Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of recently published research from Breast Cancer Now on the availability of bisphosphonates.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Independent Cancer Taskforce report included a specific recommendation on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for treating people with breast cancer. We understand that NHS England is working to realise the ambitions set out in the report and will publish an update on progress made soon.

    National prescribing arrangements already allow for bisphosphonates to be prescribed for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.

    Updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss, taking into account the latest available evidence, is expected in July 2018.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households in receipt of universal credit who receive support for housing costs are also subject to all work-related requirements.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

    The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

    “

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s publication, Living Well for Longer: One year on, published in March 2015, when he plans to publish a hepatitis C Improvement Framework.

    Jane Ellison

    A date for publication of the hepatitis C Improvement Framework has not yet been set. Public Health England continues working with NHS England and Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to establish a process of monitoring hepatitis C treatment access and uptake.

    Following their establishment in August 2015, ODNs will need to continue to be developed as a mechanism for ensuring equitable access to expert multidisciplinary team care and treatment for hepatitis C. ODNs are working to develop their plans, based on the published service specification and with the support of local specialised commissioning teams and regional Clinical Directors of specialised commissioning. Work is also underway to establish by February 2016 a national network of ODN clinical leads to share good practice. In addition, the draft hepatitis C improvement framework includes a numbers of areas pertinent to ODN operation and will therefore support further development of their role.

  • Kit Malthouse – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kit Malthouse – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kit Malthouse on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 22515, if he will estimate the amount paid out in supplements following the late payment of VAT returns in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the previous 10 years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The following table shows HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) estimates of the total amount of Repayment Supplement it has paid on VAT repayments. The estimates draw on management information that is available from 2010-11 onwards.

    .

    Date

    Total VAT repayment supplement

    2015-16 (to 31.12.15)

    £9.0m

    2014-15

    £14.2m

    2013-14

    £15.0m

    2012-13

    £10.9m*

    2011-12

    £11.8m*

    2010-11

    £6.7m*

    * In order to provide a more meaningful time series of data, totals for 10-11, 11-12 and 12-13 include estimated amounts from within total payments of £12.1m that relate to accounting periods in these years but were not paid until 2015, following discovery of a systems error.

    In 2014-15, HMRC paid Repayment Supplement in 0.3% of all cases.

    In the first half of 2015-16, HMRC carried out an extensive review of its repayment process with a view to minimising delays in cases where repayments are not authorised automatically. Following the review, new processes have been introduced and HMRC expects to reduce the incidence of Repayment Supplement as a result.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of (a) the effects on financial institutions with high energy exposure of the falling price of oil and (b) the effect of that falling price on businesses in the North Sea.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor set out the government’s view on the challenges facing the UK economy in a speech on 7 January. The transcript of the speech is available from www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-on-challenges-facing-uk-economy-in-2016. The Chancellor and other Ministers meet regularly with regulators and the Bank of England. In addition, the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report sets out an analysis, which can be found here:

    http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/fsr/2015/dec.aspx

    The Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) stress test results in December 2015 suggest that the major UK banks would be resilient to a sustained commodity price downturn.

    The UK now has a robust system of financial regulation, where the regulators have clear objectives and powers to deal with risks to the financial sector. The Government established the FPC to identify, monitor and address systemic risks to financial stability.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to tackle the lower expected offer rate to Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups higher education applicants.

    Joseph Johnson

    My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. Entry rates for 18 year olds in each ethnic group increased in 2015, reaching the highest recorded values for each group. Between 2009 and 2015, the entry rate for young people in the Black ethnic group increased by over 40 percent proportionally. The Government has introduced a number of policies, including those set out below, to achieve my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s goal.

    We recently announced that universities would be required to publish admissions and retention rate by gender, ethnic background and disadvantage. Greater transparency will expose where offer rates for students from the poorest and black and minority backgrounds are particularly low and help to encourage universities to take further action.

    In addition, UCAS are consulting on making applications to university name-blind from 2017 to make sure that everyone, no matter what their background, is treated equally.

    I have asked Universities UK to establish an expert advisory group on social mobility to provide further advice in this area.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his international counterparts on reports of a UN-funded Palestinian non-governmental organisation, Union of Agriculture Work Committee, organised a tree planting ceremony honouring 209 martyrs of the popular uprising.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    While we have not made any representations to our international counterparts about this specific issue, we condemn all acts of terrorism and incitement to commit violence, whichever side it comes from.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government has applied to the European Commission Globalisation Adjustment Fund; and whether each such application was successful.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The UK has not made any applications to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

    The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market. EGF Regulations state that these measures must complement actions at national, regional and local level.

    The EGF Regulations also set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants with regards to the number of redundancies that take place over a given period of time and the link between these redundancies and globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis.

    The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could therefore not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

    The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

    In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar.

    It has, therefore, not been necessary to make an application for EGF funding to provide complementary support.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 18 July (HL948 and HL949), what assessment they have made of the factors contributing to the low number of black, Asian and ethnic minority candidates being recommended for judicial appointments; how those factors are being addressed; and whether they plan to support the development and introduction of pre-appointment training for those from under-represented groups seeking judicial appointments.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Government recognises that judges from a Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) background are under-represented in the judiciary in England and Wales when compared with the general population. We are committed to continue working with the judiciary and all others concerned to make sure that, while appointments will always be made on merit, the pool of candidates is as diverse as possible.

    On average over the last 5 years, 11 per cent of candidates recommended for judicial appointment were from BAME groups. Meanwhile, 10 per cent of appointed judges aged over 50 were from BAME backgrounds on 1 April 2015.

    The Government is committed to working with other members of the Judicial Diversity Forum, including the Judicial Appointments Commission, the judiciary and the legal professions, to explore ways of increasing the percentage of judges from under-represented groups, including individuals from a BAME background, whilst continuing to safeguard the fundamental principle of appointment on merit. The Forum is considering the feasibility of proposals around pre-application training. The Government fully supports such work and is strongly committed to the judicial diversity agenda.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS trusts have agreed financial control totals for the next two years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Trusts’ access to the Sustainability and Transformation Fund (STF) will be through a formal agreement of financial control totals (and other STF criteria) between NHS Improvement and trust boards, as part of the two-year planning process. The planning timetable includes full plan submissions by the end of December 2016 and we expect to publish figures in the new year.

    To date indicative financial control totals and STF allocations for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were communicated to trusts in letters from NHS Improvement on 30 September 2016.