The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to Question 18949, tabled by the hon. Member for Halifax on 7 December 2015.
Mr Shailesh Vara
I can confirm that the answer to PQ 18949 was given on the 29th February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to provide information to pharmacies on proposed changes to the community pharmacy sector.
Alistair Burt
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
We have been in detailed discussions with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond, including the proposal for a Pharmacy Access Scheme. In parallel, we also want to hear views on our proposals from across the sector and from patient groups. We published our open letter to the PSNC on 17 December 2015 and on 27 January 2016 we published a set of slides setting out the proposals with a foreword by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.
We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.
Once we have carefully considered the outcomes from the consultation, we are looking to communicate final decisions as soon as possible, so that pharmacy contractors are fully informed some months before the funding reduction starts from October 2016.
The role of the general practice pharmacist is distinct from the role of the pharmacist in a community setting. However, they are synergistic. Pharmacists working in general practice will, in the main, work with patients who have long term conditions to support them with their medicines and self-management of their condition by helping with the development and review of individual care plans. These patients will not generally be those with minor illnesses which can be treated by seeing a pharmacist in a community setting and for whom community pharmacy will remain the first, and most appropriate, option.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants have had their claim re-assessed more than six months before the end of their initial award period in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department does hold the requested information and it could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
For all PIP claimants with a fixed term award, except where the claimant would be expected to have little or no functional limitation within a two year period, a review date is set when the award is made. This review date is based on advice from a health professional and is communicated to the claimant when the award is made. A review process is then initiated on this date. In all such cases the review process is initiated a year in advance of the award end date.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2016 to Question 38323, whether an annual record is kept by his Department of locations visited by Ministers and officials of his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Mark Francois
No separate annual record of locations visited by Ministers and officials is kept by this department. However, details of Ministers meetings with external organisations are published online as part of our transparency agenda. Details can be found at:
http://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-communities-and-local-government&publication type=transparency-data
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to accelerate family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.
We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.
We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe. We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Beecham on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of the 700 employers named and shamed” by them since October 2013 for failing to pay the minimum wage
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The National Minimum Wage naming and shaming scheme represents the end point of civil sanctions against employers who fail to pay at least the appropriate rate of minimum wage to their workers. Where there is evidence that an offence has been committed the case will always be considered for criminal investigation which may in turn result in prosecutions. But criminal investigations are reserved for the most serious cases of non-compliance.
Our number one priority is getting workers the money they are owed and the civil route is more successful in achieving this. Criminal investigations by HM Revenue & Customs and prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service will not necessarily result in arrears of wages being paid back to the workers. This would require further civil prosecutions following the Courts’ ruling.
Under the civil route, employers are not only faced with reputational consequences, but also face a financial penalty for breaking the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ask the Care Quality Commission to investigate the project run by South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust between December 2014 and February 2015 on the treatment of emergency calls to NHS 111.
Jane Ellison
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and adult social care, advises the South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is scheduled for a comprehensive inspection in 2016.
The CQC advises it has attended a recent risk summit conducted by NHS England. The decisions or actions arising from the NHS England risk summit will be one of the factors considered in the timing of any forthcoming CQC inspection.
NHS England undertook an external investigation of the project, the report of which was published by NHS England on 5 November 2015.
We are advised that Monitor is taking action with South East Coast Ambulance Service Foundation Trust regarding concerns about the project and the regulator is working with the Trust now to identify the negative impact this project could have had on patients. It is Monitor’s function to undertaken such investigations independently of the Department. Monitor and Departmental officials regularly discuss such issues on a routine basis.
As part of regulatory action, Monitor advises it has asked the trust to carry out a detailed independent review of the impact the project had on patients. Monitor has asked the Trust to do this with the help of an external expert, who the regulator will select. The full details of what the review will look at and how long it will take are being worked on by the trust and Monitor, including consideration of publication of the review findings.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support the recruitment of examiners for Gujarati GCSE and A level examinations; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write to you. A copy of the letter will be placed in the House Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what definition his Department use of the term exigency of duty.
Mark Lancaster
The Ministry of Defence Police policy on overtime working states that:
"Exigencies of Duty should be interpreted as relating to situations where there is an unavoidable operational need, which necessitates a change of rostered duties".
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there are special procedures for universal credit applications for prisoners with mental health issues.
Priti Patel
Prisoners are supported and advised whilst in prison on which benefits they can claim and how to make a claim and we are developing arrangements to enable them to make advance claims to Universal Credit.
Appropriate support measures for prison leavers with mental health issues will be considered following the initial claim interview.
Universal Credit is assessed and paid calendar monthly in arrears. Prison leavers will receive payment within the timescale of 5 weeks from the date of claim.
Prison leavers who are in financial need can apply for an advance payment of up to 50% of their total Universal Credit award following their initial interview.
The information requested in relation to the timescales for applications is not readily available for publication. To quality assure this information according to the standards of the UK Statistics Authority would incur disproportionate costs.