explain the Labour Standards Assurance System and implications of the Modern Slavery Act.
Of the manufacturers named in the BMA report, two are currently awarded under the NHS Supply Chain national framework agreement for medical gloves.
In both cases the Department in conjunction with NHS Supply Chain has investigated the allegations thoroughly by working with specialist independent third party audit bodies, who have undertaken assessments at the identified facilities.
Audit findings have not identified any specific cases of slavery or human trafficking, or any serious systemic abuses of worker or human rights, however, improvements in management procedures, communications and training were recommended to reduce the potential for abuses to arise.
Both suppliers have acknowledged these findings and have agreed actions, as part of contractual remediation plans, to address these.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people from other EU countries are resident in (a) Burnley and (b) Lancashire.
Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the article in The Lancet, Adjuvant bisphosonphate treatment in early breast cancer: meta-analyses of individual patient data from randomised trials, published in July 2015, what steps he has taken to ensure that bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer are routinely available to the patients who need them.
Nicola Blackwood
The Independent Cancer Taskforce report included a specific recommendation on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for treating people with breast cancer. We understand that NHS England is working to realise the ambitions set out in the report and will publish an update on progress made soon.
National prescribing arrangements already allow for bisphosphonates to be prescribed for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.
Updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss, taking into account the latest available evidence, is expected in July 2018.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of UK energy production that takes the form of non-renewable energy production outputs in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
We estimate that the proportion of electricity produced in the UK (gross total electricity supplied) which will be generated by non-renewable means over the next five years is as follows:
2016 75%
2017 71%
2018 68%
2019 66%
2020 62%
This excludes electricity supplied from other countries via interconnectors.
The above data is taken from the reference scenario in Annex J of DECC’s 2015 Energy and Emissions Projections. This and other scenarios with differing economic growth and fossil fuel prices are available online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the fitness-for-purpose of the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Nuclear Installations) Regulations 2007 and their applicability to technical developments for unmanned aerial vehicles since their coming into force in 2007.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The airspace over UK nuclear licensed sites is restricted by the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Nuclear Installations) regulations 2007. These impose restricted airspace of a radius between 0.5 and 2 miles to a height of between 1000 and 2400 feet around the centre of all nuclear sites. Airspace usage in the UK is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Therefore it is a criminal offence to fly in the vicinity of nuclear sites without the permission of the CAA. The CAA and nuclear sites work closely together on this.
All of Britain’s nuclear power stations are robust and designed with safety in mind and are stress-tested to withstand a vast range of potential incidents. The independent regulator continuously monitors and evaluates the safety of each plant alongside the operator to protect it from outside threats.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to promote Welsh literature in the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Arts Council England funds organisations nationwide including National Portfolio Organisations offering high quality creative and professional training to writers, particularly aimed at emerging talent and funds and supports individual writers/literature via the Grants for the Arts funding scheme.
Literature Wales is the national company for the promotion and development of literature in Wales, and works with the support of the Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government. Literature Wales receives an annual revenue grant from the Arts Council of Wales as well as a subsidy from the Arts Council’s Lottery Funds