The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times claimants of working age on unemployment benefits have been interviewed under caution by staff of his Department in each of the last five years.
Priti Patel
We do not hold official statistics to the National Statistical Authority and so we are unable to provide this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made on conducting antenatal mental health assessments.
Alistair Burt
Our commitment to improving perinatal mental health was demonstrated by the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a £290 million investment over the next five years to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services. This builds on the initial investment of £75 million announced in the March 2015 Budget, making a total investment from 2015/16 to 2020/21 of £365million.
The National Institute for Health Care and Excellence guidelines recommend that during a pregnant women’s first contact with primary care or when booking her first appointment she should be asked how she is feeling. This will enable a sensitive conversation and, if appropriate, for a referral to her general practitioner for further assessment or, if a severe mental health problem is suspected, to a mental health professional.
It has been recognised that more information is needed about perinatal mental health. The Health and Social Care Information Centre is working on the implementation of a new Mental Health Services Dataset which will seek to increase the amount of data available about antenatal mental health assessments. We expect that some initial data on perinatal mental health will be available later this year. We will use this initial information to refine how data on perinatal mental health is collected going forward.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of using adjustable furniture in schools to improve the classroom learning environment.
Nick Gibb
The Department has not undertaken its own assessment of the potential benefits of using adjustable furniture in schools.
The Department recognises the advantages and disadvantages of using adjustable height furniture detailed in research carried out by appropriate professionals and through working jointly with organisations such as the Furniture Industry Research Association.
Our jointly produced website on ergonomics highlights the option of using adjustable chairs and tables for effective management of the classroom environment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the next NATO-Russia Council to take place.
Mr David Lidington
NATO is continuing to discuss options for a potential meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. For the UK, we would need to be convinced that any discussions are in the security interests of the Alliance and do not mark a return to business as usual.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what financial penalties Capita is obliged to pay under its contract with his Department for leaving its contract to provide interpreting services.
Mike Penning
The MoJ’s contract with Capita Translation and Interpretation (TI) naturally expires on 30th October 2016.
The Ministry does not anticipate an early withdrawal of services by Capita; no financial penalties are therefore currently applicable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure an acceptable level of care for patients in Ashfield constituency following changes to the provision of urgent out-of-hours GP and care home support services provided by Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services.
Ben Gummer
This is a matter for the National Health Service locally. Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) advises that the needs of people in Ashfield are now being met by Nottingham Emergency Medical Services, which is providing urgent and
out-of-hours care, and by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s care home support service.
The CCG advises that it took all necessary action as soon as it knew that Central Nottinghamshire Clinical Services (CNCS) was no longer in a position to continue providing services. Despite very short notice of the extent of CNCS’s difficulties, the CCG states that it has safely executed a smooth handover of services. It has rigorously monitored the quality of the caretaker providers’ performance during the handover, and will continue to do so.
The CCG will now review procurement options for the long-term delivery of local out-of-hours and urgent care services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps the Government is taking to improve the (a) electronic and (b) physical connectivity of rural villages in Wales.
Guto Bebb
We are introducing the Universal Service Obligation, guaranteeing internet connectivity to half a million rural properties throughout the UK that fall outside existing plans. We have also secured deals with the Mobile Network Operators to deliver mobile coverage to 90% of the UK’s landmass and to 95% of premises in Wales.
Recognising the importance of transport costs to rural communities, we have frozen fuel duty for six successive years, the longest freeze for 40 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to monitor compliance by betting shops with the gambling minimum age.
Tracey Crouch
The protection of children from being harmed or exploited by gambling is one of the core objectives of the Gambling Act 2005.
For high street betting, this means those under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering or gambling within a betting premises. The Gambling Commission, responsible for compliance on this issue, strengthened the requirements on betting operators to monitor the effectiveness of these age verification controls in May 2015.
The number of individuals challenged upon entry to a betting sector premises but unable to prove their age was 475,646 between Oct 2014- Sep 2015. This is across a total of 9000 betting shops and is a decrease of 8.2% or 42,598 incidents compared to the previous reporting period of Apr 2014 – Mar 2015; continuing a 3-year decline. The number of individuals challenged having gambled but unable to prove their age also fell, by 14%, to 23,619 from 27,445 in the same time period.
Where there is a failure to prevent underage gambling, regulatory and/or criminal action is taken.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the total cost to the public purse of their appeal against the High Court’s ruling in R v The Secretary of State for Justice [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin).
Lord Faulks
As a matter of principle this Government believes that individuals should have a strong connection with the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We believe that the residence test we have proposed is a fair and appropriate way to demonstrate that strong connection. We have therefore pursued an appeal against the High Court’s judgment in this case.
The total costs to the public purse of pursuing this appeal can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-12-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to reduce the number of local electoral offices in Northern Ireland.
Lord Dunlop
The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his Office. This includes capitalising on new technology by introducing on-line registration.
The Chief Electoral Officer will have regard to the continued effective delivery of elections in Northern Ireland and ensuring that his Office remains on a sustainable financial footing. The Northern Ireland Office fully supports him in this approach. I understand that work on some options is at an early stage.
The Representation of the People Act 1983 makes provision for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to delegate returning officer functions to the clerk of a district council.
Detailed questions on headcount and budget are operational matters for the Chief Electoral Officer who is independent of Government. The Chief Electoral Officer publishes all such information in his annual report which is presented to Parliament and copies are made available in the Library of the House.
The headline budgets allocated to the Chief Electoral Office are:
|
Financial Year |
Operational Funding |
Capital Funding |
|
2013/14 |
£5.452m * |
£100k |
|
2014/15 |
£2.336m |
£56.2k |
|
2015/16 |
£2.296m |
£25k |
* includes £3m for the 2013 canvass
The Northern Ireland Office has not agreed any budgets with the Chief Electoral Officer for future years pending receipt of the Department’s detailed Spending Review 2015 settlement letter from HM Treasury.