The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of relative levels of productivity in community pharmacies and other primary care professions in each year since 2015.
David Mowat
We have made no assessment of productivity in community pharmacies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the cost to businesses of inconsistent broadband coverage in the last 12 months.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Access to broadband is of vital importance to small businesses, which is why the Government-funded Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme has provided over 50,000 small and medium sized enterprises with access to high speed broadband.83 per cent of homes and businesses already have access to superfast broadband services, and thanks to the Government’s investment in the superfast broadband rollout. This is set to rise to 95 per cent by the end of 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2015-11-25.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people of each gender have worked as special advisers in the Government Equalities Office in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
Edward Timpson
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-12-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Concentrix on compliance checks for tax credits includes (a) the number of checks to be carried out, (b) the number of staff and (c) types of enforcement action.
Mr David Gauke
Reducing tax credits fraud and error is a top priority for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The contract with Concentrix offers additional capacity to help build on HMRC’s own work, which has reduced tax credits fraud and error to the lowest ever level. Using a private company provides a cost-effective way to reach additional claims that need checking.
The checks are to ensure that people are paid the correct amount of money to prevent them from getting into debt which they may find difficult to repay and protect losses to taxpayers.
Concentrix operate under the same powers and processes as HMRC. Concentrix select cases to be checked using information provided by HMRC. Concentrix decide how best to achieve the expected benefits, including the number and type of cases and number of staff employed. HMRC closely monitors their performance.
The contract uses a payment by results model, which means Concentrix is only paid based on the money it saves the Exchequer as a result of correcting claims that are incorrect. They will not be paid if the decisions they make about claimants’ awards are incorrect.
The contract was signed on 6 May 2014. The contract was awarded to Synnex-Concentrix UK Ltd in April 2014, following a procurement exercise advertised under the open procedure. Information about the contract value and contract award is already in the public domain.
https://www.deltaesourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=97910033
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department has in place to facilitate access to wells and water in developing countries.
Mr Nick Hurd
In 2012 the UK Government set a target of reaching 60 million people in the developing world with one or more water, sanitation or hygiene (WASH) interventions by the end of 2015. The Department for International Development (DFID) delivered a range of WASH programmes in 19 countries through its network of country offices. In addition DFID ran 2 regional programmes and 4 centrally managed programmes from DFID HQ.
The target was achieved 9 months early in April 2015.
More detailed information on individual WASH programmes that contributed to meeting this target is available through the development tracker function https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/sector/3 on the DFID website.
We are currently formulating our new portfolio to deliver on the UK government’s commitment to help a further 60 million people get access to clean water and sanitation by 2020.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, for what reason her Department cancelled Round Six of the UK Aid Match Fund; for what reason that cancellation was not announced earlier; for what reason that cancellation was not announced earlier; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that cancellation on charities who were developing proposals.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UKAid Match scheme has been a clear success in matching pound for pound public donations to charity appeals for projects changing lives in some of the poorest countries in the world. A sign of success is that some projects have substantially exceeded their fundraising targets. This has led to the programme’s full allocation of £120M being reached earlier than planned. DFID announced that there would not be a further funding round under the current programme as soon as it became clear that the budget had been fully allocated.
The Government is committed to doubling UK Aid Match. This will provide further opportunities for charities who were developing proposals, including those intended for Round 6, to secure match funding for their appeals. Details of future funding opportunities will be set out in due course, including on the UK Government website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 1.242 of Budget 2016, how much of the additional £700 million for flood defence and resilience will be spent in Lancashire.
Rory Stewart
Of the additional £700 million announced in the Budget to be spent on flood defences and resilience, £150m has been allocated to new schemes in Yorkshire and Cumbria. The £40m per year increase in floods maintenance will be spent nationwide according to need. The remaining funding will be allocated following the outcome of the National Flood Resilience Review in the summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department plans to provide to the Pubs Code Adjudicator; and which directorate of his Department will oversee that support.
Anna Soubry
The Department is providing support to Mr. Newby to set up the Pubs Code Adjudicator office and prepare for the service it will deliver. The support includes finalising the office location and helping with logistical matters such as staff recruitment, IT provision, communication and stakeholder planning, financial modelling and service design. As the Pubs Code Adjudicator office becomes staffed, the Department will reduce its support.
Following commencement of the Pubs Code, the Department will perform a sponsorship role to ensure that the Pubs Code Adjudicator is accountable and delivering value for money services whilst maintaining its independence.
The Consumer and Competition Directorate in Economics and Markets Group will provide the ongoing support and the sponsorship function.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 3 May 2016, Official Report, column 45WH, on asylum seeker dispersal, if she will provide the names of the (a) 103 local authorities that are currently asylum dispersal areas, (b) 20 local authorities signed up to be asylum dispersal areas and (c) 28 local authorities that her Department is in discussions with to become asylum dispersal areas.
James Brokenshire
Recently published Home Office data confirms that, as at the end of March 2016 there were 107 local authorities accommodating dispersed asylum seekers. This data can be accessed via the following link:
Not all dispersal areas are currently housing asylum seekers; future published data will detail new dispersal areas as asylum seekers are dispersed to them.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make personal devices for instant monitoring of insulin levels available to people with diabetes on the NHS.
Nicola Blackwood
We are not aware of any clinical utility associated with the instant monitoring of insulin levels. However, continuous glucose monitoring devices can measure glucose levels 24 hours a day and it is for National Health Service commissioners to decide whether to make these available to their local populations.
In August 2015, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines which recommend that such devices should not be made routinely available to people with Type 1 diabetes unless they are willing to commit to using them at least 70% of the time and to calibrate them as needed (as well as meeting certain other criteria).
NICE has found that, for some people, continuous glucose monitoring can have clinical benefit but generally it is not more effective than current methods of self-monitoring.