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  • Baroness Byford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Byford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, Dr Daniel Poulter MP, on 18 March (HC Deb, 574W), how many of the 145 serious data breaches reported for acute trusts were the result of theft; how many individuals were involved; how many trusts were implicated; and how many trusts were involved in more than one such breach.

    Earl Howe

    In the period from 1 June 2013 to 14 March 2014 where details of serious incidents have been reported through the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Incident Reporting tool there have been 21 breaches reported by acute trusts under the categories of either ‘lost or stolen’ hardware or paperwork. Seven of these are verified as theft and 14 are possible thefts but this has not been proven. 19 trusts each reported a single incident and one reported two.

    The numbers of individuals affected are indicated in the volume column of following table.

    ID

    (IG Incident log look up number)

    Lost or Stolen?

    Volume (estimate in some cases)

    IGI/1581

    Lost/Stolen

    29

    IGI/1558

    Stolen

    15

    IGI/1564

    Lost/Stolen

    132

    IGI/1746

    Lost/Stolen

    20

    IGI/1497

    Lost/Stolen

    38

    IGI/1421

    Stolen

    46

    IGI/1599

    Lost/stolen

    7

    IGI/1316

    Stolen

    416

    IGI/1255

    Lost/Stolen

    23

    IGI/1256

    Stolen

    2

    IGI/1251

    Stolen

    15

    IGI/1206

    Lost/stolen

    13

    IGI/1015

    Lost/stolen

    27

    IGI/1160

    Lost/stolen

    1

    IGI/947

    Lost/Stolen

    7

    IGI/879

    Lost/Stolen

    15

    IGI/730

    Lost/Stolen

    17

    IGI/1385

    Lost/Stolen

    4

    IGI/663

    Stolen

    100

    IGI/493

    Stolen

    115

    IGI/533

    Lost/Stolen

    5,000

  • Baroness Byford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Byford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the provision in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 on stop, search and seizure of vehicles suspected of involvement in fly-tipping has been commenced; and, if so, how many vehicles have been seized under that provision.

    Lord De Mauley

    In 2014/15 we plan to commence the revised powers under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005in respect of the stop, search and seizure of vehicles. Local authorities and the Environment Agency have similar powers under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989. Local authorities have reported to Flycapture, the national flytipping database, that 1149 vehicles have been seized since April 2008.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the preparedness of institutes of higher education to fulfil their duties to students under the Equality Act 2010 following changes to the Disabled Students Allowance.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Discussions are underway with the higher education sector to ensure they are ready to meet their legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 by 2015.

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is currently undertaking a review of provision and support for disabled students in higher education.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the changes to the Disabled Students Allowance, what level of assistance institutes of higher education will be required to give to those with specific learning difficulties or dyslexia to enable them to complete their studies.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will be expected to provide reasonable adjustments under the duties placed upon them by the Equality Act 2010. Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) will remain available where additional support is required to enable disabled students to access their studies successfully.

  • Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Addington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the changes to the Disabled Students Allowance, what criteria will be used for assessing complex needs in candidates with specific learning difficulties or dyslexia.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    Discussions are underway with experts in the sector. Disabled students whose needs cannot be met by the reasonable adjustments made by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will continue to receive support through Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs).

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they decide which retailers can be accessed using the Azure prepayment card given to asylum seekers.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Azure card is provided to failed asylum seekers supported under the provisions of section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

    Any retail outlet that provides food and other essential living items and accepts visa transactions can apply to join the Azure card scheme.

    The card is currently accepted by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, the Co-operative, Boots, Peacocks, Early Learning Centre, Mothercare, The British Red Cross, The Salvation Army and a few small independent retailers. There are ongoing discussions with other outlets that may be interested in joining the scheme.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what diplomatic or alternative measures are being taken to secure the release of the several hundred children abducted by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria.

    Baroness Warsi

    In the days following the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria, we have offered our assistance to the highest levels of the Nigerian government. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), spoke to the Nigerian Foreign Minister on 18 April immediately after the abductions and offered the UK’s assistance.

    On 7 May the Prime Minister, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), spoke to President Jonathan and offered to send a team of UK experts to Abuja. The President accepted and the team, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), arrived in Abuja on 9 May. The team will provide expertise in counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, military mentoring and training, victim support and economic development. Human rights compliance is, and will remain, an essential element of any UK assistance in Nigeria. The Minister for Africa, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds) visited Nigeria on 14 May, and reiterated our support with President Jonathan.

    We are coordinating closely with international partners. An FCO team was in Washington on 5 May for talks with the US on Nigeria. Our expert team in Abuja will be coordinating closely with a US team also in Abuja. We are also speaking to the French and are encouraging other EU partners to lend their support. Given Boko Haram’s exploitation of Nigeria’s porous borders and indications that some of the girls may have been taken to Cameroon or Chad, we are engaging with Nigeria’s neighbours.

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

    Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 6 May (WA 366), whether they will now answer the question which was put.

    Baroness Kramer

    Each month the Department for Transport’s Executive Committee receives a summary of the forecast expenditure against budget as part of a Management Information Pack and a commentary in which any significant forecast variances to individual budgets are described and explained. Information at the detailed level is reviewed by each budget holder and Finance Business Partner to ensure that the Department for Transport remains within its control totals and each budget holder remains within their budget. Where forecasts indicate a possible breach of Treasury control totals, this is reported to the Executive Committee every month until the issue is resolved. There were two potential forecast overspends which were at risk of breaching control totals. These issues were highlighted to the Executive Committee three times in 2013-14 until the issues were resolved.

    The Department for Transport does not have a prescribed percentage for any forecast overspend to be tabled at the Board or Executive Committee.

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

    Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Newby on 6 May (WA 365), whether they will now answer the question which was put.

    Lord Faulks

    Further to the information given by my Noble Friend on 6 May (WA 365) I can add that the Ministry of Justice does not operate a strict percentage based escalation process for financial issues. The Departmental Board receive a routine update on the Ministry’s financial position at every meeting. This provides a summary of the overall position and, where necessary, highlights any significant variations from, or changes to, budget forecasts.

  • Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 6 May (WA 365), whether they will now answer the question which was put.

    Baroness Northover

    DFID’s Executive Management Committee review year-to-date and forecast expenditure against budgets each month through a monthly Management Information report.

    There is no formal cost overrun percentage threshold that triggers a review of specific budgets. The EMC does however examine potential material overspending each month that represents a significant risk to the DFID’s overall Resource and Capital budgets.