The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) the changing of babies in her Department.
Karen Bradley
The Home Office provides suitable facilities for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers (where they can also change babies if required), in line with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees they plan to give to people with a learning disability that they will continue to have their right to independent living respected following the introduction of the new funding system for supported housing.
Lord Freud
Supported accommodation plays a vital role in the lives of many vulnerable people. A safe and stable and supportive place to live can be the key to unlocking better outcomes for people and for many it is a stepping stone to independent living in the longer term. The Government values the role supported housing plays and is committed to encouraging further development to meet future demand.
The Secretary of State confirmed in his written Ministerial Statement to Parliament on 15th September that the Government will shortly be publishing a consultation document on supported housing.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NICE on conducting health technology appraisals for off-patent drugs that have been proven to be effective in new indications.
George Freeman
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the subject of technology appraisals for off-patent drugs in new indications. NICE does not routinely appraise drugs outside their licensed indications.
NICE does, however, issue evidence summaries which summarise the published evidence for selected unlicensed or off-label medicines that are considered to be of significance to the NHS, where there are no clinically appropriate licensed alternatives. They support decision-making on the use of an unlicensed or off-label medicine for an individual patient, where there are good clinical reasons for its use, usually when there is no licensed medicine for the condition requiring treatment, or the licensed medicine is not appropriate for that individual. Examples of evidence summaries can be found at:
http://www.nice.org.uk/advice?type=esuom
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the effect on the public purse of replacing maintenance loans with maintenance grants.
Joseph Johnson
Replacing maintenance grants with loans will reduce grant expenditure by around £2.5bn per year by 2020-21 and therefore make a substantial contribution to reducing the deficit. From that new baseline position, entirely replacing the new, larger maintenance loans with grants would increase grant expenditure – and the deficit – by around £8bn per year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-01-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government to which body the ownership of the former railway line between Colne and the former Lancashire/West Riding of Yorkshire county boundary at County Brook transferred when BRB (Residuary) Ltd was abolished in 2013, and who now owns that line.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
This section of the former railway line is now owned by the Secretary of State for Transport following the abolition of the former British Railways Board (Residuary) limited in September 2013. The former Closed Branch Line to the north of this section was transferred to Lancashire County Council in March 1974.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21380, what recent information he has received from the Danish authorities in relation to the death of Stephen O’Malley; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Lidington
The State Attorney in Denmark has reached a decision to reopen Mr O’Malley’s case. The local authorities will now begin their investigation and consular officials will remain in contact with them for further updates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the role of personal independence payment assessment providers in the increase in processing time between the case referral to assessment provider to return from the assessment provider to the government office since July 2015.
Justin Tomlinson
Following a controlled start from July 2015, full Personal Independence Payment (PIP) roll-out commenced in October 2015, with an increase in the numbers of existing Disability Living Allowance claimants being asked to claim PIP.
In addition and in order to improve the customer journey, the Department has made some changes to the way in which it monitors Assessment Provider performance. These changes mean that Providers now have more time in which to complete assessments and return reports to the Department and also gives them greater flexibility to obtain further evidence to support claims: this therefore allows more time for scheduling appointments that better suit claimants and Assessment Providers, increases accuracy in assessments and reports and ensures opportunities for paper based reviews are maximised thereby reducing the demand for face-to-face appointments. Although these changes may see slightly longer average clearance times, they remain within expected levels.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what timetable he has set for publication of information on the cost to the public purse of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.
Matthew Hancock
The final costs for the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information are currently being assembled and I expect to be able to publish the information shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes his Department has made to Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd’s performance benchmarks under Schedule 7.1 of the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern franchise agreement since that agreement was signed.
Claire Perry
The Franchise Agreement sets out the circumstances which entitle a revision to the Govia Thameslink Railway Schedule 7.1 benchmarks. A predefined contractual change has occurred which has required changes to the Cancellation and TOC Minute Delay benchmarks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the total immigration figures for each of the last five years from (1) the EU, and (2) outside the EU; and of which nationalities were immigrants from outside the EU in each of those years.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.