The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.
Matthew Hancock
The Department has no record of receiving any funds from the European Social Fund.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions court cases have been listed in the same time slot as another case since 2010.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that NICE guidance is followed in the use of faecal microbiota transplants in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on faecal microbiota transplant for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection under the interventional procedure programme. This programme makes recommendations about the safety of the procedures and how well they work. However the guidance does not constitute a direction to National Health Service trusts to provide the interventions. Decisions about whether to provide a treatment are taken locally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the implementation plan and monitoring framework for the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Sarah Newton
While there are no plans to publish an additional plan or monitoring framework, the Government has several mechanisms overseeing implementation and monitoring of the Modern Slavery Act and Strategy. The Inter-Departmental Group for Modern Slavery, chaired by the Hoe Secretary, publishes an annual report on Government work to tackle modern slavery. The Modern Slavery Threat Group chaired by the National Policing Lead, oversees the operational response. And the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner will publish his first annual report about the UK’s response this Autumn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many audiology services there are in England.
David Mowat
Comprehensive data on the number of audiology services in England is not collected.
NHS England has no current plans to introduce financial incentives for the achievement of Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation.
As of 1 September, there are 39 organisations with IQIPS accreditation for audiology, covering 28 adult and 21 paediatric audiology services. If an organisation is accredited for both adult and paediatric audiology, United Kingdom Accreditation Service considers that one accreditation.
In Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework for clinical commissioning groups, published in July, NHS England strongly encourages clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.
In the contract for Genomics Medicines Centres, Annex M requires National Health Service trusts nominated as Lead Organisations and Local Delivery Partners to be working towards diagnostic accreditation across all available schemes, including IQIPS.
NHS England is also working with the Care Quality Commission to agree the use of scientific and diagnostic schemes as an information source for inspection purposes, as set out in their latest strategy.
We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory accreditation of audiology services in England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-10-27.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of households in receipt of tax credits in each of the last five tax years for which data are available did not make a claim in the following tax year.
Damian Hinds
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are being taken in the UK to safeguard moderate Muslims from Islamophobic crime, in the light of the recent terrorist attacks around the world.
Lord Bates
The Government takes the safety of the Muslim and all other communities extremely seriously, and deplores all forms of hate crime. We are concerned by reports of increased attacks against Muslims in recent weeks, and we are working with the police and community groups on monitoring the situation and taking appropriate action where required.
The police constantly review events and potential threats to ensure everything is being done to protect our communities from terrorism, hate crime and the impact of public protest.
After the attacks in Paris the police have increased their presence on some streets and at some locations, and they will be intensifying their approach at events in big cities. Officers are working closely with London’s communities and businesses to provide advice and reassurance. Government officials are also speaking to community organisations such as Tell MAMA to ensure that we are aware of the current issues around anti-Muslim hatred and to ensure that we increase reporting of it.
The Government is committed to tackling hate crime. That is why we have announced a new cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan. This will be taken forward in partnership with the communities that it seeks to protect, and will include a range of actions across Government. We have also announced that from 2016, police forces will be expected to record data on hate crimes against Muslims and members of other religious groups, to allow us to properly assess the scale of the problem we are facing.
Our Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October, outlines how we will further protect British Muslims, including communities worried about Neo-Nazi groups who may be planning crimes such as attacks on Muslims.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11893, when her Department plans to publish an assessment of the effectiveness of the Soil Protection Review and cross-compliance inspection regime in reducing soil erosion; and what penalties there are for landowners who do not take steps to reduce soil erosion.
Rory Stewart
Defra published the report ‘An Assessment of the implementation of the Soil Protection Review (SPR) 2010 and soil management practices in England’ in 2012. The report considered the overall impact of the SPR on soil management practices in England including on erosion.
Defra introduced new national standards for agricultural soils under cross compliance in January 2015 which apply to recipients of Common Agricultural Policy funding. The Government is monitoring the implementation of the new rules.
The penalty regime for cross compliance is set out in the Cross Compliance Guidance 2016 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guide-to-cross-compliance-in-england-2016
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release of 28 December 2015, Insurers vow to pass on whiplash reform saving, what the evidential basis is for the Government’s statement that whiplash claims cost the country £2 billion a year.
Dominic Raab
As noted in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the figure of £2 billion a year is an insurance industry estimate of the cost of dealing with road traffic related personal injury claims.
The Government will be publishing an impact assessment alongside its consultation on the whiplash reforms announced in the Autumn Statement in due course.