The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which firm had its award of a contract to provide publicly-funded immigration services withdrawn in the 2010 tender round.
Mr Shailesh Vara
These questions relate to ongoing litigation against the Lord Chancellor and in the circumstances it would be inappropriate to respond at the current time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to ensure that third party providers taking on children’s social care functions under his Department’s proposals adhere to quality standards set out in regulations.
Mr Edward Timpson
Delegation of children’s social care functions does not remove a local authority’s duties to meet statutory obligations. It remains a local authority’s responsibility to ensure the quality of services regardless of what arrangements it makes for the discharge of its functions.
Delegated social care functions are inspected by Ofsted, in the same way as directly delivered local authority social care functions, as part of its local authority inspection framework. In addition, regulations currently govern the fitness of third party providers and require their registration with Ofsted.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brian H. Donohoe on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the forthcoming independence referendum on the National Air Traffic Service Centre in Scotland’s ability to secure international contracts.
Mr Robert Goodwill
No assessment has been made as we believe Scotland is stronger in the UK and the UK is stronger with Scotland in it. NATS’s success in winning international contracts is a matter in the first instance for its Board.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether garages, boiler rooms and other non-habitable areas affected by flooding are eligible for the Repair and Renew Grant.
Dan Rogerson
The “Repair and Renew” grant is available to establish resilience and resistance measures in properties to minimise the risk of damage caused by flooding. As it stands, the grant only applies to homes and businesses affected by flooding and excludes non-habitable areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 27 March 2014, Official Report, columns 56-7W, on Atos, how many Atos Healthcare staff currently carrying out work capability assessments are expected to carry out personal independence payment assessments in future; and if he will make a statement.
Mike Penning
The Department maintains separate contracts with Atos Healthcare for the delivery of work capability assessments and Personal Independence Payment assessments and these contracts require that resources for these two contracts be kept separate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what regulatory oversight his Department will apply to 24 hour helplines provided by independent abortion clinics.
Jane Ellison
It is a condition of approval from the Secretary of State that independent sector providers have a 24 hour helpline available. The Care Quality Commission is considering the best approach to regulating termination of pregnancy services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new personal independence payment claims were submitted by December 2013; and how many decisions have been made on those claims.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of opiate-related overdoses among people recently released from prison.
Jane Ellison
People who have recently been released from prison are at a greater risk of overdose. A 2005 report on drug-related mortality among newly released offenders (1998-2000) showed that male prisoners in the study were about 29 times more likely to die than males in the general population.
The Department of Health and Ministry of Justice have funded a joint initiative to improve the “through the gate” provision for prisoners who are dependent on drugs and alcohol. Ten prisons in the North West are currently piloting a range of innovative interventions to provide more intensive support and supervision for people leaving custody which include the use of peer mentors, recovery housing services and take-home naloxone as they return to the community.
Public Health England has also published a checklist to support local authorities with commissioning services and interventions that help to prevent overdose, as part of a wider treatment and harm reduction system.
The Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) programme, implemented in prisons between 2006 and 2010, sought to improve the standard and quality of drug treatment in prisons. One of the key drivers for this programme was the need to reduce drug-related deaths among people who had been recently released from prison.
Through IDTS, prisoners could get access to evidence-based opioid substitution treatment in prison, which they could continue in the community after release. The extent in which this was successful in reducing drug-related overdose deaths will be one of the themes in the IDTS evaluation, which will be published next year.
The principles of IDTS continue to be adopted by local partners responsible for commissioning health services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the maximum length of time taken to process an application for personal independence payments has been since the introduction of that payment.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby and the hon Member for Airdrie and Shotts, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what performance indicators for the renewal of existing passports have been met by each passport office administrative centre in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England in each year since 2009.
James Brokenshire
Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not log performance data at office, regional
or home country level. Performance is monitored at a national level as Her
Majesty’s Passport Office distributes work across the UK estate to manage
variation in local levels of passport demand. The cost of identifying the information
in the format requested would be disproportionate.
Information on the number of passports issued each year in the UK is set out in
Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s Annual Report and Accounts. I refer to the
Answer given to the hon. Member on 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 381W.
Her Majesty’sPassport Office have issued over 4 million passports in the year
2014 to date.