The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on the state pension in 2014-15.
Justin Tomlinson
Total State Pension expenditure in 2014/15 was £86,516m.
Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a cap on the number of private hire vehicles operating in London.
Andrew Jones
This Government does not intend to amend primary legislation to allow the number of private hire vehicles licensed in London or elsewhere to be restricted.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to increase spending on research into brain tumours to enable faster diagnosis.
George Freeman
Spend by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health category ‘cancer’ has increased by a third from £101 million in 2010/11 to £135 million in 2014/15. There are no HRCS health sub-categories such as for brain tumours or other specific cancer sites and information on total current NIHR spend on brain tumour research is not held.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including brain tumours. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Government meets its commitment that all patients throughout England with musculoskeletal conditions have the support they need to live healthily and independently, with better control over the care they receive, notwithstanding reductions in public health budgets.
Jane Ellison
Since 1 April 2013, the Government has set out high level strategic ambitions for the National Health Service through the Mandate. For patients with long term conditions (LTCs), including musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, we have asked the NHS to improve the care and support of patients, helping them to live healthily and independently, with much better control over the care they receive.
In response, NHS England has set out a range of actions designed to deliver this, central to which was implementation of the House of Care model, which is designed to support the delivery of person-centred, coordinated care. The House of Care enables individuals to make informed decisions about their treatment and empowers them to self-manage their LTCs in partnership with health and care professionals. NHS England has provided data, tools and guidance to support local services in identifying those most likely to benefit from a care planning approach. Specifically on MSK conditions, the National Clinical Director for MSK, Peter Kay, has been working in partnership with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, to develop new MSK clinical networks across England to build consensus on the way forward for models of care.
In terms of assessment, the first annual report of the National Clinical Audit of Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, commissioned on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), was published on 22 January 2016. This report, which includes data from 1 February 2014 to 30 April 2015, assesses the quality of care by specialist rheumatology services using criteria derived from sources such as the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality Standard, published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in June 2013. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:
www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria his Department uses in assessing whether an incident counts as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Penny Mordaunt
Any assessments relating to compliance with International Humanitarian Law would be based on the principles of distinction, humanity, proportionality and military necessity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of Government support for Kurdish minority groups in Syria on the peace process in that country.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
Syrian Kurds, as with all minority groups in Syria, will have an important stake in a future political settlement for their country. It is for Syrians to decide the exact nature of that settlement, with the help and support of the international community and the United Nations. The Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC), which represents a broad cross section of the Syrian opposition, including Kurdish groups, has made clear its intent to enter into political negotiations with the Syrian regime to achieve a political solution to the conflict. Not all Kurdish groups are members of the HNC, or necessarily part of the internationally recognised list of Syrian “opposition” groups. But to be successful, any political settlement in Syria must be inclusive, taking account of the interests of all parties to the conflict.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of UK firms based in the North West of England that trade with other EU member states; and how many people are employed by each such firm.
Anna Soubry
HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.
HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) UK firms based in Northern Ireland that trade with other EU member states and (b) people employed by those firms.
Anna Soubry
HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.
HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department conducts ongoing appraisals of the effectiveness of the Bahrain Office of the Ombudsman of the Ministry of Interior, the Prisoners’ and Detainees’ Rights Commission and other bodies in Bahrain receiving UK technical assistance; and whether those assessments are taken into account when making funding decisions.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
All Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes are regularly reviewed, and the effectiveness of projects is taken into account when making future funding decisions. This includes the technical assistance the UK has been providing to the Government of Bahrain since 2012. This assistance supports the Government of Bahrain’s reform programme including implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and UN Universal Periodic Review recommendations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether equipment provided by the UK has been used to facilitate the delivery of cluster munitions by the Saudi Arabian forces in the Yemen conflict.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of reports of the alleged use of Cluster Munitions by the Coalition in Yemen. We have raised this issue with the Saudi Arabian authorities and, in line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.