Category: Speeches

Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by what mechanism residents can challenge a local authority’s assessment of the adequacy of drainage systems for a new housing development where they believe it will contribute to additional flooding in an area which has recently flooded.

Brandon Lewis

There are strict tests in the National Planning Policy Framework to protect people and property from flooding, and we are very clear that where these tests are not met new development should not be allowed.

The Framework must be taken into account in the preparation of local plans, drawn up by local councils in consultation with local communities, which should steer inappropriate development away from areas at risk of flooding. Local Plans should be supported by Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and develop policies to manage flood risk from all sources, taking account of advice from the Environment Agency and other relevant flood risk management bodies. A Local Plan must be published for consultation before it can be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination. This provides a formal opportunity for the local community to consider the local plan which the local planning authority would like to adopt.

For planning applications, local planning authorities are also required to undertake a formal period of public consultation prior to making a decision. When determining planning applications in flood risk areas, the Framework is clear on the importance of demonstrating that the development will be safe, resilient and not increase flood risk elsewhere. The Framework also sets out when applications should be supported by a site-specific flood risk assessment. These assessments provide a source of information for local residents together with representations on proposed development from flood risk management bodies. Planning law requires that planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The Framework is a material consideration in planning decisions, as are the planning concerns of residents.

01/01/2023
Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what options they are considering to ensure that the student numbers for podiatry are maintained after August 2017.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department will run a consultation on how the funding reforms for nursing, midwifery and allied health education can be most successfully implemented. We currently expect to consult during March 2016. As part of this, an economic impact assessment and equality impact assessment will be published.

Health Education England (HEE) will continue to have a key leading role in the commissioning of nursing, midwifery and allied health courses. It will continue to provide sufficient clinical placement funding for those places needed to meet the workforce planning needs of the National Health Service.

01/01/2023
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they maintain statistics relating to (1) autism referrals, (2) initial assessments of autism, and (3) diagnosis of autism; and if so, how many of each there were during each of the past five years.

Lord Prior of Brampton

No formal statistics are collected of autism referrals, initial assessments or diagnoses. The Department does however commission Public Health England each year to carry out a self-assessment exercise with local authority areas on progress they are making in implementing the Autism Strategy for Adults in England. Local authorities work with their local partners including clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to informally answer a range of questions.

In the exercise based on 2013 data, all 152 local authority areas replied but some did not answer all the questions. Areas were asked how many adults have completed the diagnostic pathway in the preceding year and 111 reported a total of 4,677. They were also asked the length of the average wait for referral to diagnostic services and 117 answered this question. The average of these figures, weighted for the population in the responding areas, was 27.9 weeks.

The exercise based on 2014 data saw 149 areas respond. They were asked how many adults had received a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum condition in the preceding year and 128 reported a total of 5,109. Areas were also asked the length of the average wait between referral and assessment for all adults and 135 answered this question. The average of these figures, similarly weighted, was 19.6 weeks. Information on the waiting time between autism referrals and initial assessments, and between initial assessments and diagnosis, was not collected during these exercises. The next exercise will be launched later in the spring.

The number of children and young people diagnosed with autism by the National Health Service is not collected centrally. Latest figures from the School Census (2015) state that there were 90,775 pupils with an autistic spectrum condition at state funded schools and non-maintained special schools in England. This has increased from a total of 56,250 in 2010 who were recorded as having a primary need of autism, but it is not directly comparable to the 2015 figures because of a change in collection methodology.

New statutory guidance was issued in England in March 2015 to support implementation of the Adult Autism Strategy. This set out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from local authorities and NHS bodies. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published three clinical guidelines on autism and a quality standard to assist health managers and practitioners in developing services. This includes a recommendation that an assessment is started within three months of the referral. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit CCGs to identify and share good practice in accessing autism diagnosis, and look at possible barriers. NHS England will complete a report on this by the end of April 2016.

01/01/2023
Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with NHS England on increasing the amount of funding available to GP practices.

Alistair Burt

The Department has regular discussions with NHS England on various measures to support general practice, including funding.

NHS England has confirmed that it will increase funding for general practice by an average of 4.5% each year to 2020/21.

01/01/2023

Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework has accrued to the public purse through Category M savings since 2005.

Alistair Burt

The adjustments to Category M generic medicine reimbursement prices that have been made in order to align total community pharmacy funding (including margin earned on the difference between reimbursement prices and purchase prices) with the target amount set for the community pharmacy contractual framework are shown in the table below.

Month	Margin removed (-) or added (+) (quarterly amount on recurrent basis) (£ m)
April 2005	-75
October 2006	-75
October 2007	-100
October 2008	-32.5
October 2009	-20
October 2010	-60
April 2011	-22.5
October 2011	-39
April 2012	-10
October 2012	-72.5
October 2013	-20
April 2014	-30
October 2014	+30
January 2016	-45

Source: Department of Health

01/01/2023

Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many applications for brain tumour research were made to the National Institute for Health Research in the last 24 months; and how many of those applications were successful.

George Freeman

In the last 24 months, 12 brain tumour research applications have been submitted to National Institute for Health Research programmes and fellowship schemes. Three are under review and nine have been rejected.

I am convening a Task and Finish Working Group on Brain Tumour Research to bring together clinicians, charities and officials to discuss how, working together with research funding partners, we can address the need to increase the level and impact of brain tumour research.

01/01/2023
Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many supported housing providers in (a) Birmingham, Erdington constituency and (b) the West Midlands will be affected by the local housing allowance cap on supported housing.

Caroline Nokes

The Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government expects to make an announcement on the way forward for supported housing in early autumn.

Full impact and equality impact assessments will be undertaken in due course.

01/01/2023
Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances documents associated with (a) asylum applications and (b) other forms of visa application are retained by her Department after verification.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Documents associated with an asylum claim will be retained when :-

1. The claim is ongoing, if a claimant is subsequently granted leave their passports or identifying documents will be returned to them at that point.

2. When a negative decision is made we will retain documents that may be required to facilitate removal, the power to do this comes from Section17 of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants Act, etc) 2004.

3. Any documents verified as being non genuine will be retained for disposal by the National Document Fraud Unit.

4. In EEA/EU asylum claims if removal, deportation or extradition is being pursued, any documents must be retained until a decision is taken. If removal is not being pursued, for example if the claimant is exercising their free movement rights, any documents should be returned.

A document that has been submitted with a visa application will be retained for 10 years if the document has been verified as being false and has been relied upon in a refusal decision. If it has been verified as being genuine, copies will be kept for up to 2 years. A copy of the application form is retained electronically with the case record.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of universal credit are self-employed.

Priti Patel

The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

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01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employers applied to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to have their employees’ statutory maternity pay paid in advance in each of the last five financial years; what proportion of those applications were (a) accepted and (b) rejected; and what average time was taken by HMRC to make decisions on those applications.

Priti Patel

DWP data on the amount of National Insurance Contributions claimed by employers to pay for Statutory Maternity Pay comes from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The information is not available as requested. HMRC do not keep records of the number of claims to advanced funding which are rejected and therefore it is not possible to provide proportions of those (a) accepted and (b) rejected.

01/01/2023