The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-16.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received about the level of household debt.
Harriett Baldwin
The government has taken action on household debt by establishing the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on introducing fortification of bread with folic acid.
Jane Ellison
We are considering all aspects of preconception health as a priority, including the uptake of folic acid. We want children to have the best possible start in life and ensuring optimal maternal health is a key part of this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether the bus service operators grant is used by bus operators to keep fares down.
Andrew Jones
We have been reviewing the Bus Service Operators Grant scheme in recent years with a view to improving its effectiveness in supporting bus services. In their assessment of the impact of any changes in policy associated with the Bus Service Operators’ Grant, departmental economists normally assume operators pass subsidy received on to passengers 50% through lower fares and 50% through increased service levels. Under these assumptions, they estimate that BSOG has the impact of keeping fares 3% lower than they would be in its absence in England outside of London.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the Royal College of Nursing’s report, Connect for Change: an update on learning disability services in England, published in February 2016; and if he will make a statement.
Ben Gummer
Health Education England (HEE) is working with NHS England and other national partners to set out a far-reaching plan to transform services for people with a learning disability, to make significant and lasting improvements to their care and lives. This work is currently focused on supporting the transforming care programme and spreading the lessons learnt from engagement with fast-track sites.
HEE is predicting an increase of between an additional 1,126 and 1,778 whole time equivalent (WTE), learning disability nurses by 2020 being available to the National Health Service. The range between these figures is the uncertainty over employer’s ability to retain the current workforce. Both of these figures are in addition to the baseline 3,904 WTEs working in the NHS, resulting in a forecast supply of between 5,030 and 5,682 WTEs by 2020. This is in excess of the forecasts made by NHS employers as to the number they believe they will need and therefore could meet demand from other sectors.
The Department commissioned Skills for Health, Skills for Care and HEE to develop a Learning Disabilities Core Skills Education and Training Framework, which will be launched in May and is aimed at all health and social care workers who have not received training in learning disabilities, especially those nurses from other fields of nursing such as adult, children and mental health nurses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on development of an early years workforce strategy.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The Government committed to develop a workforce strategy in 2016. We want to continue to attract quality staff into the early years, and to support those already working in the sector to progress, which is why we are reviewing career progression routes. We want to understand what improvements can be made to help more staff reach their potential and forge a successful career in the early years.
We began discussions with a range of stakeholders in the sector earlier this year on the elements of a workforce strategy, and we are continuing to speak to stakeholders as we develop the strategy further. We plan to communicate an update to the sector on the workforce strategy in the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle speeding by (a) cars, (b) HGVs and (c) buses.
Andrew Jones
The Department educates drivers about the importance of observing speed limits through The Highway Code, the driving test and THINK! campaigns. Enforcement of speeding offences is a matter for the police.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-07-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process applications related to refugee family reunion.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Customer service is a key priority for UK Visas and Immigration, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the visa application process is kept under regular review, including by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. The published service standard for resolving refugee family reunion applications is within 12 weeks, or 60 working days.
Where an application is complex and likely to take longer than the advertised processing times, UKVI will contact the applicant to inform them of this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-10-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many outstanding applications for mandatory reconsideration of a tax credit decision by Concentrix there are in (a) Wallasey constituency, (b) Wirral and (c) Merseyside.
Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data broken down specifically by constituency areas.
HMRC is currently focussed on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing regional analysis, which will be available in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to secure continued funding for the Short Breaks pathfinder initiative.
Edward Timpson
The Short Breaks pathfinder initiative was part of Aiming High for Disabled Children and ran in 21 local authorities from 2008. Since the pathfinder initiative, funding has been provided to support short breaks provision in all English local authorities. For example, between 2011-12 and 2014-15, short breaks were supported by £800m in the Early Intervention Grant. In 2011-12, and again in 2012-13, local authorities benefitted from an additional £40m per annum of capital funding for short break services.
Since 2011, local authorities have also been under a duty to provide a range of short breaks services and to publish a local Short Breaks Duty Statement showing what services are available; how they are responding to the needs of local parent carers; and how short breaks can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities are responsible for funding this short breaks provision.
This year, the Department for Education has awarded £250,555 to the Short Breaks Partnership (a consortium made up of Contact a Family, the Council for Disabled Children, Action for Children and KIDS) to provide information and advice to those involved in designing, commissioning, providing and taking up short breaks for disabled children.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Capacity Market does not favour any class of generators.
Andrea Leadsom
The Capacity Market is technology neutral, i.e. it does not seek to procure specific volumes of capacity from different types of technology. Before the start of pre-qualification for the auction, National Grid discounts the capacity available from each technology according to its historic reliability. These steps ensure that all types of eligible capacity are able to participate on an equal basis. The principle of technology neutrality allows the market to identify which technology type is cost efficient in delivering security of supply.
We are satisfied with the wide range of different technologies that have prequalified for the next Capacity Market auction, which will take place next month.