Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeal hearings at the (a) First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) and (b) Upper Tribunal (Administrative Chamber) his Department did not send a representative to in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The department’s policy has been to focus its resources on sending Presenting Officers to the more complex benefit cases and when directed by the tribunal therefore the department sent a representative to all Upper Tribunal appeal hearings notified to them in the three years 2012-13; 2013-14 and 2014-15.

    For the First-Tier Tribunal, POs did not attend as follows:

    2012/13 238,210 (of 252,992 hearings)

    2013/14 293,713 (of 308,502 hearings)

    2014/15 78,301 (of 89,689 hearings)

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department measures and demonstrates parity of esteem between mental and physical health in the NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government accepted the Mental Health Taskforce recommendation to identify the gaps in provision between mental health and physical health and has increased funding for mental health to an estimated £11.7 billion last year and have introduced waiting time standards so people know they will be treated quickly.

    This Government continues to hold NHS England to account through the NHS Mandate for the achievement of measurable progress towards the parity of esteem for mental health and clinical commissioning groups are required through the annual planning guidance to increase spending each year on mental health at least in line with the increase in their overall allocation.

    In line with practice in physical health, from 1 April 2015, waiting times standards for mental health came into effect for:

    – treatment within two weeks for more than 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis; and

    – treatment within six weeks for 75% of people referred to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, with 95% of people being treated within 18 weeks.

    The National Health Service has already achieved waiting time standards for IAPT and we have made changes to the Mental Health Services Dataset to measure performance against the standard for Early Intervention in Psychosis.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 29747, whether wider disclosure of the content of the personal email exchange between Professor Grifo and a member of the expert panel convened by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority would breach patient confidentiality.

    Jane Ellison

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that wider disclosure of the content of the personal email exchange between Professor Grifo and a member of the expert panel convened by the Authority would not breach patient confidentiality. The HFEA has previously advised that the relevant expert panel member contacted Professor Grifo in a personal capacity following the third Scientific Review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease in 2014.

    The HFEA has also advised that the information in question was provided in confidence to the expert panel convened by the Authority. Members of the HFEA Executive who provided administrative support to the work of the panel have seen this information.

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the size of the Privy Council on 13 July; and how many appointments had been made to it up to that date since 11 May 2010.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    The information is set out in the table below.

    Date

    Number of Privy Counsellors

    13th July 2016

    657

    Appointments since 11th May 2010

    179
  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of Islamophobic abuse have been recorded in each of the last five years.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office does not hold the requested information. The Home Office has published data for 2011/12 to 2014/15 on hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales for the five centrally monitored strands (race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity) but these data cannot be broken down by religion of the victim. The 2015/16 data will have been published on 13 October 2016.

    From April 2016, the Home Office began collecting data from the police on the targeted religion of religious hate crime offences in order to help forces build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to better hold them to account. This information will be provided voluntarily in 2016/17, but we intend to make it mandatory from the following year. We will publish the first data from this collection in the 2016/17 Hate Crime statistics publication in 2017.

    This Government is committed to tackling hate crime. The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to tackle hate crime. We are working across Government with police, (including National Community Tensions Team), the Crown Prosecution Service and community partners to send out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who commit these crimes.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s recent findings that 36 per cent of people with multiple sclerosis surveyed who had had a PIP face-to-face assessment declared that it had caused their condition to deteriorate or relapse.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We have made it clear that when attending a face-to-face consultation, claimants can bring someone with them in order to support them or help them manage any anxiety they may feel. In some cases assessment providers will also carry out consultations in claimants’ homes.

    Assessments for PIP are carried out by qualified health professionals who have broad training in assessing the impacts of a variety of disabilities, including fluctuating conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis. Before claimants are invited for a face-to-face consultation, all of the evidence held is reviewed and if, at that stage, a decision can be made on the paper evidence alone, then claimants will not be required to attend a face-to-face consultation.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on the European Food Safety Authority’s review on the evidence on the impact of neonicotinoids; and what representations she has made to that Authority on that review.

    George Eustice

    The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) review on the evidence on the impact of neonicotinoids is an important opportunity to produce an up-to-date assessment of this issue. EFSA has just completed the data collection phase and the UK will contribute fully to the review as it progresses.

  • Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mrs Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many senior officers have attended at least one week of training at force development training centres.

    Mark Lancaster

    This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to BT regarding the case for selling Openreach.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    This is a matter for the independent telecoms regulator, Ofcom, who is currently reviewing the markets for digital communications in the UK and is due to report at the end of this month. Government has made no representations.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with epilepsy have been assessed as being fit to work by their work capability assessments in each year since 2010.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is shown in the table below.

    Assessment type

    10/11

    11/12

    12/13

    13/14

    14/15

    FFW outcomes

    2,200

    4,000

    3,300

    1,500

    900