The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will estimate the forecast level of creditor claims related to insolvency litigation in each of the next five financial years.
Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 19 April (HL Deb, col 543) on government grant agreements, whether an academic research institution which is also a charity and is in receipt of government funding from research councils will be covered by the proposed anti-lobbying clauses expected to be introduced in grant agreements from 1 May.
Lord Bridges of Headley
As the Minister for the Cabinet Office the Rt Hon Matthew Hancock made clear on 27 April, we are committed to protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation of this clause into grant agreements, pending a review of the representations made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department first knew of the possible psychotic side effects of Lariam form of mefloquine.
Mark Lancaster
A review of archived policy documents indicates that the Ministry of Defence was aware of these possible side effects from at least 1997 onwards.
It should be noted that all anti-malarial drugs can cause adverse reactions in some individuals. It is therefore Defence policy that they should only be prescribed after an individual risk assessment, to ensure an individual can tolerate the medication. Should side effects be experienced, these are to be reported immediately to a medical officer or GP, who may stop the drug and prescribe an alternative if necessary.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving a mandatory life sentence have been released early from prison in each of the last 10 years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
A life sentence is mandatory for murder. A life sentence must also be imposed for a second, very serious, specified violent or sexual offence – for example, manslaughter, GBH with intent, rape, and sexual assault on a child under 13 – unless the court finds that there are particular circumstances relating to the offence or the offender which would make it unjust to do so.
Under a life sentence, the offender must serve the full minimum term imposed by the court before being considered for release on life licence by the Parole Board, which will only release an offender if and when it considers it safe to do so. Where a whole life order is imposed the offender is not eligible for parole.
The number of life sentences imposed in each of the last ten years can be found on gov.uk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to establish an enhanced Modern Slavery Helpline following the Home Secretary’s announcement on 9 December 2015.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
In December 2015, the Government welcomed an announcement by Google and Polaris that they intend to establish an enhanced modern slavery helpline in the UK. Partnerships between business and civil society are vital if we are to eradicate modern slavery, and this project has the potential to make it easier for people to report suspected cases of modern slavery.
Over the past two years, the Government’s modern slavery reforms have resulted in record high numbers of victim referrals and of prosecutions and convictions for slavery-related offences. But there is more to do and projects such as this will help to ensure that even more victims are helped and even more slave- drivers are brought to justice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the time taken to inform families involved in Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy procedures that funding for those procedures will cease.
Jane Ellison
NHS England has commissioned Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) procedures as part of its Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) programme.
CtE schemes run in areas where the current evidence base on clinical and cost effectiveness of a particular treatment is insufficient to support routine funding, and where further research is unlikely to be forthcoming. In these circumstances, NHS England identifies funding for a CtE scheme to gather and support a review of the national clinical commissioning policy position. Each CtE scheme is funded on a time-limited basis, in just a small number of selected participating centres across England, with strict patient selection criteria.
The CtE programme is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which supports NHS England to identify the total number of patients that need to be treated under the scheme to answer the evaluation questions agreed. Schemes stop once the total planned number of patients has been treated and the data analysis can be concluded. In the case of the SDR scheme it is likely that the last patients will be treated by spring 2016.
The information provided directly by NHS England to stakeholders and participating centres in the SDR scheme has been consistently clear about the time limited nature of CtE and that the funding did not present a change to the current commissioning position of the treatment not being routinely funded by the NHS.
NHS England will continue to work closely with participating centres to ensure that messages are as clear as possible to families who may have wished to consider this treatment option.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how many serving members of each branch of the armed forces are likely to be affected by the phasing out of the commitment bonus for armed forces personnel.
Mark Lancaster
Commitment Bonuses are being phased out over the next five years as there is insufficient evidence they significantly influence retention in the Armed Forces.
In Financial Year 2014-15 approximately 14,000 Service personnel claimed a Commitment Bonus payment. Eligibility for Commitment Bonuses ceases with effect from 1April 2021, providing eligible Other Ranks with the opportunity to claim any payments they might have already included in their financial plans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris White on 2016-01-08.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to (a) encourage greater use of email and (b) implement other measures to reduce costs in communication by government departments.
Matthew Hancock
The Government Digital Service (GDS) continues to support departments as they digitally transform their business operations, making government services easier and more efficient to use. There is a ‘digital first’ strategy across Government to save on time as well as paper and postage costs, including the use of email to achieve this aim.
The Government Communication Service (GCS) saved nearly £330m for taxpayers in 2014/15 compared to 2009/10 by making its campaigns more cost effective. The communications profession is also more streamlined, with headcount across Government reduced by a third since 2009/10. These reforms helped the Government reduce communications spending by a total of £1bn over the last Parliament. GCS continues to investigate new ways of reducing costs in Government communications.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Darling of Roulanish on 2016-01-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact of payment protection insurance payments made since 2010 on UK gross domestic product.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The most recent figures available from the FCA show that a total of £393.8m was paid in November 2015 to customers who complained about the way they were sold PPI. This takes the amount paid out since January 2011 to £22.2bn.
The most recent analysis of the impact on GDP is the Office for Budget Responsibility’s 2012 Economic and Fiscal Outlook report, which stated that its economic growth forecast of 0.8% over 2 years would be mainly due to the impact of PPI fee repayments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.
George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, to PQ UIN 27946 on 29 March.