Tag: Virendra Sharma

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

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

Karen Bradley

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

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

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

Stephen Crabb

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health and (b) International Development on implementation of the Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance.

Matthew Hancock

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 22462, if he will place in the Library a copy of NHS England’s report on individual funding requests for palivizumab.

George Freeman

NHS England has advised that it is assessing the effect of individual funding requests for palivizumab on premature babies at risk of severe complications from respiratory syncytial virus. It will report its findings in July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 22 January 2016 to Question 22462 and 28 June 2016 to Question 40748, when NHS England plans to publish findings from its review of individual funding requests for palivizumab; whether that review will include details of the number of individual funding requests submitted, accepted and declined; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish the findings from that review.

Mr Philip Dunne

NHS England has advised that, due to issues with patient identifiable information, it has not been possible to analyse the information on individual funding requests (IFRs) for palivizumab in detail at this stage.

However, NHS England has advised that 57 IFR requests were received between August 2015 and January 2016 and that 11 (19%) were approved and 16 (28%) were rejected as they were outside the age range criteria. The remaining 30 were declined for a range of conditions that are not normally associated with respiratory syncytial virus.

NHS England has issued a circular to its specialised commissioning teams and to providers of neonatal services, congenital heart services and specialised respiratory services outlining its 2016 commissioning position.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of disabled people participating in apprenticeships.

Nick Boles

Thousands of disabled people have benefitted from apprenticeships. In 2014/15, 44,090 of those starting an apprenticeship declared a disability or learning difficulty (LDD). This compares with 26,390 in 2009/10.

To provide an incentive to employers to offer more opportunities, apprenticeship training for 16-18 year olds is fully funded by Government. Government also fully funds apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan). Apprentices aged 19 to 24 without an EHC Plan, who have a learning difficulty and/or disability can benefit from additional funding through Learning Support.

Advice is also available to help employers and training providers understand disabilities and how to better support disabled apprentices. We have funded NIACE to produce an employer toolkit http://www.employer-toolkit.org.uk/ for employers that want to develop a more inclusive and accessible apprenticeship offer.

An Apprenticeships Equality and Diversity Advisory group helps government understand and address any apprenticeship equality and diversity issues in order to reduce barriers and make apprenticeships as inclusive as possible.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

Matthew Hancock

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 Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

While the Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not have a specific “wellness” strategy we continue to develop and implement our “Health and Safety” (HS) strategy which embraces many aspects of wellbeing. As well as reducing work related accidents and staff absence our HS program will also improve staff wellbeing.

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

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

David Mundell

The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly; all staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, mainly the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain the employers. As staff stay on the terms and conditions of their parent employers, the wellness strategy that would normally apply would be that of the parent body. Both the Ministry of Justice and Scottish Government have wellness strategies to support their staff. Through these strategies, the staff that are based at the Scotland Office in either London or Edinburgh have access to health facilities, mental health support, and employee assistance programmes.

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.