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Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what arrangements his Department has in place to monitor the performance of MTCNovo’s delivery of the custodial service at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre.

    Andrew Selous

    The contract with MTCnovo at Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre (STC) will begin on 5th May 2016. During the transition of the new contract, the Youth Justice Board (YJB) will work alongside MTCnovo and the current contract holder at Rainsbrook STC to facilitate a safe and successful transition to the new contract.

    The YJB has responsibility for commissioning and overseeing the youth secure estate through monitoring and reporting performance at each STC site against the contract and STC rules. The YJB has a full time on-site Monitor at Rainsbrook STC supported by a part time assistant and YJB managers, to ensure that MTCnovo’s service delivery is in accordance with the contract and the STC rules, which set out how STCs should be managed and run. The YJB conduct regular walk-rounds to monitor compliance, analyse data returns, review reports – including incidents of use of force – and review contractor’s declaration of performance awards.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress he has made on commissioning an independent review of S4C’s future remit and funding.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is committed to a comprehensive review of S4C which will take place in 2017. Details of the review will be finalised in due course.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of (a) his Department’s staff and (b) total sick leave the sick leave of such officials represented in each such year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP has succeeded in reducing sickness absence from an annual average of 11.1 days per employee in 2007 to 6.18 days per employee currently. This is one of the lowest rates across the public sector.

    Our Attendance Management policy is supportive and we are committed to helping our people maintain good health. DWP is committed to improving mental ill health, including stress.

    We support employees through access to comprehensive stress risk assessments, Occupational Health services, and our Employee Assistance Programme. DWP is currently introducing Mental Health First Aid to further add to the support available.

    The number of employees with a sickness absence reason of ‘stress’ over the last 5 years is shown below:

    Year

    Number of employees with sickness absence recorded as ‘Stress’

    Number of employees with sickness absence reason recorded as ‘stress’ as % of end of year headcount*

    Number of working days lost recorded as ‘stress’ as % of all working days lost due to sickness absence

    Jan-Dec 15

    2,581

    3.01%

    10.57%

    Jan-Dec 14

    2,886

    3.15%

    11.06%

    Jan-Dec 13

    3,401

    3.38%

    11.15%

    Jan-Dec 12

    3,313

    3.07%

    9.63%

    Jan-Dec 11

    3,288

    3.20%

    9.26%
  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the locations are of the pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV test sites; and what criteria were used to determine those locations.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has recently announced that it would make available up to £2 million over two years to enable access for high risk individuals through early implementer test sites. NHS England will work with Public Health England and the Department to confirm the criteria for patient access and assessment of expressions of interest from local authority areas to confirm successful sites. The criteria which will be used to determine the locations of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Test Sites have not yet been established.

    PrEP is an intervention in advance of sexual exposure, and therefore is not relevant for rape victims who may require post exposure prophylaxis after clinical assessment. With regard to those having underage sex, eligibility for treatment through test sites will depend on the clinical assessment of risk undertaken.

  • Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Payments Agency will receive a bonus payment this year before payments to eligible farmers have been completed.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Senior Civil Servants (SCS) who are moderated as top performers at the end of the performance management year are eligible to receive a bonus payment.

    The performance management year for the SCS runs from 1 April to 31 March. Performance markings for 2015/16 will be determined by the end of May 2016. Only then will the eligibility of SCS for bonus payments be known.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35252, how many staff within the scope of the HM Treasury guidance on senior off-payroll engagements were paid off-payroll in (a) NHS trusts in 2013-14 and (b) NHS foundation trusts in 2012-13.

    Alistair Burt

    Information collected by the NHS Trust Development Authority showed that as of 31 March 2014 there were 961 staff engaged by National Health Service trusts within the scope of the HM Treasury guidance. Information collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre indicated that at 31 March 2013 there were 1,267 such staff engaged by NHS foundation trusts (FTs).

    The numbers of Board off-payroll staff have declined consistently since the introduction of the HM Treasury guidance in August 2012. In 2012/13 there was a total of 2,403 engagements in trusts and FTs of which 200 were Board members or senior officials with significant financial responsibility. In 2013/14, there was a total of 2,070 of which 118 were Board members or senior officials with significant financial responsibility. In 2014/15, there were 1,193 in NHS trusts of which 52 were senior officials with significant financial responsibility. Figures for FTs in 2014/15 are not yet available. The Department continues to work with NHS Improvement to ensure that all off-payroll engagements comply with tax law and HM Treasury guidance.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much basic pay will increase for each grade under the proposed new junior doctors’ contract.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Pay for Foundation 1 doctors will be 15% higher than the current basic starting salary.

    Pay for Foundation 2 doctors will be 8% higher than the current basic starting salary.

    The new basic starting salary for Specialty Registrars at ST1 will be 19% higher than the current basic starting salary.

    The salary for those at ST3 will be 32% higher than the current pay point for those progressing through training without delay.

    The overall increase for all juniors is over 10%.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what regulations apply to the size and colours of printed information on benefits published by his Department to ensure access to that information for people with visual impairments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department has the following documented standards for printed information:
    • Minimum type size of 10pt FS Me or 12pt Arial, based on recommended best practice from RNIB

    • The majority of publications are printed in black and white.

    • Where colour is used, we apply international standards for suitable contrast between text and background.

    • The Department provides staff guidance explaining how to commission large print, Braille or audio versions of publications in response to individual requests.

    • Publications can also be made available in electronic formats suitable for most computers equipped with screen reader software; or as Portable Document Format (PDF) files which have been optimised for the free-of-charge Adobe Reader built-in ‘Read out loud’ function.

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to reduce the incidence of disability and long-term health problems among children born prematurely.

    Ben Gummer

    On 13 November, the Government announced an ambitious campaign to halve the national rates of maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths and brain injuries in babies by 2030. To help meet these aims, the Government will establish a £2.24 million fund to support trusts to buy cutting-edge monitoring or training equipment to improve safety.

    NHS England commissions Neonatal Care from 165 neonatal units which are organised and supported by 13 Operational Delivery Networks. These Networks have brought tangible benefits in helping to ensure that babies are delivered in the right place to receive specialist care when it is needed.

    To support the provision of safe, high quality care for sick and premature babies and their families, NHS England’s Neonatal Critical Care Service Specification states that providers should ensure that expert and experienced staff treat sufficient numbers of cases to maintain a safe high quality service and move towards national standards. Clinical expertise is a key determinant of outcomes for these babies.

    The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence published guidelines in November 2015 on the care of women at increased risk of or with symptoms and signs of preterm labour (before 37 weeks) and women having a planned preterm birth. It aims to reduce the risks of preterm birth for the baby and describes treatments to prevent or delay early labour and birth.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to carry out (a) a full health impact assessment for each of the airport expansion proposals under review and (b) an assessment of the effect on different sections of society of each such proposal.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    An appraisal of the impacts on people, including health impacts and the impact on different sections of society, for each of the short-listed schemes will be carried out as part of the work on preparing the building blocks for an Airports National Policy Statement. The Airports Commission has already made its own assessment of these impacts and we are considering these carefully.