The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 21322, what advice has been issued to UK banks and building societies offering second charge mortgages in territory outside the UK.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government is not aware of any formal advice that has been issued to banks or building societies offering second charge mortgages in territories outside the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to increase the percentage of GDP being spent on NHS and social care services.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Spending Review settlement, delivered by the Chancellor on 25 November 2015, set the Department’s overall budget for the remaining years of the Parliament and the level of funding that will be available to the National Health Service. It set absolute spending totals, not spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, providing certainty for financial planning over the period.
As a result of the Spending Review, NHS funding will be £10 billion higher in real terms by 2020-21 than 2014-15. And the NHS will not have to wait until the end of the Parliament for much of this investment. We will be giving the NHS £3.8 billion more next year, over and above inflation, and almost £6 billion of the £10 billion in the first two years of the six year period. This shows that the Government has listened and responded to what the NHS has said about the profile of investment it needs to deliver the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View.
In regards to social care, the Spending Review has shown our continued commitment to joining up health and care by confirming ongoing commitment to the Better Care Fund – making available further social care funds for local government from 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019-20, which will be included in the Better Care Fund. As well as this, we are giving local government further access to the funding it needs by introducing a social care precept which could raise up to £2 billion by the end of the Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the policy limiting the reuniting of refugee families to children under the age of 18 and partners of refugees who have been granted asylum in the UK.
James Brokenshire
Our refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members of a person in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection status – that is a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin – to reunite with them in the UK. We have no plans to widen these criteria, which are fully compliant with our international obligations and enable thousands of people each year to be reunited with their families in the UK.
However, where a family reunion application fails under the Immigration Rules, the Entry Clearance Officer must also consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting a visa outside the Rules. This caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances.
We are currently reviewing our process for dealing with family reunion applications in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. As part of that review we are working closely with the British Red Cross. We have committed to improving our guidance to caseworkers and redesigning the application form to ensure that applicants better understand the process and what is required of them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues in (a) her Department and (b) other Departments on establishing a new national centre of expertise on tackling child sexual abuse.
Karen Bradley
Tackling child sexual abuse is a top priority for this Government and good progress is being made on delivering the commitments made in “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” – the Government’s response to address on a national scale the failures that had been seen in Rotherham and elsewhere. We are working collaboratively across Whitehall to deliver on our commitments and will publish an update to the “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” report later this year. This will set out our progress to date on what we have achieved in tackling offending, reducing vulnerability and supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It will also set out what future steps the government plans to take.
As part of this work, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, providing a clear mandate for police forces to safeguard children and to share intelligence and best practice. We have also rolled out to all UK police forces Child abuse image database (CAID) which provides law enforcement with effective tools to search seized devices. We have delivered a £7 million uplift in funding over the financial years 2014 – 15 and 2015 – 16 for non statutory organisations which support victims and survivors of sexual abuse and have announced that the same amount will be available in 2016 – 17.
In January this year we launched a new national whistle-blowing helpline, operated by the NSPCC, for any employee who wants to raise a concern about how their organisation is dealing with a concern about a child. The establishment of the Centre of Expertise has formed part of discussions held at the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, and we are currently working towards its procurement. In terms of the Centre working with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Inquiry is independent of Government, but the Government is, and will, continue to fully co-operate with it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts and foundation trusts met the 10 seven-day services clinical standards and the four priority standards set out by Sir Bruce Keogh in his December 2013 report, NHS Services, Seven Days a Week Forum: Summary of Initial Findings, in 2015-16.
Ben Gummer
There is a phased approach to implementation of the four priority standards. By March 2017, 25% of the population will be guaranteed access to the four standards, seven days a week, rising to the whole country by 2020.
An initial self-assessment of progress on meeting the four priority clinical standards was carried out by trusts in August 2015. This showed that around half of trusts are meeting two or more of the clinical standards. Following feedback from trusts, the self-assessment process is being improved for future surveys.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-07-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress the Office of National Statistics has made in understanding non-EU student arrivals and departures in order to track the progress of student cohorts through the immigration system, as outlined in its January 2016 report Population Briefing, International Student Migration– what do the statistics tellus?
Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
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 Tania Mathias on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training and support the NHS provides to doctors who have returned from long-term career breaks.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Induction and Refresher Scheme for general practitioners (GPs), launched in 2015, is designed for doctors who have been out of practice in the United Kingdom for more than two years and have therefore dropped off the national performers list.
NHS England also funds the Retained Doctor Scheme. This scheme provides doctors, who are on the performers list but who want to remain in or return to practice (for example after a career break) and work a maximum of four clinical sessions, with protected time for continuing professional development (CPD) and educational support. The scheme is designed to allow doctors to remain in practice when standard part time working is unavailable or does not suit the doctor’s working patterns.
The GP easy return to practice forms part of the GP Forward View, published in April 2016 by NHS England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether participants in Daily Work Search Review under the Help to Work scheme are set quotas for completing a minimum number of job applications.
Priti Patel
Under Daily Work Search Review claimants need to provide evidence of their work search activity on a daily basis. Their Claimant Commitment will specify their work search activity requirements which can be up to 35 hours a week. The Claimant Commitment is tailored to claimants’ individual circumstances.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s publication, Mandatory Programmes official statistics: May 2011 to August 2015, published on 25 November 2015, how many people who joined the Mandatory Work Activity scheme during this period subsequently completed a work placement in full.
Priti Patel
Mandatory Work Activity is a supportive programme designed to help claimants who need extra support from a short work placement to re-focus their job search activity and gain further experience of work. Unemployed Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit claimants are referred for up to 4 weeks work experience and will participate on the placement for up to 30 hours a week.
The number of referrals and starts is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working.
An impact assessment of Mandatory Work Activity was published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-work-activity–2) which considered referrals to the programme in the period May to July 2012. An evaluation of Mandatory Work Activity also published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-mandatory-work-activity-rr823) which included a telephone survey of participants who had been referred to and started an Mandatory Work Allowance placement.
The evaluation and impact assessment were conducted in 2012 and does not cover the period of the Official Statistics from May 2011 to August 2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22430, what plans his Department has to issue guidance on treatment best practice to (a) healthcare professionals and (b) partners in the military charity sector.
Mark Lancaster
As stated in my answer to Question 22430, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has funded extensive research into Gulf War Illness, including some research into rehabilitative therapies for those veterans with persistent symptoms. There are no plans to fund any further research.
The MOD has no plans to issue guidance on treatment best practice to healthcare professionals or partners in the military charity sector in respect of veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict. Neither do we have any plans in January 2016 to communicate the findings of independent research on the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict, published in the UK or overseas, to UK veterans.
There is a wide range of support already available to veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. This can be accessed through MOD’s Veterans UK website and free help line.