Tag: Virendra Sharma

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will increase its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

James Wharton

The Global Fund has announced its 2017-2019 replenishment target – seeking to mobilise US$13billion to save 8 million lives and avert up to 300 million new infections. The UK is planning to support a successful Fifth Replenishment of a strong, value for money Global Fund and a decision on the size of our investment will be made later in the summer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to Question 21111, if he will make an assessment of the effect of delays in the publication of the hepatitis C framework on (a) all people and (b) members of the South Asian population in England with hepatitis C.

Jane Ellison

There are no plans to make such an assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

Brandon Lewis

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Matthew Hancock) today, PQ 27946.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer the hon.Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my Rt.Hon. Friend Matthew Hancock, Question UIN 27946.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

Andrea Leadsom

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is aligned with the Civil Service Health & Well-being Strategy which was agreed by the Civil Service People Board.

This focuses on three priority areas:

Mental Health

Musculoskeletal Health

Healthy Lifestyle

In DECC this means we ensure visible senior leadership of the well-being agenda, we encourage all managers to undertake mental health awareness training increasing manager capability through Civil Service Learning training.

We have been adopting the Public Health England ‘Workplace Well-being Charter’ and promoting ‘Time to Change’. The Department offers support to staff including ‘Employee Assistance’. The Department is also running wellbeing events and initiatives over the coming year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

The Northern Ireland Office’s wellness strategy is to promote and sustain a healthy, safe and supportive working environment for all our people. We do this by:

• Providing absence and welfare policies and workplace support services;
• Maintaining a zero tolerance policy towards discrimination, bullying and harassment in the workplace;
• Ensuring the working environment is safe and meets Health and Safety legislative requirements;
• Promoting an open-minded, respectful and inclusive workplace.

As a small department the Northern Ireland Office has also secured access to the Ministry of Justice’s networks and services for our staff to use.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on reaching a settlement with Gurkha soldiers who retired before 2000.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Government and the people of the United Kingdom hold the Gurkhas in the highest esteem and have done so throughout their 200 years of service to the Crown. Successive Governments have taken steps to ensure that the service provided by Gurkhas is appropriately recognised and reflects the terms and nature of that service, including in relation to pensions.

These sentiments were most recently confirmed in the previous Coalition Government’s response to the All Party Parliamentary Group report on historic Gurkha grievances and the statement made by my hon. Friend the former Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Ms Soubry) on 29 January 2015 HCWS234.

This reaffirmed successive Governments’ long standing approach to public sector pension provisions which is that an individual qualifies for a pension according to the rules of that scheme at the time, and that improvements to public sector pension or compensation schemes should not be introduced retrospectively because of the burden such an approach would place on the Exchequer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of re-offending.

Andrew Selous

Reducing reoffending is a priority for the Ministry of Justice, to cut crime and improve public safety. The Ministry of Justice does not analyse the overall cost to the public purse of reoffending. However, the National Audit Office (NAO) has produced analysis in the past.

Reoffending has been too high for too long which is why we are investing £1.3bn over the next five years to transform the prison estate and give prisoners the help they need to turn their lives around. We have also changed the way offenders are managed in the community with almost all now receiving targeted support on release. This will help reduce reoffending, cut crime and make our streets safer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will take steps to ensure that all heated tobacco-based products are subject to the same excise rates.

Jane Ellison

As announced at Budget 2016, the government will consult on the duty treatment of heated tobacco products later this year.

Heated tobacco products are a recent innovation in the tobacco market and are not directly captured by current legislation, though the tobacco they contain is subject to excise duty under current legislation.