The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what warnings and advice they intend to give to the public about the incidence of treatment-resistant head lice in the UK.
Lord Prior of Brampton
There are no plans to issue any specific warnings or advice around the incidence of treatment-resistant head lice. Guidance for the treatment of head lice is to wet comb using a head lice comb, as opposed to using insecticides.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which agents external to his Department (a) supplied and (b) analysed the evidence that his Department used to decide on the descriptors used for the work capability assessment.
Penny Mordaunt
Details of the evidence base and consultative group members involved in the development of the Work Capability Assessment can be found in the Transformation of the Personal Capability assessment reports of September 2006, February 2007 and November 2007.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to undertake a national monitoring survey of the pig population for the presence of MRSA.
George Eustice
A UK-wide baseline survey to look for the presence of livestock associated meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in UK pigs was performed in 2008 in line with European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) protocols. At that point, none of the farms tested were found to be positive for MRSA. Since then, the organism has been detected in livestock in the UK. Current advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Public Health England (PHE) is that LA-MRSA poses a low risk to human health.
The people that are most likely to become colonised by LA-MRSA are those who work with livestock. Defra is therefore undertaking a study with Public Health England (PHE) to investigate the occurrence of LA-MRSA in veterinarians and livestock workers. The results of this study will be used to inform the need for future surveillance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart on the detention of Tamil political prisoners in Sri Lanka.
Mr Hugo Swire
We regularly raise matters of concern with the Sri Lankan government, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the detention of Tamil political prisoners without trial. I met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, the Honourable Mangala Samaraweera MP, on 14 September in Geneva. I was encouraged by our discussion and by his speech to the UN Human Rights Council. He told members of the UN Human Rights Council that the Sri Lankan government would review and repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and replace it with anti-terrorism legislation in line with contemporary international best practices. I have also been encouraged by the recent announcements that bail has been granted to 39 prisoners being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many homeowners and businesses have received a grant from the Repair and Renew Grant fund, and what is the average payment.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Over 6,000 home and business owners have benefitted from the Repair and Renew Grant scheme to help protect their property against future flooding events. The average payment was £3,918.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations he has received in favour of Government involvement in any part of the running of departments or divisions of Rolls Royce connected to that company’s production of the Nuclear Reactor Component of the Successor Programme.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Ministry of Defence has received no such representations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of his Department were in each of the last five years.
Harriett Baldwin
This information is published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on their website http://www.ons.gov.uk. ONS figures include both the mean and median gender pay gaps for the Civil Service and HM Treasury. The ONS headline estimates are also calculated using hourly earnings excluding overtime.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase participation in the arts by people from low income backgrounds.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to experience and participate in culture and the arts whatever their background and the Prime Minister acknowledged the importance of this in a speech in January 2016 on life chances. Government is maintaining the same level of funding for Arts Council England throughout the next spending period which will include support for arts programmes in areas where participation is low.
Arts Council England funds a number of community arts organisations that look to engage disadvantaged people, such as Cinderford Artspace and Helix Arts which focus on encouraging unemployed adults and employed people on low incomes to participate in the arts. Arts Council England also places responsibility on every funded organisation to make their programme of work more reflective of the communities they serve.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what amount her Department expects to pay in penalties and disallowances required by the EU Commission in relation to air pollution in 2016-17; and what contingency has been made for that purpose in her Department’s budget.
Rory Stewart
The Department does not expect to pay any penalties and disallowances imposed by the EU Commission in relation to air pollution in 2016-2017.
The Commission has started infraction proceedings against the UK for not achieving European limit values for NO2. We want to work in partnership with Local Authorities and the Commission to improve air quality and avoid any prospect of fines levied from infraction. In December 2015, the Government published air quality plans setting out a comprehensive approach for meeting EU legal limits in the shortest possible time through a new programme of Clean Air Zones, alongside national action and continued investment in clean technologies. The UK has never had to pay an infraction fine.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Leader of the House how many Questions for Written Answer were put to each Government department and answered within the target 10 working days in each month in the 2015–16 Session, together with the relevant percentages in each case.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
In line with the practice established in the last session, following the commitment made by my predecessor (HL Deb 8 May 2014, col 1575), I will continue to publish annually the performance of departments on their promptness in dealing with Questions for Written Answer. My office will also continue to work with all departments to ensure prompt and comprehensive responses to all Questions for Written Answer.
The statistics for the 2014-15 session are available as a Written Statement (HLWS39). I will shortly publish data on departmental performance for the 2015-16 session.