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  • Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have submitted a claim for personal independence payment and have been waiting for more than six months for a medical assessment in (a) the UK, (b) London and (c) the London Borough of Harrow; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    We are committed to ensuring personal independence payment (PIP) claimants receive high quality, objective, fair and accurate assessments. Since the introduction of PIP new claims in April 2013, we have been closely monitoring all aspects of the process.

    As personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit, processes are currently bedding in. Our latest analysis is telling us that the end-to-end claimant journey is taking longer than expected. We are working closely with the assessment providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. We are also seeking to ensure that all the steps in the process run as smoothly as possible and that there are no barriers in our processes and systems that contribute to claims taking longer than necessary to progress.

    The first official statistics for the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was published on 5th June alongside updated statistics on PIP new claim registrations, decisions and awards.

    Statistics on clearance times are not being published at this stage. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication but releasing them at this stage would give a skewed representation of the process since steady state has not yet been reached and natural reassessment has yet to rollout across the country.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in each (a) region of England and (b) London borough had been waiting six months or longer for a medical examination as part of their assessment of entitlement to a personal independence payment on 1 May 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    We are committed to ensuring personal independence payment (PIP) claimants receive high quality, objective, fair and accurate assessments. Since the introduction of PIP new claims in April 2013, we have been closely monitoring all aspects of the process.

    As personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit, processes are currently bedding in. Our latest analysis is telling us that the end-to-end claimant journey is taking longer than expected. We are working closely with the assessment providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. We are also seeking to ensure that all the steps in the process run as smoothly as possible and that there are no barriers in our processes and systems that contribute to claims taking longer than necessary to progress.

    The first official statistics for the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was published on 5th June alongside updated statistics on PIP new claim registrations, decisions and awards.

    Statistics on clearance times are not being published at this stage. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication but releasing them at this stage would give a skewed representation of the process since steady state has not yet been reached and natural reassessment has yet to rollout across the country.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on allowing internet service providers to restructure charging arrangements for faster network access.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government supports an open internet, and believes that self-regulation is the best approach to achieve this. We expect ISPs to be transparent with their customers regarding their terms and conditions at the point of sale, including any traffic management practices, in order to allow consumers to make an informed choice and consider any alternative providers.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to meet the Chair of the College of Emergency Medicine.

    Jane Ellison

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is planning to meet with the Chair in the near future, to discuss the health system and emergency medicine. The Chair also met with my noble friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Earl Howe) last week to discuss operational resilience plans for the remainder of this year.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times she has met the Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development in the last 12 months.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I have met the Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development twice in the last 12 months.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julian Sturdy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s report entitled Hope for More: Improving access to lung transplantation and care for people with cystic fibrosis, what assessment he has made of the donor lung utilisation rate for transplantation; and what measures he has identified as having the greatest potential to increase such utilisation.

    Jane Ellison

    Currently donated lungs are allocated to the designated cardiothoracic transplant centres on a zonal basis. However, the Cardiothoracic Organs Advisory Group (CTAG) have recently reviewed the allocation policy and have recommended that the size of the allocation zones be adjusted to help ensure equity of access. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have therefore confirmed that for cardiothoracic organs, the zones will be reviewed in August 2014 to coincide with changes in liver allocation zones and from August 2015, heart and lung zones will be disaggregated and the zones reviewed separately.

    CTAG have also recommended that NHSBT reviews the consequences of introducing two levels of priority for listing for lung transplants – urgent and routine, and suggest a national allocation scheme for urgent listed patients, and zonal allocation for routine listed patients.

    Any proposed change would need to be validated by NHSBT, who will review the criteria for urgent listing and the statistical modelling of the potential impact of such a system. NHSBT will continue to work closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to improve outcomes for patients requiring lung transplants.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of the United Arab Emirates to ensure that Ahmad Zeidan is given his full legal rights and protections whilst in the custody of that government.

    Hugh Robertson

    It would not be appropriate for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss the details of an individual case. However, consular officials have provided full consular assistance to Mr Zeidan since we were informed of his detention and will continue to do so. In any case where we have concerns about the welfare or human rights of a British National, with their permission, we will raise these.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in the United Arab Emirates on the alleged torture of UK citizens in UAE prisons.

    Hugh Robertson

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office takes allegations of mistreatment of any British national overseas extremely seriously. With the permission of an individual, we will always formally raise these with the host government. We have raised our concerns on a number of specific cases in the UAE and will continue to use the Ministerial Taskforce and other opportunities to raise consular issues when necessary, including those relating to British Nationals in detention.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what total income was received by the Passport Office in fees for (a) fast track and (b) premium service (i) in 2013 and (b) between 1 January and 31 May 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    Table A sets out the requested information in respect of how many telephone
    calls were received during the requested periods.

    Table B shows income received in fees for premium and fast track services.

    Table C provides information on the number of full time equivalent staff
    employed by HM passport Office on 31 December for each of the years from 2010 –
    2013.

    Table D sets out the number of first time passport applications and the number
    of passport renewals received during each month between January 2013 and May
    2014.

    In the period between 1 January and 31 May 2014, 31,188 straightforward
    passport applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were not
    processed within the 3-week target.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications processed by the Passport Office between 1 January and 31 May 2014 which missed the three week target for processing.

    James Brokenshire

    Table A sets out the requested information in respect of how many telephone
    calls were received during the requested periods.

    Table B shows income received in fees for premium and fast track services.

    Table C provides information on the number of full time equivalent staff
    employed by HM passport Office on 31 December for each of the years from 2010 –
    2013.

    Table D sets out the number of first time passport applications and the number
    of passport renewals received during each month between January 2013 and May
    2014.

    In the period between 1 January and 31 May 2014, 31,188 straightforward
    passport applications processed by Her Majesty’s Passport Office were not
    processed within the 3-week target.