The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions a special adviser in his Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.
Brandon Lewis
Special Advisers have not undertaken any overseas trips with Ministers since May 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was to the public purse of hosting Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa and a Bahraini delegation aboard HMS Defender at the event to mark the 200th anniversary of UK-Bahrain relations.
Mr Philip Dunne
As part of the 200th Anniversay Celebarations marking Bahrain and UK relations, HMS DEFENDER, which was deployed to the region, hosted His Royal Highness, Deputy King Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and approximately 200 guests for a Capability Demonstration. This event cost £940.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-02-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the oldest uncompleted enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check was submitted.
Karen Bradley
The oldest uncompleted application for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate was received on 30 May 2014.
It would not be appropriate to comment further on this specific case. But there are a number of factors which can affect the timely completion of checks. These include the length of time it can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved in the enhanced process. In some cases, forces will ask DBS to clarify some details provided by the applicant which requires further investigation and this can cause further delays.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the UK’s policy is on the resolution passed by the European Parliament in February 2016 in favour of an embargo on the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.
Anna Soubry
Her Majesty’s Government takes its export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world.
All exports of arms and controlled military goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. This includes the UK’s obligations under Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP.
The UK is satisfied that we are not in breach of our international obligations, including under the Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP. A licence will not be issued, to Saudi Arabia or any other destination, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory UK Licensing Criteria.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce variations in mental health spending and services between clinical commissioning groups.
Alistair Burt
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning non-specialised mental health services to meet the needs of their local communities. NHS England has made the requirement of CCGs through the planning guidance document, Delivering the Forward View: NHS Planning Guidance 2016/17 to 2020/21 (December 2015), that they should increase their spending on mental health each year at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of clinical negligence cases dealt with by the NHS Litigation Authority are discovered to be unfounded upon the release of medical records.
Ben Gummer
The timetable for the release of medical records in clinical negligence cases is determined by the Pre Action Protocol for clinical negligence claims. This prescribes 40 days for the release of the records, or the ability to request an extension to that time.
The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) works with National Health Service trusts to ensure prompt release of medical records and other information which will inform the outcome of a claim for compensation. Often expert evidence will be required to give conclusive evidence as to whether there was negligence and if so, whether that caused injury to the claimant. As claims are often resolved in-house by the NHSLA, any costs which arise as a result of delays in receiving medical records are not recorded separately as they will fall within overall administration costs.
46% of claims were resolved without payment of damages in 2014/15; however, as above, it is often necessary to obtain expert medical advice to determine whether compensation is due.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2016-06-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action, if any, they have taken during the last 12 months in relation to the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy chain.
Lord Nash
During the last 12 months, the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy trust chain have been reviewed as a criminal investigation since first reported to the police in October 2012 by this multi-academy trust. The criminal case against the perpetrator of the fraud began week commencing 6 June at Woolwich Crown Court.
The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has engaged with the Trust from the outset and immediately requested that the Trust assess financial systems and risks. The Trust carried out an independent and thorough review of its internal control procedures and reported on this to the EFA. The Trust has taken all the appropriate action since the issue was first identified and the remaining key actions now rest with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Academies and free schools face tighter financial scrutiny than local authority maintained schools. They must publish annual, independently-audited accounts, of which there is no equivalent requirement on maintained schools. We take swift action whenever we identify financial irregularities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have given the rail industry an exemption that allows that industry a year longer than the aviation industry to comply with the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in respect of compensation for delays or cancellations to services; and whether they plan to extend that exemption to providers of bus and coach services.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government has decided that the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) should apply in full to all transport services, including mainline passenger rail services, from 1 October 2016.
The 12 month exemption from one of the compensation provisions in the Consumer Rights Act was originally proposed to allow time for train operators to move to a consistent compensation scheme. However, the Government is now of the view that rail customers should not be denied any consumer rights or protections even for a temporary period while the rail industry works to put in place more consistent compensation arrangements between train operators. The Government has therefore withdrawn the draft statutory instrument which was to have been debated by Parliament and which, if approved, would have put this exemption in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many allegations of personation were made to the police in respect of the EU referendum, how many of these are under active investigation, and what proportion this represents of votes cast in the referendum.
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Electoral Commission’s report on the EU Referendum has found that at the referendum there were 19 allegations relating to personation at a polling station and that following police inquiries, five of these cases have been resolved as no further action required, one resulted in a caution being accepted, and the remaining 13 are still under investigation. The Commission’s report states that 33,577,342 votes were cast at the referendum. The Government is currently considering the recommendations of the independent review by my Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Sir Eric Pickles), which includes recommendations on tackling the scope for personation and introducing voter ID at polling stations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that British veterans who develop cancer through exposure to asbestos are entitled to the same level of compensation as civilians.
Mark Lancaster
As the Prime Minister said during Prime Ministers’ Questions on 4 November 2015, the Ministry of Defence is looking into the matter.
The Government has continuously made compensation available under the War Pensions Scheme for injuries, illness or disease caused by service before 6 April 2005, including mesothelioma. The War Pensions Scheme provides Veterans with mesothelioma with the maximum award paid on a weekly/monthly basis and additional supplementary allowances and, where appropriate, entitlement to dependent’s benefits.
While there are currently no plans for separate compensation arrangements for veterans suffering with mesothelioma, consideration is being given to whether any flexibility can be provided for future claimants under the War Pensions Scheme. As this issue is a complex matter, officials have been undertaking a detailed review. I hope we will be able to present our conclusions soon.