Tag: Philip Davies

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons officials in his Department had discussions with Action on Smoking and Health on its grant application in June 2011; if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes and notes from those discussions; and what action was taken as a result of those discussions.

Jane Ellison

The 2011/12 Grant Award letter to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) set out the agreed objectives for the grant. The 2011/12 Grant Award letter has already been placed in the Library. Earlier drafts of applications for grant funding and additional supporting material are not published.

It is normal practice for Departmental officials to discuss grant applications with the applicant. The application process is iterative to ensure the final objectives are in line with Departmental aims. A record of these discussions in 2011 is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2015 to Question 10530, what the job titles are of those officials undertaking the assessment of the grant funding for Action on Smoking and Health; and what transparency measures have been built into the assessment process.

Jane Ellison

The assessment of the grant application for funding from Action on Smoking and Health is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team.

The assessment process is the same for all grants awarded under Section 64 powers. The assessment process uses standard business case criteria and consists of a Strategic Case, Economic Case, Financial Case, Commercial Case and Project Governance.

The assessment is reviewed by the Department’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub to ensure that the grant proposal is affordable within Departmental budgets; relevant Efficiency Review Group Controls have been considered;the grant has been assessed as delivering value for money and the grant is considered to be appropriate for the Grant funding route rather than procurement.

A grant application is currently under assessment and a decision on funding has not yet been made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of the delivery agreement and agreed deliverables between his Department and the Chartered Institute for Trading Standards.

Jane Ellison

The Department has a contract with itsa Ltd, the business arm of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, for the enforcement of tobacco legislation and support for local authorities. The award letter and supporting documents for this contract are available online at:

https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/1072169/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce a clause into the conditions relating to grants made by his Department to third parties to ensure that they are not used to fund activities intended to influence (a) parliament, government or political parties, (b) the awarding or renewal of Government contracts and grants and (c) legislative or regulatory action.

Alistair Burt

The Department will consider the hon. Member’s representation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the implications of the standardised packaging of tobacco will be assessed against the Government’s One-In, Two-Out criteria.

Jane Ellison

The Department published on 12 February 2015 a final Impact Assessment which assessed all of the costs and benefits of standardised packaging of tobacco products, including a one in two out calculation beginning at page 64.

The final impact assessment is available on the Gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/403493/Impact_assessment.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been under Article (i) 137, (ii) 139, (iii) 140, (iv) 141 and (v) 142 of the Air Navigation Order 2009 in each of the last six years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Although DfT has responsibility for this policy area, sentencing statistics are recorded by the Ministry of Justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of smokers who have switched to e-cigarettes; and what estimate he has made of the effect of that switch on the NHS budget.

Jane Ellison

Survey data suggests the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among adults in Great Britain has increased to 2.6 million in 2015, of whom 1.1 million have completely stopped smoking.

The Department recognises that e-cigarettes can help smokers to quit and the evidence indicates that they are less harmful to health than smoking tobacco. There is not yet enough evidence on which to make an estimate of the impact on National Health Service costs of smokers switching to e-cigarettes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any grant monitoring forms in relation to funds awarded by his Department to Action on Smoking and Health were submitted late.

Jane Ellison

Action on Smoking and Health provided grant Monitoring Reports on completion of each project. The timing of the submission of these reports was agreed with the Tobacco Control policy team.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements are in place to ensure that grants made by his Department under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are awarded transparently.

Alistair Burt

The majority of grants made under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 are awarded through competed schemes where the assessment criteria are published. A small number of non-competed grants are also made by the Department and these are all assessed against the same criteria.

The standard business case criteria includes a Strategic Case, Economic Case, Financial Case, Commercial Case and Project Governance.

All grants awarded under Section 64 powers require both HM Treasury and Ministerial approval as set out in the legislation.

A standard set of terms and conditions are used for all Section 64 grant awards, these have been agreed by the Departments legal team.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has taken disciplinary action in respect of section 64 grants made to Action on Smoking and Health and their subsequent use.

Jane Ellison

Grants awarded under Section 64 of the Health and Social Care Act are awarded at the discretion of the Secretary of State. They are recoverable or can be discontinued if they are not used for the purposes for which they are given.

The Department considers that the Section 64 grants made to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have been used for the purpose for which they were given. There have been no grounds on which to take disciplinary action in respect of any section 64 grants made to ASH and their subsequent use.