The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many responses were received to his Department’s consultation on extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples.
Mrs Helen Grant
There have been almost 11,500 responses to the consultation on the future of civil partnership in England and Wales. We are now considering them and will publish a summary in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Hancock on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder on the ability of former services personnel to reintegrate into civilian life.
Anna Soubry
Although mental health problems, and PTSD in particular, are no more prevalent amongst Service personnel than the broader civilian population, it is recognised that Service personnel who do experience mental health problems may find it harder to make the transition to civilian life.
The Government has therefore given priority to ensuring that Service leavers and veterans can access timely and appropriate mental health treatment, should it be necessary, both in the NHS and through other programmes delivered across Government and the voluntary sector. All of the recommendations of the ‘Fighting Fit’ report, written by the now Minister for International Security Strategy (Dr Murrison), have been implemented.
Examples of initiatives taken forward under this Government include Structured Mental Health assessment as part of routine and discharge medicals; specialist follow-on treatment after discharge; the introduction of e-learning packages for clinicians, providing information and advice on the healthcare needs of the Armed Forces, their families and veterans; funding for the Combat Stress 24 hr Mental Health Helpline; and the introduction of the Big White Wall, providing Mental Health wellbeing services to serving personnel, their families and veterans.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Hancock on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in (a) Portsmouth, (b) Hampshire and (c) the South East attributed to air pollution in each of the last 10 years.
Jane Ellison
Estimates of the fraction of mortality in English local authority areas and regions in 2010 and 2011 attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities are published by Public Health England (PHE) as one of the indicators in the Department of Health’s Public Health Outcomes Framework. For Portsmouth Unitary Authority this figure was 5.9% in both 2010 and 2011; for Hampshire County Council this figure was 5.3% in 2010 and 5.4% in 2011; and for the South East this figure was 5.5% in both 2010 and 2011.
PHE has also published mortality estimates for 2010 as attributable deaths[1] and associated years of life lost. The estimated mortality burdens attributable to long-term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities were: 95 attributable deaths and 1059 associated years of life lost in Portsmouth Unitary Authority; 601 attributable deaths and 6211 associated years of life lost in Hampshire County Council; and 4,034 attributable deaths and 41,729 associated years of life lost in the South East.
[1] The ‘number of deaths’ attributable to a risk factor is a metric which is widely used in communicating about public health risks. Nonetheless, a calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’ does not represent the number of individuals whose length of life has been shortened by air pollution. Long-term exposure to air pollution is understood to be a contributory factor to deaths from respiratory and, particularly, cardiovascular disease, ie unlikely to be the sole cause of deaths of individuals. This means that it is likely that air pollution contributes a smaller amount to the deaths of a larger number of exposed individuals rather than being solely responsible for a number of deaths equivalent to the calculated figure of ‘attributable deaths’. The distribution of the mortality effect within the population is unknown.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Hancock on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the level of support available for sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Norman Lamb
No recent central assessment has been made of the level of support available for people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Such assessments are conducted at a local level as part of any local area’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA). JSNAs are the means by which local leaders work together to understand and agree the needs of all local people, with the joint health and wellbeing strategy setting the priorities for collective action. Clinical commissioning groups are then responsible for commissioning services to meet the assessed needs of the local population they serve.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to announce the allocation of additional support to local authorities in England to support corporate counter-fraud activity.
Brandon Lewis
We are currently working with a range of representatives from across the sector to identify the most effective mechanism for distributing the £16.6 million over 2014/15 – 2015/16 across local government to help local government combat fraud. We intend to make an announcement about our plans for this investment later in the spring.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much remains outstanding in child maintenance arrears by (a) UK parliamentary constituency area and (b) local authority area in each of the last three years.
Steve Webb
Information on the amount of child maintenance arrears owed by (a) UK parliamentary constituency will be placed in the Library.
The information on child maintenance arrears by (b) local authority area is already published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284686/csa_qtr_summ_stats_regional_dec13.xls
Notes:
The table contains outstanding arrears figures as at December 2012 and December 2013 broken down by each local authority. Although arrears figures are available in previously published versions of the regional tables (available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics–2) these figures are not comparable due to a different methodology.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK Border Agency staff in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK were (i) on zero-hours contracts and (ii) temporary staff in each of the last two years up to the most recent period for which records are available.
Karen Bradley
The UK Border Agency was absorbed into the Home Office on 1 April 2013; its
successor business areas are UK Visas & Immigration and Immigration Enforcement.
(i) The Home Office and its Agencies do not employ and have not employed staff
on zero-hours contracts.
(ii) A geographical breakdown of temporary staff employed in UK Border Agency
successor business areas in each of the last two years is shown at Table 1.
[ATTACH TABLE]
NOTE: Office for National Statistics defines temporary staff as those civil
servants with contracts of employment of less than one year; staff with Fixed
Term Appointments and Permanent staff are reported separately by all government
departments, as are Agency and Contingent Workers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in his Department are employed on zero-hours contracts.
Mrs Helen Grant
The Department has no employees with a zero hours contract.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle domestic abuse.
Norman Baker
The Coalition Government’s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse is
set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March
2014. It is a subject we take very seriously.
In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary (HMIC) to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic
violence and abuse. HMIC’s report exposed significant failings. The Home
Secretary is establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair, and on which I will sit, to ensure HMIC’s recommendations are acted upon.
The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it
clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September
2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have
the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice
and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. The
Government accordingly announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence
Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
from 8 March 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to extend Pulse Oximetry screening for children.
Dr Daniel Poulter
The UK National Screening Committee has recommended that a pilot for pulse oximetry screening for children should be set up to explore the practicalities of implementation. Ministers have accepted this advice and a pilot will commence shortly.