Category: Speeches

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in processing times for personal independence payment reassessment cases between the case return from assessment provider to his Department’s case decision since October 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following a controlled start from July 2015, full Personal Independence Payment (PIP) roll-out commenced in October 2015, with an increase in the numbers of existing Disability Living Allowance claimants being asked to claim PIP.

    In addition and in order to improve the customer journey, the Department has made some changes to the way in which it monitors Assessment Provider performance. These changes mean that Providers now have more time in which to complete assessments and return reports to the Department and also gives them greater flexibility to obtain further evidence to support claims: this therefore allows more time for scheduling appointments that better suit claimants and Assessment Providers, increases accuracy in assessments and reports and ensures opportunities for paper based reviews are maximised thereby reducing the demand for face-to-face appointments. Although these changes may see slightly longer average clearance times, they remain within expected levels.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect data from private sector providers of NHS mental health services.

    Alistair Burt

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) is responsible for the Mental Health Services Data Set which is a patient level, output based, secondary uses dataset which will deliver robust comprehensive, nationally consistent and comparable person based information for children, young people and adults who are in contact with mental health services.

    Data submission is mandatory for all instances of care including from independent providers that are wholly or partially funded by the National Health Service.

    The Department is also working with the HSCIC and other health system partners to improve data submissions from independent providers.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) science-related contracts and (b) outsourced activities in the health sector are awarded to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to high professional standards and invest in the professional development of their scientific workforce.

    George Freeman

    All procurement processes must identify key objectives, performance indicators and critical success factors and ensure these are reflected in the tender documents against which organisations are invited to bid. Where appropriate, specific ongoing training and development needs can be included as specific terms in the final signed contract.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to table a resolution for discussion at the UN Security Council drawing attention to the failure of member states to assist the International Criminal Court in bringing to justice those indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) has an established procedure for dealing with instances of non-cooperation and reports regularly to the UN Security Council on this matter. We continue to follow closely developments in the ICC, including the level of States’ cooperation with the Court, and will consider further measures as appropriate.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much time has been allocated for the public consultation on the sustainability and transformation plans for Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country and West Birmingham; and if he will ensure that the feedback from this public consultation will be published.

    David Mowat

    NHS England, with other national health and care bodies, released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. Local proposals for health and care transformation are not expected to have gone through formal local National Health Service or other organisations’ board approval and/or formal public engagement or consultation at this early stage. We expect that areas will publish a version of their STPs between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will undertake public engagement during this period, building on the engagement they have already done to shape thinking. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeals by claimants in the work related activity group of employment and support allowance have resulted in subsequent placement in the support group of employment and support allowance in each quarter since 2013.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information as requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Warm Home Discount Scheme; and what plans she has to extend that scheme to Belfast.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Warm Home Discount Scheme helps over 2 million low income and vulnerable households each year and has provided a total of £1.1 billion of direct assistance since the scheme began. The Government announced in the Spending Review on 25 November 2015 that the Warm Home Discount scheme would be extended to 2020/21 at current levels of £320m per year, rising with inflation, to help households who are at risk of fuel poverty with their energy bills.

    The issue of fuel poverty is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, which decides its own fuel poverty objectives and policies.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) his Department, (b) Ofcom, (c) Royal Parks, (d) Arts Council England, (e) Sport England, (f) UK sport, (g) Visit Britain, (h) Visit England and (i) the Equality and Human Rights Commission; and how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those orqanisations in the most recent for which figures are available.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The DCMS communications team is responsible for all public facing, digital and internal communications; this includes both managing day-to-day media enquiries and implementing proactive communications campaigns. Across Government communications teams, we saved £330 million for taxpayers last year compared with 2009 to 2010, by making our campaigns more cost effective, and reduced our communications spending by a total of £1 billion since 2010.

    The total expenditure on press and public relations for the financial year 2014/15 was £10,917,270.42. This figure includes staff costs and the costs for high profile publicity campaigns on Broadband Voucher and GO Superfast (broadband).

    DCMS currently employs 18.8 full time equivalents in communications – one of the smallest teams in Whitehall covering a departmental policy brief that has expanded in this Parliament. Of these, 7 are paid over £50,000 – but none more than £100,000.

    Other Bodies

    The sponsorship for the Equalities and Human Rights Commission transferred to the Department for Education from 30 September 2015.

    Press and PR functions are a matter for the Chief Executives of each of the bodies in question. They will write to the Honourable Member with this information, and copies of their letters will be placed in the libraries of both Houses

  • Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how long it would take for research-led treatment to eradicate Lyme disease from the UK if resource provision were no issue.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is not practical to eradicate Lyme disease in the United Kingdom through treatment of human cases, therefore no cost estimate has been made. The disease is endemic in much of the small mammal and bird population in the UK, and is spread to humans by the bite of infected ticks which have fed on these animals. The number of human cases can be reduced by raising public awareness of how to avoid tick bites, and by environmental measures in public places to reduce the long grass and scrub which harbour ticks.

    The number of laboratory confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales varies annually, in 2013 there were 878 and in 2014 there were 730, but the majority of diagnoses are made clinically by general practitioners and those figures are not recorded. Patients with late or complicated Lyme disease may be diagnosed in a variety of specialist clinics, and the numbers are not recorded. Based on the clinical information supplied with the laboratory request, only a small proportion of the annual number of cases fall into this category.

    The Health Protection Research Unit of the University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) has funding from the National Institute of Health Research for research into Lyme disease, covering diagnostics and biomarkers and public awareness. PHE is working on clinically linked studies for diagnostics with the Czech Republic, as no single centre in the UK has sufficient patients for a suitable study; funding for this work is not yet in place. PHE undertakes limited studies on ticks and Lyme disease in the UK. The Research Councils fund some additional work on ticks and the environment.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will carry out an impact assessment of the effect that the replacement of disability living allowance by personal independence payment has had on the mobility of disabled people.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department published an impact assessment about the reform of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and the introduction of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) under the Welfare Reform Act 2012 in May 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-living-allowance-reform-personal-independence-payment-impact-assessment.

    A further assessment on estimates of projected DLA and PIP caseloads was published in December 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timetable-for-introducing-personal-independence-payment-and-estimates-of-projected-caseloads-policy-briefing-note

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