The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of HGV drivers in the UK relative to demand.
Andrew Jones
The Department recognises that there is a high demand for HGV drivers in the UK and that there is a shortage, manifesting itself in pressure on costs, delays to some deliveries and the recruitment of people from outside the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department gives to ensure that the implications of missing national insurance contributions are made clear to those concerned at the time they are missed.
Mr David Gauke
There is a range of guidance available to help a person understand the implications of not paying national insurance. A person’s record can be made up of national insurance contributions and credits from a variety of sources. When these are posted to the individual’s contributions record after the end of the tax year the individual may have insufficient contributions on their account for that year to qualify for certain benefits. These gaps in a person’s national insurance contributions record may be filled by the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions.
HM Revenue and Customs has published guidance on GOV.UK that explains when the payment of voluntary Class 3 contributions may be beneficial, eligibility, rates and how and when to pay. This is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will direct the College of Policing to disclose the content of each of the training courses it has provided to Saudi police officers.
Mike Penning
The College of Policing in common with other organisations, does not routinely publish details of commercial agreements and has no plans to do so. The Home Secretary has no plans to direct the College of Policing to disclose this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust paid in relation to the 33 patients admitted to Cygnet, Harrogate in 2014.
Ben Gummer
This information is not collected centrally.
We have written to Derek Brown, Chair of the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to distribute a proportion of the frozen assets of the Muammar Gaddafi administration in the UK to the families of people killed (a) by Libyan-supplied semtex and weapons and (b) on flight LW1103.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
There is no legal basis upon which the UK could re-direct frozen Libyan assets or the interest accrued to individuals for the purposes of compensation. Regarding assets which belonged to Qadhafi or other regime figures, the UN Security Council has stipulated that when these are unfrozen, they will be made available to, and for the benefit of the Libyan people. For the duration of time that these assets are frozen, they and any interest they accrue will be governed in accordance with the specific sanctions in place over the individuals or entities to which the assets belong. In this case, the asset freezing measures are set out under EU Regulation 204/2011 which prohibits the release of frozen funds and the interest accrued belonging to listed individuals or entities except in very specific circumstances, which do not apply here.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects the Coastal Communities Fund to reopen for a further round of funding.
Mr Marcus Jones
Details of future funding arrangements for the Coastal Communities Fund are currently being considered as part of the 2015 Spending Review. An announcement about the timing of future funding rounds is expected after the Autumn Statement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress towards the establishment of a government in Libya; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We welcomed the announcement on 8 October by UN Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino Léon, of details of the final political settlement. A political settlement remains the best way to create the environment in which the Government of National Accord can bring peace and security to the Libyan people, regenerate the Libyan economy, and effectively tackle the terrorist threat. It is therefore disappointing that the House of Representatives failed to take a decision on the political agreement on 19 October. We will continue to urge all parties to the talks to seize this moment by endorsing and signing the political agreement as soon as possible, and to quickly realise the establishment of a Government of National Accord.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the quality of palliative care.
Ben Gummer
This Government is committed to improving the quality of palliative care. Earlier this year, the Review of Choice in End of Life Care made a number of recommendations on how to enable greater choice and improve quality in palliative and end of life care nationally, including on the provision of out-of-hour palliative care services.
We agree with the vision set out by the Review and are working with NHS England and others to see how this can best be achieved. We intend to respond to the Review recommendations in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (a) children and (b) adults meet NICE guidance in Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency.
Alistair Burt
In general NHS England is required to assess the performance of each clinical commissioning group (CCG) to ensure that CCGs are commissioning safe, high quality and cost effective services, to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients. Under the Health and Social Care Act (2012), NHS England makes an annual assessment of CCGs each financial year and publishes a summary report. The Secretary of State for Health keeps NHS England’s performance in discharging its functions under review, which includes NHS England’s assurance of CCGs. The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to CCGs where there is good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and to those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. The National Autism Programme Board will monitor reported progress from NHS England against the commitments in the Autism strategy including the implementation of NICE guidance.
Newcastle Gateshead CCG is investing in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to provide improved services for adults with autism with an initial focus to reduce waiting times in line with NICE guidelines and then for further improvement to be made in the core service. Within 18-24 months the intention is for the autism pathway to be embedded in mainstream services with the addition of a specialist autism service which will provide training, support, liaison and assess more complex cases. By the end of this year, it is expected that all children’s services will have reached a 95% target for all referralsto be assessed and in treatment within 12 weeks and for 70% of referrals to be assessed and in treatment within six weeks.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2015-10-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what account she has taken of the introduction of a dedicated specialist police line for professionals to report highly sensitive information about cases of known FGM under the Serious Crime Act 2015.
Karen Bradley
A mandatory reporting duty for regulated health and social care professionals and teachers will come into force at the end of October. We recently published guidance to support its introduction.
The guidance sets out that reports can be made using the 101 service. The Government has opted to recommend the use of an existing cost effective, simple and clear reporting route for professionals rather than introduce a dedicated specialist police line. Calls to 101 are answered by trained police officers and staff in the control room of the local police force. All 101 call handlers are fully trained to handle all calls received and specific call-handling instructions on FGM will be issued to them by the National Policing Lead before the duty comes into force. Upon receipt of a report, the police will record the information and initiate a multi-agency response in line with local safeguarding arrangements. Police forces have responsibilities regarding the management of information, including a statutory responsibility to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.
The College of Policing will also shortly update its Authorised Professional Practice Guidance on FGM with information and advice on the mandatory reporting duty.