The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions government departments have paid bills to small and medium-sized businesses more than 60 days after the date the invoice was received since 2010-11.
Matthew Hancock
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to her on 5 February 2016 to UIN: 25347.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the Government has contributed to the World Health Organisation in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Jane Ellison
The Department contributes financially, on a calendar year basis, to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the form of the United Kingdom’s assessed contribution, and voluntary contributions to support areas of work such as dementia, tobacco control and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including a contribution in 2015 to support the WHO Global Action Plan on AMR. The Department’s contributions for the last three years are set out in the table below.
|
year |
Assessed contribution (£) |
Voluntary contribution (£) |
|
2013 |
19,482,012.20 |
153,957.75 |
|
2014 |
15,343,925.23 |
719,233.11 |
|
2015 |
15,129,522.23 |
3,778,937.56 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the outcome has been of its programme to improve the effect of public expenditure on the quality of service delivery and poverty reduction in Uganda.
Mr Nick Hurd
Supporting public financial management is essential in promoting accountability and ensuring the efficient use of public resources to drive poverty reduction, as well as being fundamental in the fight against corruption.
The Financial Management and Accountability Programme (FINMAP) works across the public financial management system. The programme has registered a number of achievements. The Public Finance Act was passed by Parliament in November 2014 thanks to technical support provided by FINMAP. A new Government of Uganda Public Financial Management reform strategy for 2014–2018 was launched in August 2014. The programme has also strengthened the Office of the Auditor General.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was allocated to schools for supporting children with learning difficulties in (a) Mid Sussex constituency and (b) West Sussex in each of the last three years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
Funding for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) is allocated to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant, which includes both funding to be delegated to mainstream schools, and funding for the additional costs associated with educating children and young people with high needs.
Schools are funded through a formula set by their local authority, and local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN up to £6,000 per annum. It is for individual schools to decide how they allocate their overall budget to ensure they meet the specific needs of children with learning difficulties.
For those pupils whose additional support costs more than £6,000 the local authority pays top-up funding to the schools from their high needs budget. Top-up funding rates are for local authorities to agree with their schools.
West Sussex County Council’s high needs allocation, within the dedicated schools grant, in each of the last three years was as follows:
2013-14 – £67.69m
2014-15 – £70.53m
2015-16 – £71.64m
We do not hold information on the total funding allocated by West Sussex County Council for supporting children with learning difficulties to schools in the Mid Sussex constituency or in the West Sussex county area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-06-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to encourage Kurdish Iraqis, Sunnis and Shia Muslims to live together after defeating ISIS in Iraq.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We are supporting the Iraqi government in its efforts to unite Iraq’s communities against Daesh and extremism, rebuild public trust in the Iraqi state and deliver the services and opportunities which all Iraqis want and deserve. We welcome the commitments that the Government of Iraq has made to inclusivity, to protecting Iraqi citizens, to addressing human rights abuses and holding those responsible to account.
There are now more than 3 million internally displaced people in Iraq. We have committed £79.5 million to the humanitarian effort in Iraq to help those who have fled Daesh’s brutality, and are the largest donor to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-managed Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund.
We are contributing £6 million to the UN’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation, to help the Iraqi government stabilise areas recently liberated from Daesh and re-establish security, basic services and inclusive local governance. We will provide funding for a number of projects designed to support community cohesion and encourage reconciliation, acceptance and tolerance between communities at a grass roots level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-09-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the BBC Panorama programme broadcast on 5 September concerning safety and its management at Sellafield; whether they plan to take any remedial action in the light of that programme; and if so, what.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government disagrees with Panorama’s presentation of safety at Sellafield. The site is a legacy of the UK’s early nuclear programmes. The independent Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has confirmed that it remains safe. The Government’s objective is to decommission its facilities safely, cost-effectively and as quickly as possible. This is an enormously complex task, but we are making significant progress and we expect that to continue.
Our nuclear industry is one of the most highly regulated in the world and the ONR inspects all civil nuclear sites on a regular basis to ensure high levels of safety. The ONR have stated that hazard and risk reduction at Sellafield remains their number one priority, with over 50 highly qualified and experienced inspectors working to ensure the site operates as safely and securely as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2016 to Question 45581, when his Department expects to be able to provide a breakdown of the costs incurred in the creation of his Department.
Margot James
The Department will provide a breakdown in the Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the deficit in trade with the EU in 2014 in (1) goods, and (2) overall in goods and services; and how that deficit is financed.
Lord Maude of Horsham
The UK’s trade in goods deficit with the EU was £78.9bn in 2014. The overall trade in goods and services deficit with the EU was £61.7bn.
The UK’s total trade deficit is financed by a net inflow of investment in the financial account, for which data is not available on a geographical basis. The UK’s financial account surplus was £89.4bn in 2014.
Source: ONS Pink Book 2015
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions her Department has had with the devolved assemblies on best practice on insulation of historic and other older properties.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department has regular discussions with its counterparts in the devolved administrations in order to ensure the sharing of best practice and ideas between all parts of the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential annual savings to the NHS through greater generic substitution compared to using their reference originator products; and what assessment he has made of the obstacles to implementing such a policy for (a) inhalers and biologics and (b) after complex products.
George Freeman
The Government has made no such assessments. England has one of the highest levels of generic prescribing in Europe. In 2014, the Health & Social Care Information Centre report Prescriptions Dispensed in the community: England 2004-14, shows that of all medicines dispensed in 2014, 84.1% were dispensed generically.
Prescribers are ultimately responsible for their own prescribing decisions. We expect them to always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and that patients are adequately monitored.