The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.291 of Budget 2016, when his Department plans to begin the consultation process on proposals to increase transparency in the land market.
Brandon Lewis
Government will be consulting on improving the visibility of information relating to options to purchase or lease land during the summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answers of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010 and 11 April 2016 to Question 32109, when he plans to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership documents.
Anna Soubry
The next round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will take place in July. The UK reading room will be open in time to access documents related to this round.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to establish a non-departmental public body as part of the process of placing the National Citizen Service on a permanent statutory footing.
Mr Rob Wilson
The National Citizen Service (NCS) Bill will place NCS on a statutory footing and describe its means of delivery. Classification is a subject for the Office for National Statistics in the first stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that people who lose their driving licence on the grounds of poor vision and subsequently receive a letter from their optometrist confirming that their vision meets the required standards can have their driving licence reinstated quickly.
Andrew Jones
Drivers in Great Britain whose licence has been revoked for failure to meet the required eyesight standards may submit further evidence to support their case. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will consider that evidence within three working days. Further medical enquiries may be required.
Driver licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and is a matter for the Department for Infrastructure in the Northern Ireland Executive.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) what the total value of payments is and (b) how many payments have been made from the Flexible Support Fund to assist with childcare costs in (i) each region and (ii) each constituency in each of the last two years.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on the Darwin Initiative in each year since 2010.
Mr Nick Hurd
I refer the Hon Lady to the answer given by my Hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs (Rory Stewart MP) on 5 January 2016 (UIN: 20429)
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the monetary value was of each type of benefits withdrawn in (a) Dundee and (b) Scotland as a result of benefit sanctions in each month from 2010 to date.
Priti Patel
The Department does not make an estimate of the amount of benefit withdrawn as a result of benefit sanctions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidelines have been issued to GP practices on the safe ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices.
Alistair Burt
NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.
To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.
There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of local authorities that will exercise their right to levy the two per cent social care tax precept; and what assessment he has made of whether the revenue so raised will be sufficient to cover the funding gap for adult social care.
Alistair Burt
It is the decision of local councils whether to raise the adult social care precept in order to pay for adult social care in their local area. The precept gives local areas who are best placed to respond to local needs and pressures the flexibility to be able to do so. There will be a statistical release showing the number of councils taking up the precept on 30 March 2016.
Additionally, from April 2017 the Spending Review makes available social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20, to be included in the Better Care Fund (BCF). We have deliberately distributed the improved BCF in such a way that those councils with low council tax bases will benefit most.
Taken together, the new precept and additional BCF contribution mean local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a Wire Strike Protection system will be fitted to the Puma helicopter; and when (a) Initial Gate and (b) Final Gate approval was granted for that project.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Helicopter Safety Enhancements Programme has been coordinating provision of Wire Strike Protection Systems (WSPS) across the UK military helicopter fleet. Initial Gate approval was granted in August 2012 and Final Gate approval was granted in March 2013. The Puma Mk2 WSPS entered service in June 2015; fleet embodiment of WSPS continues and is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2017.