The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of UK withdrawal from the EU on each policy area and function of local authorities.
Mr Marcus Jones
None.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will reply to the letter from Lord Ahmed to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May, dated 9 February 2016.
Lord Keen of Elie
I must apologise for the delay in responding to your letter. The response was sent on 29 March.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of capping housing benefit to the same level as local housing allowance on the number of specialist homes in (a) Sunderland, (b) the North East, and (c) England.
Justin Tomlinson
We recognise the importance of assessing the potential impact on specialist homes. However, as the policy is not yet fully developed we are unable to provide any Information relating to this at this time.
For this reason on 1 March 2016 we announced, via a Written Ministerial Statement, that the effect of the LHA cap for those living in social sector supported housing would be deferred by a year, pending the outcome of a review, This means that the measure will only effect those who have taken on or renewed a tenancy from April 2017 rather than April 2016.
We have done this because we understand the importance of ensuring that both those living in supported housing and those who provide this type of accommodation receive appropriate protections. This is why we are awaiting the outcome of a “Supported Accommodation” research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable and appropriate groups are safeguarded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for training the judiciary on the implementation of problem-solving courts.
Caroline Dinenage
The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.
Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of bed-blocking in NHS hospitals in each of the past three years and what plans they have to invest in social care services to reduce those costs.
Lord Prior of Brampton
To date, the Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service. However, the Department and NHS Improvement are working together to implement Lord Carter’s recommendations on hospital productivity. As part of this, the two organisations are working with providers to develop a richer dataset around all aspects of the patient pathway, including estimates of the cost of delayed discharge.
At the same time, the Department continues to work closely with the NHS and local government to help local areas improve transfers out of hospital, share best practice, and reduce unnecessary delays. We are funding the NHS’s own plan for the future with £10 billion and we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20.
Since April 2015, the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund has provided much needed investment in better integrated care through locally developed plans and by putting resources where the local NHS and social services think they are needed. Alongside this we are working with local areas to improve the transfer of patients back into the communities.
In 2016-17, there is a new Better Care Fund requirement on local areas to develop a clear, focused action plan for managing delays, including locally agreed targets. The requirement is designed to reduce delays across the health and care system.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the creative industries.
Matt Hancock
The Government wants to ensure the best possible deal for Britain on leaving the EU. The creative industries are a great UK success story, contributing billions each year to the UK economy. Government is working with industry to assess the potential impacts and maximise the opportunities that our exit presents for the sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has taken steps to recover costs to the NHS resulting from the actions of Hungarian journalist Ani Horvath as part of an investigation of fraud in the European Health Insurance Cards scheme.
Ben Gummer
The Department is undertaking a major piece of work to examine and identify areas for improvement in all the administrative systems relating to European Economic Area healthcare payments (incoming and outgoing), including the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme.
If an EHIC is used fraudulently, the Department will seek to recover the full cost of treatment from the card holder.
The Department takes any allegations of fraud and abuse seriously and has been working with the NHS on an on-going basis to detect and tackle any suspected fraud and error since the introduction of the online EHIC application system in 2006.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the provisions in the Financial Conduct Authority handbook IPRU-INV sch13 which allows independent financial advisers and insurers to retrospectively exclude failed schemes from an IFA’s professional indemnity insurance.
Harriett Baldwin
Treasury Ministers and officials occasionally receive representations on regulatory issues.
As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions the his Department, NHS England and NICE have had on the effect of proposed Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) changes on patients prescribed current CDF treatments who will not receive interim funding under that proposed new scheme.
George Freeman
NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are currently consulting jointly on draft proposals on the future direction of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). The consultation document states that all patients receiving treatment funded through the CDF on 31 March 2016 will continue to receive treatment until the point that they and their consultant agree that it is appropriate to stop.
NHS England has advised that the aim of the future CDF is to help patients receive new treatments with genuine promise, while real world evidence is collected for up to two years on how well they work in practice. This will then help determine whether the treatment should be accepted for routine use in the National Health Service in the future. It is not possible to make comparisons between the current and future CDF until such time as the consultation has concluded and the responses reviewed.
The consultation was published on 19 November 2015 and is open until 11 February 2016. Further information is available at:
www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/cdf-consultation
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the remaining time period is of Northstar Ventures’ funding through the European Regional Development Funds; and what changes are planned in the terms and control of that funding.
James Wharton
Northstar Ventures manages five funds that have received funding from the European Regional Development Fund 2000-06 and 2007-13 Programme periods.
Three of these funds are closed to new investments and Northstar Ventures is exiting from remaining deals. This is likely to conclude by February 2017.
Two remaining funds – Proof of Concept and Accelerator Fund – will remain open to new investments until June 2016.
No changes to management arrangements are planned. Northstar Ventures will remain responsible for concluding the funds up to 2020. The Department of Communities and Local Government will remain responsible for directing the use of any legacy funding generated by the funds.