Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS healthcare workers had received the (a) first and (b) second dose of the covid-19 vaccine by Wednesday 20 January 2021.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
This information is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many non-frontline workers in the NHS had received a (a) first dose and (b) second dose of the covid-19 vaccine by 5pm on 20 January 2021.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
This information is not available in the format requested.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many individual doses of the (a) Pfizer Biontech vaccine and (b) Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine NHS England had taken delivery of as at 5.00pm on 15 January 2021.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Vaccines are a precious resource and are in very high demand across the world; therefore, for security reasons it is not possible to provide detail about the size of our supplies or give exact detail about future deliveries.
As of 18 January 2021, over 4.6 million people in the UK had been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. We are in the process of understanding the implications of Pfizer’s announcement on 15 January, regarding upgrades to its manufacturing capacity. We continue to work to meet our target of vaccinating all four priority groups, as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, by the middle of February.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the scientific and medical advice that he received up to 1 April 2020 on the merits of antigen and antibody testing for covid-19.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
COVID-19 testing is core to the Government’s response to the virus, helping to provide care to those who need it, protect the most vulnerable and find new cases to help break the chains of transmission.
The Government continues to be guided by the latest expertise in this area and receives a range of scientific and medical advice, including from Public Health England (PHE) and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which have consistently advised on the importance of testing. SAGE meeting minutes are published on GOV.UK.
Assessments of the various antibody testing assays, including those now in use were performed by PHE, are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-laboratory-evaluations-of-serological-assays
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the merits of bringing forward proposals to amend universal credit regulations to allow her Department to apply discretion on the recovery of advance loans taken out by domestic abuse victims under duress.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government is fully committed to the prevention of abuse and the Department for Work and Pensions has a range of measures designed to support people who flee violent and abusive households.
If a Universal Credit claimant has been forced into claiming an advance through domestic abuse, we would urge the claimant to talk to the Department about this. If the advance was taken whilst part of a couple claim, 50% of the outstanding balance would be apportioned upon pursuing a single claim. Additionally, the Department offers deferrals of advance repayments by up to 3 months in exceptional circumstances and will apply discretion wherever possible with the rates of repaying other government debts. A range of other support is available across the Department for those impacted by domestic abuse.
The Department will continue to look at ways to further support the victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the administrative costs for British businesses who are seeking to trade goods into Northern Ireland after the transition period.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the Judicial Executive Board does not have members from Black and Minority Ethnic communities.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
There are no Judicial Executive Board (JEB) members from Black and minority ethnic communities. JEB is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales and comprised of the judges in the most senior leadership roles - the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, the President of the Family Division, the Chancellor of the High Court, the Senior President of Tribunals and the Senior Presiding Judge for England & Wales, as well as the Chair of the Judicial College and the Chief Executive of Judicial Office. Appointments to the leaderships roles are made through the independent Judicial Appointments Commission. The Lead Diversity Judge also sits on the Board and shows the commitment to diversity at the heart of the senior judicial leadership.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the Judges Council which advises the Lord Chancellor does not have any Black and Minority Ethnic members.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Judges’ Council does not advise the Lord Chancellor. The primary function of the Judges’ Council is to inform and advise the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales. Members of the Judicial Executive Board (including the Lead Diversity Judge) are also members of the Judges’ Council. Other members are selected by the judicial group which that member represents including, for example, the High Court Judges’ Association, the Council of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges, the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges and the Magistrates’ Association. Diversity data for Judges’ Council members is not held separately.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the University of Stirling on the Government's response to public health concerns on shale gas exploration, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in July 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We are committed to ensuring a rigorous, evidence-based approach to shale gas extraction, and as such welcome any new research that can further enhance our understanding and help inform our policy development.
On the basis of the current scientific evidence, Government has confirmed that it will take a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents in England, which are required before hydraulic fracturing operations can take place. This position, an effective moratorium, will be maintained unless compelling new evidence is provided which addresses the concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department is undertaking on first episode psychosis and the long-term effect of anti-psychotic drugs.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR is the largest funder of mental health research in the United Kingdom, investing £93.4 million in 2018/19.
Through this investment the NIHR supports a wide portfolio of mental health research, including 21 current awards funded directly through NIHR programmes for research on first-episode psychosis and the effects of anti-psychotic drugs and three new awards due to start in 2020/21 totalling an investment of £30.7 million in these important areas. The NIHR is also providing infrastructure support to over 50 studies through its biomedical research centres, clinical research facilities and applied research centres.