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  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which barristers are employed by the Public Defence Service; and what day rates each such person charges.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    In a joint statement with the Bar Council, the Criminal Bar Association and the Circuit Leaders, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed that normal working relationships have been restored and there is no need to expand the PDS Advocacy Unit further.

    As at 10th July 2014, the following Barristers have commenced employment with the PDS:

    Queens Counsel

    David Aubrey QC

    Gregory Bull QC

    John Burton QC

    Alun Jenkins QC

    Andrew Lamb QC

    Stephen Leslie QC

    Michael Wood QC

    Juniors

    Lisa Hennessey

    Robin Howat

    Tom Mitchell

    Gerald Mohabir

    Emma Nott

    Simon Perkins

    Adam Roxborough

    Martin L. Sharpe

    Peter Woodall

    George Zachary

    As employed Barristers no day rates are charged for work done.

  • Lord Walton of Detchant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Walton of Detchant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Walton of Detchant on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposals for value-based assessments published by the National Institute for Healthand Care Excellence on 22 March 2014 on patients’ access to new cancer medicines.

    Earl Howe

    A consultation on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) proposals for value assessment is ongoing and no decisions have yet been made about any potential changes to NICE’s methods of technology appraisal.

    The consultation will close on 20 June and we would encourage all those with an interest, including patients, clinicians, the National Health Service, industry, researchers and academic experts, to make their views known as part of this process.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as part of the technical upgrades for Class 142 Pacer Trains, any provision is being made to update the passenger experience at the same time.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Government understands from the owner of the Class 142 fleet that a new final drive system is being fitted, which will require less maintenance and overhaul than to continue to maintain the old equipment. The operators of this fleet will see a benefit from fewer reliability issues and fewer out of course oil changes and wheelset changes due to final drive issues. No other work to this fleet is currently planned.

  • Lord Lexden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Lexden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Wallace of Tankerness on 26 February (HL Deb, col 921), whether they are now in a position to implement the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    All Realms have concluded the necessary processes before implementation apart from Australia. The Council of Australian Governments agreed that States would legislate first, before legislation was brought forward by the Canberra Government.

    Four states have now enacted legislation; the remaining two have introduced legislation which is due to be enacted shortly. All State Premiers have expressed support for the proposed changes and the Government understands that the Australian Government stands ready to legislate when all the State legislation has been enacted

  • Lord Palmer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Palmer – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Chantler Review’s suggestion that there is a spillover effect, whereby the branding of consumer goods intended for adult consumption may also appeal to young people; and what assessment they have made of the implications for consumer goods other than tobacco that might be deemed to put children at risk.

    Earl Howe

    Tobacco is treated uniquely in regulatory terms, because it is a uniquely harmful consumer good. All smoking is addictive and harmful to health. Around half of all regular smokers are eventually killed by a smoking-related illness, and on average, smokers who die from a smoking-related illness lose around 16 years of life. Smoking is the primary cause of preventable morbidity and premature death, accounting for almost 80,000 deaths in England each year, some 18% of all deaths of adults aged 35 and over.

    Regulatory controls on tobacco are commensurate with the potential harm to the health of smokers and others that it can cause. Over the past decade in particular, tobacco has become increasingly regulated and controlled as further evidence about the harm to health from smoking has emerged. Tobacco, therefore, is subject to greater levels of regulation than other consumer products.

  • Lord Beecham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the event of a rise in the anticipated costs of community rehabilitation companies emerging from the bidding process, the Secretary of State will delay the process; and, if so, what estimated impact on the National Probation Service would trigger such a decision.

    Lord Faulks

    The Transforming Rehabilitation Programme is opening up the market to a diverse range of new providers, so that we can harness the best that the private and voluntary sectors has to offer to reduce reoffending. We are on track to award and mobilise Payment by Results (PbR) contracts for offender rehabilitation services across England and Wales by 2015. Bids to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have yet to be submitted, but are expected by the end of June 2014. We currently have strong, competitive bidder interest across all Contract Package Areas, and we do not expect rising costs to be an issue.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made as to which alternative facilities will be used by those who currently use Worcester Walk-In Health Centre if it is closed.

    Earl Howe

    The reconfiguration of local health services is a matter for the National Health Service. All service changes should be led by clinicians and be in the best interests of patients, not driven from the top down.

    We are aware that the local consultation on the Worcestershire Urgent Care Strategy closed on 9 April 2014. The clinical commissioning groups in Worcestershire are now considering the responses. No decisions have yet been made.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the switch data encryption system proposed by HS2 Ltd for communication with petitioners against the High Speed Rail (London–West Midlands) Bill allows petitioners to copy, circulate and otherwise communicate as a normal email; and whether any tracking or monitoring of such communications will be available to HS2 through the system.

    Baroness Kramer

    Egress is an email system used by many government departments, NHS trusts and local authorities, including the London Borough of Camden, for communicating externally. It does not provide HS2 Ltd with any abilities to track or monitor emails sent by others. Petitioners will use Egress to download their petition response document; it will not be attached to an email. HS2 Ltd will only be able to confirm if and when the Petition Response Document (PRD) has been downloaded. Once downloaded, the PRD can be saved and copied, and circulated to others, subject to the constraints of email service providers on large files.

  • Lord Temple-Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Temple-Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many parents have been imprisoned for non-payment of fines in respect of taking their school-age children on holiday during term time.

    Lord Nash

    Parents who have been issued a penalty notice (fine) for failing to secure their child’s regular attendance at school cannot be imprisoned for not paying the fine. However, if a parent knowingly and deliberately takes their child on holiday during term time (without a leave of absence granted by the school) they could face a term of imprisonment for doing so if they are prosecuted under the substantive offence set out in section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996 (the Act). It will be a matter for the prosecuting authority (the Local Authority) to decide on the particular facts and circumstances of the case whether to bring formal proceedings and under what offence.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the benefits of future mergers of public service ombudsman services in England.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Government is considering recent reports of the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) into how complaints about public services are handled. As part of this, the Cabinet Office is working to investigate further how public services can make best use of complaints and also to take a wider look at the role and powers of the Public Sector Ombudsmen. The Government will respond to the PASC in due course. I am happy to discuss this matter further with my Hon. Friend.

    The annual reports and accounts of the public service ombudsmen in the UK provide details of their performance over the past 12 months including information about complaints received.