Tag: Virendra Sharma

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what effect Sustainable Development Goal 3 has had on her Department’s aid strategy for UK; and what account she plans to take of that goal in forming the new UK aid strategy.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID will continue to play a leading role in health globally supporting developing countries to meet the Global Goal 3. DFID’s work on health is also guided by the Government’s International Development manifesto commitments and the new UK Aid Strategy. This work will benefit millions of people, which will avoid needless deaths; and encourage healthier populations who are better able to contribute to their nation’s prosperity; and increase the ability of these countries to develop, which is in the UK’s national interest. We will also help build strong health systems that can sustain the gains.

For example, the new Ross Fund announced in the UK Aid Strategy is a commitment to global public health that will fund work to tackle diseases of epidemic potential, such as Ebola, neglected tropical diseases, drug resistant infections, and malaria. This will directly contribute to the achievement of a number of the global goal health targets.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

Matthew Hancock

The Cabinet Office takes the well-being of its employees seriously and provides a range of support, including the recent launch of the Cabinet Office Listening Service, resourced by staff who have been trained in active listening and emotional support. The service can provide upfront support to Cabinet Office staff dealing directly or indirectly with specific issues in their personal or working life or to help them to cope with mental health issues of any kind including depression, anxiety or stress. Listeners can also signpost individuals onto other relevant services such as the external Employee Assistant Programme which offers counselling, impartial advice and access to online health and wellness related resources.

The department has established an employee led WorkWell community to further develop and implement a strategy for wellness. Progress to date includes establishing resilience training for senior leaders and their teams, signing up to the Time to Change pledge on mental health, providing access to coaching and training in skills to improve wellbeing such as mindfulness. WorkWell are also seeking to increase awareness of opportunities to improve physical wellbeing at work including provision of on-site health checks.

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

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

Mr Tobias Ellwood

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 Scotland, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

David Mundell

I refer the hon Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 29 February 2016.

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

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

Mr Edward Vaizey

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer to 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 her Department’s wellness strategy is.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID seeks to create a workplace where we protect the health, safety and wellbeing of staff, optimise the opportunity to promote a healthy workforce, maintain safe systems of work and proactively support the physical and emotional wellbeing of staff.​ These principles are reflected throughout DFIDs HR Policies and approach to People Management.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP recognises the importance of good health and wellbeing and the positive impact this has on employee morale, engagement and performance.

We have in place a comprehensive range of policies and measures to encourage and help employees.

Particular interventions include:

An Occupational Health service which supports employees during periods of ill health and absence, enabling them to remain in work/return to work more quickly.

An Employee Assistance Programme which offers immediate support for employees on a wide range of issues.

We also provide employees with access to a range of advice on our dedicated Wellbeing site.

And we have a longstanding, active network of 2,000 volunteer Wellbeing Champions, who arrange and deliver a large number of local events.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish all of her Department’s statistics on the incidents of (a) domestic violence and (b) dowry related abuse in the UK.

Karen Bradley

Statistics on domestic violence are published combining domestic violence and abuse through the Office for National Statistics who are responsible for the publication of crime statistics, including those of domestic violence and abuse. Detailed information on domestic violence and abuse from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is published annually in their Focus on: Violence and Sexual Offences series. The most recent publication, for the year ending March 2015, is available here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/compendium/focusonviolentcrimeandsexualoffences/yearendingmarch2015

Additionally, since April 2015 the police have notified the Home Office where recorded offences are domestic abuse related. Figures from the police for April to September 2015 were also published in the statistical bulletin linked above (see Table 6.01). The publication also includes information on the number of domestic abuse incidents the police deal with, in Appendix Table 4.08. Some incidents are not subsequently recorded as crimes as no crime as defined in law has taken place, so numbers will be higher than the number of domestic abuse crimes.

The increases seen in domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police over this time period is thought to reflect improvements in the identification and recording of these incidents by the police alongside increased willingness of victims to report such incidents to the police. The CSEW has not shown an increase in domestic abuse over this period.

The Home Office has not received specific information on dowry related abuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39301, whether there is a timetable in place for other departments to establish and implement their plans to monitor official development assistance spending.

Mr Nick Hurd

HM Treasury will commission 5-year Official Development Assistance spending plans from all departments. The departmental plans are expected to be finalised by the end of the calendar year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NICE to publish guidance on the use of bisphosphonates for the indication of preventing secondary breast cancer.

Nicola Blackwood

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline on early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management (CG80) recommends the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss in specified clinical circumstances. This guideline is currently being updated and the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates has been identified as one of the key areas that will be covered in this update. NICE expects to publish its updated guideline in July 2018.