Blog

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children and teenagers in the UK were referred to NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in each of the last five years; how many children and teenagers in each of those years received treatment; and how many did not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Health is a devolved service and this answer relates only to England.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) advises that it does not currently hold data to answer the questions asked. However, it has been capturing child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) data since January 2016 within the new Mental Health Services Data Set. On 20 April 2016 it published the first month (January 2016) of data from this new data source on a select number of measures it developed and quality assured to a certain level with the help of stakeholders, although these data remain experimental and could be subject to change.

    As at 31 January 2016, there were 104,480 people in contact with CAMHS. HSCIC is currently unable to identify those who are already receiving treatment and those who are awaiting assessment.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to address the rise in levels of homelessness and rough sleeping in England.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative. We are also developing a new national £10 million Social Impact Bond fund to help to help homeless people with the most complex needs such as mental health difficulties or addiction.

    At Budget we went one step further and announced we will launch a new £100 million programme for low-cost move on accommodation, including for rough sleepers leaving hostels. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    We are working with local authorities, homelessness charities and across departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of (1) UK exports to the US, and (2) imports from the US to the UK, for the most recent years for which figures are available; and whether this trade was based on any trade agreement with the US.

    Lord Price

    In 2015 UK exports of goods and services to the US were £ 95.1 billion and UK imports from the US were £ 59.7 billion.

    There is no bilateral trade agreement with the US. Both the EU and US are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). There are no estimates of the impact that their membership of the WTO and its trade agreements such as the Information Technology Agreement has had on UK-US trade.

  • Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent by them or Trinity House on the E-LORAN navigation system in each of the last 10 years.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Expenditure on the eLoran navigation system by the Trinity House Research and Radio Navigation department for each of the last 10 years is as follows:

    Exp (£000)

    Income (£000)

    Net Exp (£000)

    07/08

    194

    -188

    7

    08/09

    256

    0

    256

    09/10

    411

    -234

    176

    10/11

    606

    -141

    466

    11/12

    708

    -200

    508

    12/13

    573

    -200

    373

    13/14

    937

    -200

    737

    14/15

    1,001

    -100

    901

    15/16

    576

    -100

    476

    Total

    5,263

    -1,363

    3,900

    The vast majority of funding for Trinity House, and therefore the R&RNAV department, is met by the General Lighthouse Fund.

  • Baroness Rawlings – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Rawlings – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rawlings on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 April (HL7637), whether the new settlement for the UK in the EU negotiated by the Prime Minister included a provision for the British Art Collection in the European Parliament to be repatriated in the event that the UK votes to leave the EU.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are liaising with local public service providers to ensure that all incoming refugees as part of the refugee resettlement policy are appropriately assisted within local community cohesion programmes.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government and the Local Government Association continue to work closely with individual local authorities who are volunteering to take refugees.

    Local authorities are required to provide refugees they resettle with a 12 month support package tailored to their individual needs which includes; accommodation, casework support and integration assistance, medical and social care needs and English language tuition. The first 12 months of a refugee’s resettlement costs will be funded by central government from the Overseas Development Aid budget.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in the light of NASUWT’s finding that 74 per cent of teachers are seriously considering leaving the profession in the next two years; and what assessment they have made of the implications of that finding for the education system.

    Lord Nash

    As the Secretary of State for Education outlined in her speech at the NASUWT conference on 26 March 2016, we want to see unions do everything they can to build morale, promote the teaching profession and tell people what a rewarding job teaching is. Approximately 90% of all teachers continue in the profession following their first year of teaching and this has been the case since 1996; and over 70% of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Given the proportion of teachers leaving has remained stable over the last 20 years, we would not expect the proportion of teachers leaving the profession to increase to the levels reported by this survey.

    We recognise that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made policy interventions in the areas teachers tell us matter most such as reducing unnecessary workload. We have recently published reports, addressing the three biggest issues emerging from the Workload Challenge – ineffective marking, use of planning and resources and data management. The reports set out clear principles about what should happen in schools, and make recommendations to be taken at every level in the school system.

    We have accepted all the recommendations and will encourage the dissemination of the principles and messages clearly set out, to help enable the culture change the reports refer to.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they plan to make to meet the shortfall of residential care home places for elderly people in the light of home closures and increased demand for social care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Adult social care is largely delivered by a market of independent providers. As in any market, there is inevitable change which will give rise to local fluctuations in capacity. We are not aware of any systemic shortfall of residential care home places.

    Under the Care Act (2014), local authorities have duties to shape their local market to ensure there is adequate provision of good quality, appropriate services to meet the changing needs of their local population, including for people who do not get state-funding.

  • Baroness Hussein-Ece – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Hussein-Ece – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hussein-Ece on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many convicted sex offenders and those prosecuted for domestic violence offences have been given legal aid to pursue child access cases in the family courts in each of the last 10 years.

    Lord Faulks

    The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the General Dental Council’s (GDC) response to the British Dental Association’s Freedom of Information request of 18 March, whether they will ask the National Audit Office to carry out a value-for-money examination of GDC’s financial management.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The General Dental Council (GDC) is an independent statutory body. Ministers take a keen interest in the performance of the GDC and its plans for improvement, particularly in light of the Professional Standards Authority’s (PSA) performance review and publication of its investigation into concerns raised by a whistleblower. A copy of the PSA’s report, A report on the investigation into the General Dental Council’s handling of a whistleblower’s disclosure about the Investigating Committee, is attached.

    The GDC is required under the Dentist Act 1984 to prepare a statement of accounts and for those accounts to be audited. These accounts would cover all expenditure including that during the PSA investigation. The statement of accounts and auditor’s report are then published and properly scrutinised, including being certified and reported on by the Controller and Auditor General and being laid before Parliament and the Scottish Parliament by the Privy Council.

    The Department has no plans to ask the National Audit Office to carry out a value for money examination of the GDC’s financial management.