Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to ensure that the NHS Supply Chain wound dressing generics project takes account of evidence comparing the cost of managing unhealed and healed wounds, and of the total cost of wound care in the NHS currently as compared with previous estimates.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The review of wound dressings by a dedicated working group resulted in the development of a number of clinical specifications for wound care products.

In order to progress this work, from April 2016 a new NHS Clinical Evaluation Team will be put in place. The Clinical Evaluation Team will assess wound care products through a comprehensive evaluation process, which will have extensive engagement with NHS clinical staff. Included in the process will be tissue viability and infection control nurses, clinical procurement specialists, doctors, nurses and midwives along with medicine management practitioners from community trusts.

The project’s remit is to review clinical products to identify those that enable high quality patient care whilst delivering the best outcomes for the NHS. The secondary consideration will be to identify products that could be procured more effectively through combined NHS buying power, to deliver greater overall value for money.

The Clinical Evaluation Team is made up of practising clinicians.

The project will therefore undertake assessments of the total costs and benefits of any recommendations to the overall NHS.

01/01/2023

Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department were in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and what the cost to his Department was of providing that allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

Mr Julian Brazier

The requested information is provided in the following table and I have added the figures for 2009-10 for comparison.

Continuity of Education Allowance, Number of Claimants and Cost (UK and Overseas) by Financial Year (FY)

	FY 2009-10	FY 2012-13	FY 2013-14	FY 2014-15
UK Claimants	5,020	4,160	3,600	3,230
Overseas Claimants	1,000	790	700	650
Total Claimants	6,020	4,950	4,300	3,880

UK Cost (£ million)	93.2	82.2	74.3	69.4
Overseas Cost (£ million)	18.1	16.4	15.0	15.1
Total Cost (£ million)	111.3	98.7	89.3	84.5

Note: all numbers are rounded

Continuity of Education Allowance was reviewed as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 since when improvements in governance have achieved a reduction of costs by around £30 million per annum along with an associated reduction in claimants. Work continues to further reduce the cost of the allowance.

01/01/2023

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of basic farm payments claimed during 2015 had been paid as of 30 April.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

As at 2 May, the first working day following 30 April, 98% of Basic Payment Scheme claimants had received a payment.

01/01/2023
Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress HM Revenue and Customs has made in investigating in the UK tobacco companies that over-supply low tobacco-tax foreign countries, and what action has resulted from those investigations.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The UK introduced stringent rules in 2006 requiring all UK Tobacco Manufacturers (TMs) to control their supply chains. These rules required them to take steps to avoid supplying cigarettes and/or HRT (hand rolling tobacco) to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the UK or resupply them to other persons who are likely to do the same.

Tobacco manufacturers can face penalties of up to £5m for failing to comply with the rules. HMRC action, in monitoring TM’s compliance, is reflected in a reduction in supplies of UK brand cigarettes to high risk markets of 20% since 2010. At the same time, supplies to those markets of UK brand Hand Rolling Tobacco (HRT) has reduced by 36%.

Despite this success HMRC is not complacent. They continue to closely monitor the illicit market in the UK, which today is made up of a mix of unregulated brands, non UK brands, and counterfeit as well as genuine UK brands, to ensure the legislation is working. HMRC also robustly challenge TM’s supply chain policies and procedures to ensure their continued compliance with the rules.

HMRC cannot comment on the progress of individual investigations but it is a matter of public record that one manufacturer has been subject to a supply chain penalty. This penalty is currently under to appeal.

01/01/2023
Baroness Scott of Needham Market – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the EU referendum result, what is the status of applications made to the European Investment Bank by housing associations and local authorities.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The UK is and continues to be a shareholder of the European Investment Bank and the EIB has publicly stated that its engagement in the UK is unchanged. All existing loan contracts signed between UK promoters and the EIB remain in force, and the EIB has continued to sign and approve new projects since the referendum.

01/01/2023
Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government plans to maintain funding to prevent deforestation in developing countries; and whether the UK provides any funding to help prevent large-scale forest fires in developing countries.

James Wharton

Preventing deforestation is a key priority for the UK. More than one billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods, and forests are vital resources which support economic growth in developing countries. At the Paris climate change conference in 2015, the UK Germany and Norway collectively committed to providing up to US$1 billion per year by 2020, or over $5 billion in the period 2015-20, to prevent deforestation and ensure that forests are managed sustainably.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that cancer communities are targeted towards all age groups and people with learning disabilities.

Jane Ellison

We understand the hon. Member is referring to cancer communications.

Public Health England (PHE) runs a number of Be Clear on Cancer (BCoC) campaigns to encourage symptom recognition and earlier general practitioner (GP) presentation. The campaigns have been running since early 2011 and have covered a number of cancers nationally and regionally. Incidence increases with age for most cancers and BCoC targets men and women over 50, especially those from lower socioeconomic groups, as there is evidence that these individuals are more likely to delay seeing their GP. Although BCoC campaigns target people over 50, they do reach a much wider age group because of national media campaign activity.

Specialist organisations are consulted on campaign development to ensure that communications are accessible and inclusive. These have included Mencap, the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, and EasyHealth, specifically targeting people with learning disabilities and using their networks to share information effectively. In addition, campaign materials are produced in alternative formats, including easy read. Disability and carer organisations are sent tailored briefing sheets and toolkits to ensure their members are aware of campaign messages and the availability of alternative formats. Following each campaign, PHE seeks feedback from the disability and carer organisations it has worked with to evaluate the success of the engagement and ensure improvements are made where possible.

Locally, there are also a number of good examples where the National Health Service is tailoring its communications to ensure they are accessible to all groups, including those with learning disabilities. NHS England is exploring how these can be taken forward and built on at a national level. For example, easy read versions of cancer screening leaflets are available for people with learning disabilities.

01/01/2023
Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department issues to prisons on female prisoners’ access to and rights to care for young children.

Caroline Dinenage

The policy and guidance on the treatment of female offenders is contained in Prison Service Order 4800, which can be found at: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj8yJvt2N3JAhVFuBQKHTxXAwcQFggdMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.justice.gov.uk%2Fdownloads%2Foffenders%2Fpsipso%2Fpso%2FPSO_4800_women_prisoners.doc&usg=AFQjCNHEKdUSQ34oce66F47zApSRhF35Iw

“

01/01/2023
Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to tackle the shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry, and what assessment they have made of the implications of that shortage for their housing and infrastructure programmes.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government is undertaking a range of activities to support skills in the infrastructure and home building sectors. These include the reform of the apprenticeship system, the new apprenticeship levy, and the National Colleges Programme – which includes the National College for High Speed Rail. From April 2015 all government procurers of construction and infrastructure projects over £10 million are to include measures in pre-qualification and contract delivery to encourage skills development.

The Construction Leadership Council and Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) have separately undertaken work to encourage more people into the construction sector, including the launch of the GO-Construct website and work with the National Careers Service and Construction Ambassadors for schools. The CITB has also been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Armed Forces resettlement service and Local Enterprise Partnerships to encourage experienced individuals into the sector. In total, £42 million was invested by CITB, supporting 18,500 construction apprentices in 2015.

In addition, the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy, produced under the oversight of Terry Morgan, Chair of Crossrail, will set out further actions to be taken specifically to ensure the supply of skills to deliver transport infrastructure.

Assessments of demand for construction skills include the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills, which estimates that 250,000 construction and 150,000 engineering construction workers will be required to meet demand in the infrastructure sector by 2020. The CITB estimate that 224,000 new construction jobs are set to be created in the UK over the next five years.

01/01/2023
Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish further details of the next Contract for Difference auction; and which technologies she plans will be eligible for inclusion in that auction.

Andrea Leadsom

As announced by the Secretary of State in her speech in November, the current intention is to hold the next CFD allocation round for ‘less established’ technologies (pot 2) in late 2016.

We will set out details around future rounds in due course.

01/01/2023