The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings (a) he or (b) others in his Department had with Innisfree Ltd in which public finance initiative funding for Barts Health NHS Trust was discussed in the last five years.
Alistair Burt
Two officials from the Department met Innisfree on one occasion in the last five years, in 2012, to discuss the Private Finance Initiative scheme for Barts Health NHS Trust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to increase public awareness of personal health budgets.
Alistair Burt
NHS England provides a comprehensive programme of training and support for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to help them to develop and publish a local offer of personal health budgets by April 2016. CCGs are now also required to include their personal health budget offer in their Health and Wellbeing Strategies, which are published in the public domain. To increase public awareness further, NHS England funds a national network of people with lived experiences of personal health budgets who champion their use both nationally and locally.
NHS England has made it clear that CCGs have a duty to inform people who are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare that they have the right to have a personal health budget, for example including information in the letter that informs individuals they are eligible. NHS England is currently consulting on the new CCG Improvement and Assessment framework, which will ask CCGs to submit the number of personal health budgets in their local area. The results of this will be used to inform the public of how many personal health budgets have been given locally and how their area compares with the rest of the country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade and Industry (UKTI) staff have direct experience of working in private sector exporting companies before taking up their employment at UKTI.
Anna Soubry
UK Trade & Investment does not hold information on staff with direct experience of working in private sector exporting companies. I can however confirm that a large number of its staff have been recruited from the private sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the closure of the Gaza power station in April, what assessment they have made of whether an electricity generating ship is still available as an alternative supplier to Gaza.
Baroness Verma
We are concerned by the electricity shortage in Gaza and the serious impact it is having on the humanitarian situation. We are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and other development actors, specifically the European Union and UN, on the extension of the 161 power line and conversion of the Gaza power station to gas. The UK believes these are the immediate steps necessary to improving the situation in Gaza, however a more comprehensive lifting of restrictions as part of a political agreement is the only long-term solution.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the consequences of pollution levels in London; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce pollution in that city.
Rory Stewart
The UK is compliant with EU legislation for nearly all air pollutants but faces significant challenges in achieving nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values.
The national air quality plan for NO2, published in December last year, sets out a comprehensive approach for meeting the air quality challenges by implementing a new programme of Clean Air Zones, along with the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London. The plan combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra low emission vehicles.
The Government has committed over £2 billion since 2011 to increase the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles, support green transport initiatives and support local authorities to take action.
The Mayor is responsible for air quality standards in London. The Mayor provides the framework and guidance which London boroughs use to review and improve air quality in their areas. The new Mayor recently set out his plans to improve air quality in London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what rail infrastructure funding his Department is providing to each region in each of the next three years.
Paul Maynard
The Department for Transport provides funding for rail infrastructure in England and Wales, which makes up part of the total funding requirement for Network Rail to deliver its Control Period 5 commitments between 2014 and 2019. Government funding is not divided by region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason gender issues are not a compulsory part of the PSHE curriculum; and whether she has any plans to so introduce such issues into that curriculum.
Edward Timpson
It is for schools to decide how best to deliver the curriculum. They can teach about gender issues through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, which is a non-statutory curriculum subject. The non-statutory PSHE programme of study, issued by the PSHE Association, includes teaching pupils about gender issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 11 December 2013 to Question 178321, if he will place in the Library copies of all of Lord Green of Hustierpoint’s updates to the European Scrutiny Committees of both Houses and the APPG for EU-US Trade and Investment on significant developments in negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Anna Soubry
The most recent update to the Committees, dated 6 August, has been deposited in the Libraries of the House. We will continue this practice for subsequent updates to the Committees.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health who have appeared on a shared public platform or conference agenda alongside representatives from Action on Smoking and Health in the last year, and at what events.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Acting Deputy Director and Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) attended a dinner, hosted by the American Cancer Society, to celebrate the Luther. L. Terry award for Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry which was presented to the UK on 19 March at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health (WCTOH). Representatives of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), as past recipients of an award in 2012, were also present.
The Acting Deputy Director presented at the WCTOH in March 2015 and the Team Leader for Tobacco Control (EU) presented at the E-cigarette Summit in November. Representatives of ASH also presented at these independent events.
The Deputy Director for Tobacco Control is a member of Public Health England’s Tobacco Control Implementation Board, which also includes a representative from ASH in its membership.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on religious education as a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
Nick Gibb
The government firmly believes in the importance of religious education (RE).
RE is a compulsory subject for all pupils up to the age of 18 in state funded schools. For schools without a religious character, the RE curriculum needs to reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain.