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  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that prisoners with mental health problems can access appropriate treatment.

    Andrew Selous

    We are developing pathways into mental health treatment, which will be offered to offenders at all stages of the criminal justice system. All prisons have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves, and we have increased resources to undertake this work.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on the offence of refusing carriage to an assistance dog.

    Dominic Raab

    It is an offence under section 168 of the Equalities Act 2010 to refuse to take an assistance dog in a taxi or private hire vehicle. The maximum penalty is up to £1,000. Sentencing is a matter for the independent courts. There is no evidence that courts are finding their sentencing powers insufficient. The Sentencing Council considers the case for guidelines on the basis of a number of factors, including where data suggests there may be inconsistency in sentencing.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he had with President Obama on his recent visit to London in April 2016 on tackling the funding of ISIS/Daesh by people from Saudi Arabia.

    Mr David Cameron

    When I met President Obama in London last month as well as with the G5 in Hanover we discussed a range of issues including continuing coalition efforts to defeat and degrade Daesh.

    The Global Coalition’s comprehensive strategy to defeat Daesh includes a focus on squeezing Daesh’s finances. Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the Global Coalition and is one of the co-leads of the Counter-ISIL Finance Group. The Coalition is therefore working closely with Saudi Arabia to combat funding to Daesh in all its forms.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 23 March 2016, Official Report, column 1558, when his Department plans to carry out an impact assessment of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices on the local economy of East Kilbride.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has based its decisions on the location of its future regional centres on a number of key principles including access to a pipeline of talent and the need to retain its current staff and skills.

    As part of its initial planning HMRC conducted high level People Impact Assessments to assist the process.

    HMRC plans to update the Impact Assessments when one to one discussions have been held between staff and their managers ahead of any office move which may affect them.

    The one to one discussions will establish whether or not they can move and the level of support which will be required, including the potential impact on people with protected characteristics.

    HMRC plans to retain a presence in East Kilbride as a transitional site until 2025-26.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.103 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what discussions his Department had with the Ministry of Justice on the decision to remove the right to general damages for minor soft tissue injuries and raising the personal injury small claims limit to £5,000.

    Andrew Jones

    My officials had regular discussions over a range of motor insurance issues, including proposals over whiplash.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department took when devising the new model of community pharmacy to take into account both (a) rural and (b) urban deprivation.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

    The proposals were considered against the Public Sector Equality Duty and other duties. The consultation responses will inform the final impact assessment, which will be published in due course.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much revenue was raised from fines levied on heavy goods vehicles for exceeding weight restrictions on weight restricted roads in the last year for which figures are available.

    Andrew Jones

    Penalties related to heavy goods vehicles exceeding weight restrictions on weight restricted roads in England outside London are applied under the criminal justice system. I have been advised by the Ministry of Justice that this specific information is not held. Collating this information would incur a disproportionate cost, because individual cases would need to be looked at. My Department does not hold figures for the civil enforcement fines for this infringement applied by local authorities in London.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government has taken to promote cycling to work.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We support the Cycle to Work scheme which allows employers to loan bicycle and bicycle safety equipment to employees free of any income tax liability. The Department has produced guidelines to encourage employers to take advantage of this exemption so that employees can loan affordable equipment enabling them to cycle to work.

    The Department also helps people to cycle to work, for instance, by providing funding to local authorities through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and Cycle Ambition Cities fund which can be used to improve local cycling provisions, provide safer cycle routes and increase cycle parking facilities.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a bicycle highway code.

    Andrew Jones

    Sections 59 – 82 of the Highway Code cover “Rules for Cyclists” which includes sections on road junctions, roundabouts and crossing the road. In addition Annex 1 of the code “You and your bike” covers information and rules about you and using your bicycle on the road. There are no plans to publish a cycling specific excerpt of the Highway Code. To help cyclists further, the Department is providing £50 million over the next four years to support Bikeability cycle training in schools in England (outside London). This funding will help to increase children’s road awareness, encourage active travel and improve future motorists’ empathy for more vulnerable road users.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote awareness among cyclists of the importance of wearing helmets and visible clothing.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The safety of vulnerable road users is a priority and we recommend that all cyclists wear clothing that makes them sufficiently visible to other road users.

    Rule 59 of the Highway Code states, “You should wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing which helps other road users to see you in daylight and poor light; reflective clothing and/or accessories (belt, arm or ankle bands) in the dark”.

    Government policy is that cycle helmets offer a degree of protection for cyclists in the event of a fall from a bicycle and some types of collisions. In line with the Highway Code rule 59 which states “you should wear a cycle helmet which conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and securely fastened” we encourage their use by all cyclists and in particular by children.