Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care Quality of 9 February 2016, on party of esteem in the NHS constitution, Official Report, column 1430, if he will add the right to psychological therapies to the constitution.

    Alistair Burt

    The NHS Constitution right to drugs and treatments reflects the legal funding requirement that applies to interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidance.

    NICE has not been asked to undertake a technical appraisal of psychological therapies. If in the future, psychological therapies are recommended by NICE, and are consequently mandated for use in the National Health Service, we will consider consulting on including a right to psychological therapies within the Constitution.

    Over the last spending review we invested over £400 million into the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme to ensure access to talking therapies for those who need them and this has contributed to achieving very real improvements in the lives of people with anxiety and depression.

  • Mrs Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mrs Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Flick Drummond on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the number of women of child-bearing age taking folic acid supplements over the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England has not made an assessment of the impact of trends in folic acid supplement use in recent years. We continue to encourage women to take a folic acid supplement from before they are pregnant to the 12th week of pregnancy, and include this in all appropriate public health messaging.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of introducing no-fly zones over parts of the Syrian border.

    Penny Mordaunt

    While the UK would consider any option compliant with international law which might save lives in Syria, and have considered the feasibility of attempting to create safe zones, our priority is to support UN-brokered intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva. We believe this offers the best hope of bringing an end to the conflict and relief to civilian populations.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Lifetime ISAs will be available to the public.

    Mr David Gauke

    The new Lifetime ISA will provide savers with the flexibility to save towards a first home and retirement at the same time.

    From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.

    The Government is engaging with the industry on the detail of implementation, regulation and advice on the Lifetime ISA. Further details will be announced when the Government brings forward legislation to enact the Lifetime ISA in the autumn.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what percentage of disability living allowance for children re-assessments resulted in a change in the award entitlement in the last three years for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available. Children are given fixed term awards and it is the responsibility of the parent to make a new application once the award ends if the child still has additional needs as a result of disability. If a relevant change of circumstances is reported then the claim could be reassessed. Although data is held on numbers of renewals and supersessions we do not hold data on outcomes from these.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the Exchequer was of providing free television licences to people over 75 years of age in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 for qualifying residents in (i) the North East, (ii) Country Durham and (iii) Easington constituency.

    Richard Harrington

    In 2014/15 the cost of providing free TV licences to those 75 and over in the North East was £26.5m and it is estimated the cost for qualifying residents in Durham County local authority and Easington constituency was £5.3m and £0.8m respectively.

    The cost of the free TV licences to those aged 75 and over in the North East for 2015/16 will be published on 21 September on the Gov.uk website. Breakdowns by County and Parliamentary Constituency use that North East expenditure estimate.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the role of women researchers in the global agriculture sector.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government is committed to developing a strong, diverse research community. The Research Councils and National Academies share this commitment.

    Government is working with its partner organisations to promote equality across all research disciplines and has established a Diversity Steering Group to guide this work.

    To improve the diversity of research fellowship awards, the National Academies are working to encourage more applications from under-represented groups and to guard against discrimination in the selection process. Government has also commissioned the Research Councils to develop an action plan to improve the diversity of grant applications and peer-review rates.

    As an international example, Government and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have jointly funded four research programmes involving collaborative projects between UK researchers and partners in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

    All programmes have included research capacity building in developing countries and have had an increasing focus on integrating gender into agricultural research.

    The most recent programme, Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) includes a studentship programme and of the twelve PhD students who have been appointed, eight are women.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the change in the publication date of the Mental Health Taskforce report to January 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    The independent Mental Health Taskforce has committed to delivering a costed five year mental health strategy for the NHS. Following the important announcement in the Spending Review that the Government is investing an additional £600m in mental health during this period, in line with the priorities identified in the strategy, the Taskforce is now finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be ready for publication by NHS England in the New Year.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has held with the Chief Electoral Officer on steps to ensure that the count of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in May 2016 is carried out efficiently and is not subject to undue delays.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Northern Ireland Office is in regular contact with the Chief Electoral Officer. I am confident that he is taking all necessary steps to ensure the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, including the count, are delivered as efficiently as possible. Single Transferable Vote counts by their nature take longer than those in “first past the post” elections, and the Chief Electoral Officer’s primary consideration has to be the accuracy of the count. However, he has put in place a number of measures to improve the speed of the count, including testing for count staff and modifications to the process for verifying ballot papers.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 19143, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the administration of disability exemptions on vehicle excise duty and the effect on parking charges in local authority car parks.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has not issued guidance to local authorities on the administration of disability exemptions on vehicle excise duty. The issue of guidance to local authorities on off-street car parking charges would be a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government, which has policy responsibility for this matter. It is for local authorities to decide what factors to take into account when considering how to apply concessions and exemptions from parking charges.