The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the responses to the non-financial factors section of the recent consultation on revoking and replacing the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government’s response to the consultation, which will set out our next steps in relation to these issues, will be published shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will estimate the amount of funding that will be made available to each part of the UK for farming and agriculture through the CAP in the post-2020 Multi Annual Framework.
George Eustice
No decisions on post-2020 funding have been taken yet. The post-2020 Multi Annual Framework negotiations will be led by HMT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to secure a trade agreement with Israel after the UK ceases to be party to the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Greg Hands
In due course, Britain will be leaving the EU. This offers us an opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world: to negotiate, in time, our own trade agreements and to be a positive and powerful force for free trade.
Whilst it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions at this stage, the UK will want to continue our strong trade and investment relationship with Israel.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she estimates that the BCG vaccine will be available to resume the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme; and what plans her Department has in place to procure BCG for this purpose.
George Eustice
We have no firm date for resumption of supply of the authorised product from the manufacturer, with whom my officials and Public Health England (PHE) are in contact. PHE and Defra officials visited the production facility in September.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which categories of United Kingdom visa application processes are outsourced; which companies have been given the right to process those applications; and whether those companies have been provided with guidance in relation to religious and cultural sensitivities.
Lord Bates
UKVI has two suppliers, VFS and Teleperformance, who are contracted to run UK Visa Application Centres (VACs) overseas. Their role is to capture visa applicants’ biometrics and forward their visa application documentation to the Home Office run Decision Making Centres (DMCs). Once Home Office staff have decided an application, the decision is returned to the customer via the suppliers. The suppliers have no role in visa decision making.
VACs are generally staffed and managed by local nationals, so staff should be aware of any local cultural and religious sensitivities. Where local sensitivities require special arrangements, such as ensuring that there are female as well as male security guards or privacy when capturing biometrics, UKVI ensure the arrangements are in place by setting out requirements in the contract, providing guidance and training and through inspection visits.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the £361,446,114 spent on DfID’s Programme Partnership Arrangements in the 2011–14 round was spent: (1) overseas, and (2) on UK staff and advocacy efforts in the UK
Baroness Verma
DFID does not hold details of the proportion of funding spent through the Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs) overseas and on UK staff. PPAs are not used for any campaigning or advocacy efforts in the UK.
The PPAs are strategic level arrangements with Civil Society Organisations based around mutually agreed outcomes. Organisations have individual performance frameworks against which they formally report against on an annual basis. Funding is flexible and not tied to specific interventions or initiatives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Syrian Dom people will be included in the 20,000 refugees selected to be given refuge in the UK.
Lord Bates
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for potential resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme using its established vulnerability criteria. Although these do not include membership of a particular ethnic group, Dom people may qualify under the criteria, which include survivors of violence and/or torture and refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs. The scheme prioritises those who cannot be effectively supported in the region, and there are no quotas for the number of refugees that will qualify under each criteria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on implementing the Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy.
Jane Ellison
NHS England continues to support implementation of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy. It is working closely with Public Health England (PHE) on a range of preventative issues which support implementation of the strategy and promote wider improvement in outcomes. These include addressing areas such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol together with the further development of NHS Health Checks, where recent research has shown that with appropriate clinical treatment, an estimated 2,500 people will have avoided a major cardiovascular event, such as heart attack or stroke over the last five years as a result of the programme.
NHS England is also working with partners to support actions that promote earlier diagnosis of conditions such as atrial fibrillation, heart failure and valve disease and improved survival from out of hospital cardiac arrest.
NHS England also hosts an expert forum which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, PHE and the Department. This collaborative continues to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the anonymous evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee to the effect that national regulators are pressuring NHS providers to potentially mislead the public and Government departments over their true
Lord Prior of Brampton
From 1 April this year NHS Improvement will be the operational name for the national regulator for National Health Service providers, replacing Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority.
NHS Improvement have asked finance directors to review the accuracy of accounting entries and scrutinise estimates as far as possible to ensure they are a true and accurate reflection of the financial position of each trust. All financial statements for individual providers will be prepared in line with international Financial Reporting Standards and Government budgeting rules and are subject to independent, external audit. The Department is therefore satisfied that the current NHS Improvement approach is entirely appropriate and would be so in any financial year.
NHS Improvement representatives have committed to address this point with the Public Accounts Committee at the earliest opportunity and have written directly to the chair.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to procure ships under the Military Afloat Reach Sustainability programme; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme covers the four Tide Class Tankers which were ordered in 2012 and are currently under construction, and the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships. As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to procure three Fleet Solid Support logistic ships