Tag: Virendra Sharma

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances the Government has sought from the government of the United Arab Emirates on the use of military equipment purchased from the UK for the repression of its citizens.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications, including those for military listed or dual use goods destined for the United Arab Emirates, are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account all relevant factors at the time of the application. We draw on all relevant information available to us, including reports from Non-Governmental Organisations and our overseas network. We will not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression and we take account of any risk that the goods might be diverted to undesirable end-users or end-use.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on access to housing for veterans.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20^th July 2015. It set out its assessment of the impacts of the social rents policies in the Act on 28^th September 2015.

A link to the impact assessments is included:

http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16254, if he will estimate the number of GP appointments for minor ailments which could have been treated at home or with advice from a pharmacist in (a) England, (b) each former strategic health authority area and (c) each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2006.

David Mowat

NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review Phase 1 report (November 2013) estimated that 20% of general practitioner consultations relate to minor ailments which could largely be dealt with by self-care and support from community pharmacies.

The General Practice Forward View, published on 21 April 2016, states that current investment of £31 million to pilot 470 clinical pharmacists in over 700 practices is to be supplemented by new central investment of £112 million to extend the programme by a pharmacist per 30,000 population for all practices not in the initial pilot – leading to a further 1,500 pharmacists in general practice by 2020.

Figures for each former strategic health authority and each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2006 are not held centrally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask NHS England to publish the (a) work completed by, (b) current work programme of and (c) future topics that are due to be considered by the Clinical Reference Group on Interventional Radiology.

Jane Ellison

It is for NHS England to determine what information it publishes in relation to the work of the Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) and it has advised that the CRG work programmes will not be published. However, it has provided the following information on the work of the CRGs on interventional radiology and vascular disease respectively.

The CRG on interventional radiology has, in conjunction with the hepatobiliary and cancer programmes, produced clinical policy on selective interventional radiotherapy (SIRT), and the commissioning through evaluation programmeon SIRT to collect further evidence on effectiveness.This work is continuing.

The CRG’s current work programme is to support work across the medical and surgical CRGs where policy and service specifications include interventional radiological procedures.

The role of CRGs across specialised imaging, interventional radiology and Positron emission tomography–computed tomography is being reviewed. Once this is agreed, the work programme for 2016/17 will be developed.

NHS England has previously published a service specification and polices for vascular disease, which can be found at:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a04/

It has also developed quality metrics.

The CRG on vascular disease work programme for 2015/16 includes:

– reviewing policies in line with changing practice;

– revision of the service specification has been produced;

– assessing specialised providers against the key quality indicators within the service specification; and

– working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on technology appraisals relating to specialised vascular services.

NHS England is currently working with stakeholders to identify potential areas to be included within the 2016/17 work programme for the CRG on vascular disease.

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

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

Michael Fallon

Special Advisers provide policy, political, and communications advice to Ministers, across the business of the Department in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

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

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

Mike Penning

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 Library of the House and online 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 Business, Innovation and Skills, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

Joseph Johnson

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 29 February 2016 to 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 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

George Eustice

Our Department’s employee Wellbeing Framework complements our Health and Safety Policy and supports the implementation of the Civil Service Employee Health and Wellbeing Strategic Action Plan. Our framework has been developed collaboratively by the Defra Wellbeing network to ensure consistency across all organisations in the Defra group. It focuses on three key priorities: Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies and Healthy Lifestyles and is delivered to our employees via workshops, campaigns and other initiatives accessible to all.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what 10 Downing Street’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 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Brazilian government on illegal gold-mining and its effects on indigenous communities in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

We follow closely the issue of indigenous people affected by the extractive industries, including illegal gold mining, through continuous dialogue with human rights defenders in affected areas. Through our Prosperity and Bilateral Fund project work, our Embassy works closely with the Brazilian Government, business and NGOs to improve transparency and governance in the mining sector, this includes assessing the impact on human rights.

We also work closely with our EU partners in Brazil on human rights issues. The UK acts as focal point for the EU regarding human rights defenders in Brazil. Twice a year the local EU Delegation organises a mission to cities where there are concerns regarding human rights defenders. Later this month representatives from member states will accompany a small EU mission to the northern part of Brazil to show support to civil society involved with indigenous rights concerns. This includes assessing the impact on human rights and indigenous communities.