The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit switch centres there are in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.
Priti Patel
There are two Universal Credit service centres in the North West – Bolton and Makerfield.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many suspected child victims of modern slavery were subsequently re-trafficked after being referred to the National Referral Mechanism in each of the last three years.
Lord Bates
The National Crime Agency is responsible for the assessment of threats, including methods of trafficking by criminals. Information on this is not centrally recorded on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Data included in NRM referral forms concentrates on detail specifically required to prove the three constituent elements of human trafficking. This would not necessarily include the detail required to assess methodology used to re-traffick victims and as such does not form part of assessment reporting. The independent evaluation of the trial by the University of Bedfordshire collected data on the number of all potentially trafficked children referred to the trial, along with their characteristics including age, gender and geographical location, as well as the number of children that were recorded as missing. However the evaluation did not collect data on the number of children in the trial that were re-trafficked and it is not possible to determine how many of those children who went missing were subsequently re-trafficked.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that psychological therapies are available to deaf people.
Alistair Burt
It is the responsibility of local providers and commissioners to make the reasonable adjustments required by the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.
In order to reduce unacceptable variation in the provision of accessible information and communication support to disabled people, including adult sign readers, NHS England published a statutory accessible information standard. The standard sets out that all organisations providing NHS services must take steps to ensure that people receive information that they can access and understand, and receive communication support if they need it. Organisations must comply in full with the standard by 31 July 2016. Many local authorities provide interpreters within talking therapy settings.
There is ongoing activity by NHS England and the Department to encourage access to Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services by the under-represented groups. Over the last spending review we invested over £400 million into the IAPT programme to ensure access to talking therapies for those who need them. The Prime Minister recently announced £1 billion to start a revolution in mental health. NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce reported in February 2016, setting out transformative plans using that additional funding, including for IAPT.
Additional funding will enable NHS England to put in place a five year plan to improve IAPT services across the country, increasing access to evidence-based psychological therapies to reach 25% of need, and helping 600,000 more people to access care each year by 2020 with a focus on people living with long-term physical health conditions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Prisk on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the plans she has to reintroduce tick treatment for pet animals returning to the UK.
George Eustice
The requirement for tick treatment was dropped as part of the harmonisation of the EU pet travel rules for movement and import of non-commercial dogs following a qualitative risk assessment and economic impact assessment for the introduction of Mediterranean Spotted fever (MSF) and the Brown Dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus.
The evidence which informed these pieces of work has not changed and therefore there is still no strong scientific basis for reintroducing the requirement for tick treatment to control MSF, a zoonotic disease.
Treatments for ticks are readily available and veterinary practices are able to advise on the most appropriate treatments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long it takes on average for the UK to reach a decision on asylum claims made under the Dublin III Regulations.
Lord Keen of Elie
Whilst the Home Office does publish information on decision timeliness the way the data is recorded means that it would require manual interrogation of the main immigration database to calculate the average decision time for cases transferred under Dublin III. This data cannot be provided for reasons of disproportionate cost
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevenson of Balmacara on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take action in response to the recent report by Local Equal Excellent that children with a Pakistani background sitting the 11-plus entrance examination in Buckinghamshire are only half as likely as their white classmates to secure a place at one of the grammar schools in that area.
Lord Nash
The School Admissions Code requires school admission arrangements to be ‘fair, clear and objective’. It further requires that ‘admission authorities must ensure that their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, either directly or indirectly, a child from a particular social or racial group’.
Those who consider an admission policy, including a selection test, to breach the School Admissions Code can submit an objection to the independent Schools Adjudicator. If the Adjudicator agrees that the policy is unfair or otherwise breaches the Code she can require schools to amend their admission arrangements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the work of Health Information for All.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
DFID research and evidence programmes, in particular, invest in outputs that increase knowledge about health and health care provision and one of the programmes (TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases) is a member of Health Information for All.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will make it his policy only to begin the formal negotiation process on trade deals with non-EU countries once the UK has left the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Greg Hands
We are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU, including discussing our future trade relationships with third countries. While we remain a member of the EU, the UK will continue to support the EU’s free trade negotiations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harries of Pentregarth on 2015-11-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Georgia about its actions towards the independent tv station Rustavi 2.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In response to developments in the legal case concerning the Rustavi 2 TV station, the UK and other EU Member States’ Missions released a joint written statement on 6 November with the Embassy of the United States of America in Georgia, which said:
"The Delegation of the European Union, in agreement with the Heads of Mission of the EU Member States in Georgia, and the Embassy of the United States of America express our concern related to the appointment of a new management to the Rustavi 2 TV company.
In light of the recent interim decision of the Constitutional Court and considering that the substantial judgment of the first instance court in the Rustavi 2 case does not envisage immediate enforcement, the preventive measures adopted on 5 November raise serious questions about the independence of the judiciary and the actual degree of freedom of the media in Georgia.
As our respective Missions have publicly stated many times, freedom of media and independence of the judiciary are essential foundations of a democracy, and diverse opinions should be encouraged in democratic societies. We call on all political actors to refrain from any step or statement that could prevent the Georgian judiciary from ruling dispassionately on this case.
The government and judicial institutions need to uphold the principles of media freedom and political pluralism that are an integral part of Georgia’s declared aspirations.
We will continue to monitor developments closely and raise concerns with all relevant parties as appropriate.”
Our Ambassador in Tbilisi has also held discussions with senior members of the Georgian government and will continue to engage on this issue, bilaterally as well as with EU and other concerned partners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will conduct a national review of hydrotherapy provision.
George Freeman
NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised neurological services, which includes services for patients with neuromuscular disorders. NHS England has published a service specification for neurological care, which sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. The specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf
Specialised neuromuscular care may include referral to local physiotherapy, hydrotherapy or rehabilitation if appropriate, however the commissioning of hydrotherapy services is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups. There are no plans to conduct a national review of hydrotherapy provision.