Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any grant application by or award made to Action on Smoking and Health by the Department of Health in the last five years was not considered first by the Voluntary Sector Grants Hub.

Lord Prior of Brampton

All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.