The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to publish the Human Rights and Democracy Report 2015.
Mr Philip Hammond
The FCO plans to publish the 2015 Human Rights and Democracy Report in April 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase public awareness and understanding of autism.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The number of children, young people and adults 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 disorder 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. Local authority areas provide information for Public Health England’s annual self-assessment exercise on implementing the Autism Strategy. This includes the number of adults receiving an autism diagnosis but because information is submitted on a voluntary basis a complete total for England is not available.
The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis and support in a timely manner. NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups to identify and share good practice in accessing autism diagnosis, and look at possible barriers. The Department is funding the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to support this work. NHS England will complete a report on this by the end of April 2016.
The Department is also encouraging the autism third sector to work together and the four charity representatives on the Cross Government Autism Programme Board, which oversees the implementation of the Autism Strategy, gave presentations at the meeting on 18 February on work they are doing to increase public awareness. The charities are the National Autistic Society, the Autism Alliance UK, Autism Plus and Ambitious about Autism. The Autism Alliance UK is also being funded by the Department to undertake work with national and local organisations, to make reasonable adjustments to services and to train staff to be aware of what autism can mean to individuals who have the condition and their families.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre’s publication Estimating the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Conditions in Adults – Extending the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) gave the overall prevalence of autism in England as 1.1% (95% confidence interval 0.3% to 1.9%). Among adults with learning disabilities living in private households whose learning disability was sufficiently severe that they could not have taken part in the 2007 APMS, the prevalence of autism was 35.4% (95% confidence interval 24.7% to 46.2%). Among adults with mild or severe learning disabilities living in communal care establishments, the prevalence of autism was 31% (95% confidence interval 23.9% to 38%). Detailed supporting information regarding the underlying data and how figures have been derived is found within the detail of the report, a copy of which is attached.
The APMS was repeated in 2014 and findings are scheduled to be published in September 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luke Hall on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many patients in (a) Ashworth, (b) Broadmoor and (c) Rampton high security psychiatric hospitals received employment and support allowance between 2012 and 2015; and what the average weekly payment of that benefit was to such recipients.
Justin Tomlinson
The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of the UK leaving the EU, they intend to advise UK citizens living in EU member states to take citizenship in their country of residence in order to protect their legal rights.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Should the UK choose to stay in the EU, British citizens will be able to work, live and retire abroad as they do now. UK citizens and citizens from other Member States living in the UK get a range of rights from our membership of the EU. If the UK were to leave the EU, all of these rights would have to be covered in a successor arrangement. If we left the EU without agreeing what would happen to these rights, it would at the least bring them into serious question, creating difficulty for UK citizens who relied on them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the average hourly earnings were of his Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.
Guto Bebb
The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right and is subject to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) policies for pay purposes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-07-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which tenants will be exempt from the Government’s proposed phasing out of lifetime tenancies.
Brandon Lewis
The provisions restricting the use of lifetime tenancies are intended to ensure we get the best use out of our social housing stock – ensuring that social housing is focussed on those who need it the most for as long as they need it. This is essential with 1.24 million households on council waiting lists. The changes will apply to new tenants, but will not apply to existing lifetime tenants who remain in their own home.
If tenants are required to move home by their landlord, for example to allow demolition and regeneration work to take place, they will be granted a tenancy with no less security in their new home.
Where existing lifetime tenants seek to transfer, local authorities will retain a discretion – in limited circumstances – to offer the tenant a further lifetime tenancy in their new home. We will set out the circumstances in which local authorities may exercise this discretion in regulations. We expect these will include where tenants downsize into a smaller home, move for work or to escape violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many EU nationals were living in the Borough of Croydon in September 2016.
Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Pet Animals Act 1951 to reflect the increasing number of animals sold over the internet.
George Eustice
Defra is reviewing the Pet Animals Act 1951, which already covers sales of pet animals over the internet, as part of a wider review of some of the animal related licensing schemes. We are aiming to consult on a set of proposals shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the humanitarian impact of cutting aid to India from 2016.
Baroness Verma
We selected this three year transition period specifically so that we could responsibly fulfil commitments to existing financial aid projects and ensure government partners were able to build the capacity needed to meet development needs after our support ends.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect Tier 2 migration is having on the (a) pay and (b) terms and conditions of UK employees.
James Brokenshire
Tier 2, the skilled worker route, is designed to fill roles which cannot be filled by a suitable resident worker. The immigration rules, and UK employment law, do not allow workers to be made redundant and directly replaced.
It is a decision for businesses whether to outsource certain functions. We are, however, mindful of concerns that use of the Intra-Company Transfer (ICT) category for third party contracting may undercut or displace resident workers.
That is why, in June last year, we commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine the ICT category as part of its wider review on Tier 2. The MAC published its report on 19 January and it can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migration-advisory-committee-mac-review-tier-2-migration
Chapter 6 of the report sets out the MAC’s findings on the ICT category, including its use for third party contracting, the salaries paid to IT workers and the impacts on the resident labour market. The MAC found that salaries for these transferees were clustered around the 25th percentile of earnings for resident workers in IT occupations (the current minimum permitted under the immigration rules).
The Government is currently considering the MAC’s findings carefully and will announce any changes in due course.