The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.
Jane Ellison
All civil servants employed by the core Department are paid via its payroll system.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the payment of senior NHS staff through limited companies; and what estimate he has made of the number of senior NHS staff paid off-payroll.
Alistair Burt
Our policy is to comply with the guidance from HM Treasury on senior staff engaged on an off-payroll basis. Engaging staff off-payroll can be a useful flexibility for employers but the guidance is clear that the most senior staff should be on the payroll of the organisation they lead, except in exceptional circumstances and then for no more than six months. The latest figure for staff in National Health Service trusts within the scope of the Treasury guidance indicate there were 1,193 off-payroll staff in 2014/15. The latest figure for NHS foundation trusts was 1,109 in 2013/14. These figures may include staff engaged off-payroll other than through limited companies. Figures for staff in clinical commissioning groups are not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on average patient waiting times of the use of closed waiting lists at GP surgeries.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not assessed waiting times for appointments, as each practice decides how to operate in order to meet the contractual requirement to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. The needs of patients can vary considerably from one practice to another.
NHS England does not routinely collect data on either general practitioner (GP) appointment or GP registration waiting times. NHS England is currently establishing a new collection process to gather information on closed patient lists routinely. Therefore, it is not able currently to assess the impact of a practice closing their list on appointment waiting times.
Practices may only close their lists to new patients with the approval of NHS England.
NHS England works with GP practices to ensure patient lists remain open wherever possible. It is possible that the reasons for closing a practice list impact on the flow of appointments to existing patients e.g. with the sudden loss of a GP, but such effects will often be temporary.
Any patient struggling to find a practice accepting new patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the level of (a) EU and (b) non-EU migration into the UK in each of the last 10 years.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to improve the university complaints procedures for victims of sexual assault.
Joseph Johnson
Sexual assault is a serious criminal offence and we expect all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to have robust policies in place to prevent incidents and support victims. All HEIs have a requirement to ensure rigorous procedures are in place to handle complaints. Where complaints cannot be resolved, students can access the complaints handling service provided by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education.
The Government asked Universities UK to establish a taskforce to explore what more can be done by the higher education sector to prevent, and respond effectively to, incidents of violence and sexual harassment, hate crimes and other forms of harassment. The taskforce is expected to report its findings in the autumn.
The Government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34224, when the next meeting of the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse will be; and when procurement for the Centre of Expertise on Sexual Abuse is expected to (a) start and (b) conclude.
Karen Bradley
The Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by the Home Secretary, meets every two months. The next meeting is due to take place on 17 May. We are working to commence the procurement of the centre of expertise on child sexual abuse as soon as possible. We expect the centre to be launched later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps police and social services take when a girl is identified as being at risk of female genital mutilation.
Karen Bradley
On 1 April the Government published updated multi-agency guidance on female genital mutilation (FGM), which we have placed on a statutory footing for the first time. The guidance applies to all frontline professionals in England and Wales, and includes steps police and social services should take when a girl is identified as being at risk of FGM. The guidance will help increase awareness of FGM; improve compliance with good practice in order to afford victims of this terrible abuse the greatest possible protection. It will also help to support effective training of frontline professionals and a more effective multi-agency response. The guidance is available on GOV.uk
The Government has introduced FGM Protection Orders through the Serious Crime Act 2015 which can be used to protect a potential victim or other family member who may be at risk of FGM. Data released on 31 March 2016 shows that 32 FGMPOs were issued between their introduction in July 2015 and December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last had discussions with (a) her EU counterparts and (b) the European Commission on new measures to restrict migration from EU nationals into the UK.
James Brokenshire
The Secretary of State for the Home Department regularly meets her European counterparts and representatives of the European Commission to discuss a wide range of issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many sexual offences were recorded by police in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (v) 2014 and (vi) 2015.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cases of child abuse and neglect were reported in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012, (iv) 2013, (v) 2014 and (vi) 2015.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.