The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the purpose was of the HIV pre-exposure prophylaxsis stakeholder consultation in January 2016.
Jane Ellison
All specialised commissioning policy propositions go through a short period of stakeholder testing to check, amongst other things, whether all relevant evidence has been considered.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Europe of 8 June 2016, Official Report, column 137WH, when the cross-departmental programme expenditure funding to support Yemen’s national de-mining institution will be released.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK has thus far released £671,592 of funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to UNDP, who manage the project rebuilding the capacity of Yemen’s national demining institution (YEMAC) and supporting mapping and clearance operations. This project, to which the UK will contribute a total of £1.05m, will reduce the physical and social-economic impact of mines and explosive remnants of war on people and communities. This is part of the UK’s wider efforts to help address Yemen’s urgent humanitarian needs and contribute to effective stabilisation – giving the nascent peace process a better chance of success.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on the renewal of the lease on the Chagos Islands that ends on 31 December 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Alan Duncan
The Government supports the US presence on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory, and wishes it to continue. This presence is underpinned by an Exchange of Notes which will roll over automatically for a further 20 years if neither side decides to terminate it before 30 December this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are properly funded to pay carers the national living wage.
David Mowat
Social care continues to be a key priority for the Government. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances; the Government has taken steps to protect social care services. The Government is giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20. This should mean local government has access to the funding to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament. This will support councils to continue to focus on core services and to pay fees which reflect provider costs including the National Living Wage.
The spending took into account a range of financial and economic factors, including projections and data on the National Living Wage from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.
The National Living Wage is an important step in rewarding the valuable contribution made by care workers, who often fall into the lowest earning occupations. Out of an estimated 1.16 million workers in adult social care in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must have regard to fostering an effective workforce with the appropriate capabilities when shaping their local markets. The Act and its statutory guidance make clear that prices and fee rates agreed with providers must reflect these new duties, including the National Living Wage. The Department continues to monitor the whole of the market of care providers and engage with the sector to better understand the challenges they face and support local authorities who purchase services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many organisations submitted applications for his Department’s tender for the provision of the tobacco control legislation enforcement contract awarded in 2013.
Jane Ellison
Section A7 of Schedule One, entitled ‘Grounds for discretionary rejection’ is available at:
https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/1072169/
The schedule does not describe a review.
Two applications were submitted for the current tobacco control legislation enforcement contract.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the outcome of his call for evidence on extending permitted development rights to taller mobile telephone masts.
Brandon Lewis
The outcome of the review of how the planning system in England can support the delivery of mobile connectivity will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2016 to Question 21922, which organisations other than CCGs have been allocated funding from the £173 million that has been allocated; and how much of that amount he estimates will be spent in 2015-16.
Alistair Burt
Out of the £173 million, £105 million has gone to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) directly.
The remaining £68 million has been allocated to the below organisations to be spent centrally on workforce and system development. These are approximations to the nearest million:
– £58 million allocated to NHS England;
– £9 million allocated to Health Education England; and
– £1 million allocated to the Department of Health.
The Government are taking a targeted and phased approach to ensuring the funding allocated to workforce and system development is spent effectively and plans are in place for this money to be spent.
The figure of how much of the £75 million allocated to CCGs to improve local services has been spent is not available. NHS England is currently collecting monthly financial information regarding the amount of spend on child and adolescent mental health services. This is being validated during January and will be made available later in the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had, or intend to have, talks with the British Athletic Association about the case for Team GB considering withdrawing from the 2016 Olympic Games due to the risk posed by the Zika virus to pregnant mothers and unborn children.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
My Department is in regular contact with the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association on a range of issues. The risk to those travelling to the regions affected by the Zika virus will continue to be monitored.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-29.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what issues were discussed at the meeting that took place between Ministers of his Department and representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority on 1 July 2015; and who the attendees were at that meeting.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
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.