The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the new rules for free prescriptions for Universal Credit claimants on incentives for work and progression; and if he will make a statement.
Priti Patel
No such assessment has been made.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 19338, how the effect of the Equality Act 2010 on service provision in the NHS is monitored.
Jane Ellison
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006, is the regulator of the public sector equality duty (PSED). The EHRC works with National Health Service bodies as public authorities to encourage, guide, monitor and regulate activity on the public sector equality duty, including the extent to which NHS service provision is meeting the requirements of the equality duty.
NHS England hosts the Equality and Diversity Council (EDC) and thereby helps to support organisations to meet the PSED, through initiatives and levers such as the Equality Delivery System (EDS2) and the development of information standards to enable consistent monitoring of access, experience and outcomes from healthcare across protected groups. The EDC has also committed to develop workforce equality standards across the protected groups.
The Care Quality Commission includes equality in its inspection regime and forthcoming waves of inspection will specifically include EDS2.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on staffing levels at coastguard stations in the Irish Sea.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The new National Network for Her Majesty’s Coastguard became fully operational in December 2015.
Coastguard centres within this network do not have fixed geographic boundaries; the network enables workload and incidents to be managed on a national rather than centre-by-centre basis. Workload is moved around the network to balance local demand against a national workforce.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether employers named and shamed by his Department on 5 February 2016 for non-payment of the national minimum wage and found to be owing arrears to a select number of employees subsequently had their whole workforce investigated by HM Revenue and Customs to ascertain if the same practice applied to all other workers employed.
Nick Boles
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fully investigate all worker complaints and where they identify arrears of pay, issue a Notice of Underpayment to recover arrears for the complainant. Since 2015, HMRC have also instructed the employer to "self-correct" for all other workers and report the details to HMRC. An assurance process is in place to make sure employers have fully self-corrected. If they do not, and HMRC believes other workers are likely to have been underpaid, the employer will be investigated again.
HMRC are unable to provide an exact figure for how many of the 92 employers have been investigated beyond the original complaint. The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when those parts of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 which have not come into force are expected to come into force.
Karen Bradley
We expect to commence the Psychoactive Substances Act in its entirety in the spring. We need to ensure the readiness of all the activity necessary to enable the smooth implementation of the legislation across the UK and to support law enforcement in their ability to drive forward the legislation on commencement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress is being made to increase the number of train stations with step-free access.
Claire Perry
Under the £390m Access for All Programme, launched in 2005, 150 stations across Great Britain received an accessible route into the station and to and between each platform. A further £160m to extend the programme and deliver step-free access at an additional 68 stations. In addition, whenever infrastructure works are carried out at stations, they must comply with the relevant UK and EU accessibility standards. Each rail franchise also has a Minor Works budget of typically around £250,000 that can be used for small improvements to accessibility.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes to local authority accountability for children’s social care services take place if these services are transferred to the management of an arms-length trust.
Lord Nash
Statutory responsibility for children’s social care services remains with the local authority, but its functions are delegated to and carried out by the trust on the authority’s behalf. The accountabilities are set out in a service delivery contract between the authority and the trust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department (a) provides and (b) facilitates for people who are diagnosed with autism.
David Mowat
Revised statutory guidance for local authorities and National Health Service organisations to support implementation of the Adult Autism Strategy was issued in 2015 and reiterated requirements and expectations for staff including care workers who work with people who have autism. In 2016/17, the Department is providing approximately £23.3 million in funding to Skills for Care for the training and development of the adult social care workforce. Skills for Care has developed a comprehensive suite of standards and qualifications to help workers develop the skills and knowledge they need to support people who use services, including those with autism.
Support for people who are diagnosed with autism is provided and facilitated at a local level by local authorities, the NHS, and schools and colleges when the person is still in education. An adult diagnosed with autism has, under the Care Act 2014, a right to an assessment of needs and, where relevant, a carer’s assessment. Adults who subsequently do not qualify for social care support should receive information on what other support may be available. A child who is diagnosed with autism may be eligible for special educational support in school; where a child’s special educational needs require an Education, Health and Care plan, the local authority and clinical commissioning group must work together to commission services jointly across education, health and social care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to exempt people in receipt of war pensions or armed forces compensation payments from health reassessments.
Mark Lancaster
Veterans UK do not routinely conduct health re-assessments once awards have been made. There are provisions under both schemes for recipients to seek a review of the level of compensation being paid.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the amendments adopted by the European Parliament in September to the proposed Directive on the cloning of certain species for farming purposes (COM (2013) 0892); and what advice they gave to United Kingdom MEPs prior to their adoption.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The UK sees no justification for either the original European Commission proposals for further restrictions on cloning activity or the European Parliament’s proposed extension to the progeny and descendants of clones; and all animal species.
The science is clear that the meat and milk from clones and their offspring is as healthy as from more traditionally reared animals; and EU and national rules already exist to protect the welfare of the livestock concerned.
What is more, there is no cloning of farm animals conducted in the EU at present, so introducing any further controls, will not materially increase welfare standards within the Community.
Briefing to this effect was provided to UK MEPs in advance of the Parliament’s discussions.