Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2015 to Question 12657, if he will commission an independent review into the procedures followed by the Tobacco Control policy team within his Department when awarding section 64 grants to Action on Smoking and Health.

Jane Ellison

There is no requirement to commission an independent review as the award of Section 64 grants to Action on Smoking and Health has followed the appropriate policies and procedures applicable to all Section 64 grants.

The assessment of the grant application for funding from Action on Smoking and Health is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team.

The assessment process is the same for all grants awarded under Section 64 powers. The assessment process uses standard business case criteria and consists of a Strategic Case, Economic Case, Financial Case, Commercial Case and Project Governance.

The assessment is reviewed by the Department’s Voluntary Sector Grants Hub to ensure that the grant proposal is affordable within Departmental budgets; relevant Efficiency Review Group Controls have been considered; the grant has been assessed as delivering value for money and the grant is considered to be appropriate for the Grant funding route rather than procurement.