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Tag: 2014

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates the no-fly zones around nuclear facilities have been violated since May 2010; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure such violations do not occur in future.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) maintains a complaint log for three years. Since June 2011, it has received 12 complaints from onsite Security Guards about aircraft which they believe may have overflown their respective sites at low level. 　 The dates of these incidents were:

    12/06/2011 25/07/2012 25/08/2013
    14/06/2011 02/01/2013 09/09/2013
    24/06/2011 14/01/2013 03/10/2013
    17/08/2011 15/08/2013 21/05/2014

    All these recorded incidents were investigated, but due to a lack of evidence the only case which led to a successful prosecution occurred on 25 August 2013 and involved the use of a small unmanned aerial vehicle.

    The need to report to the CAA all aircraft which appear to be low flying is written in the nuclear site’s security procedures manual. 　The successful prosecution demonstrates that the CAA investigates all such reported incidents and that it will take enforcement action when there is sufficient evidence available.　In addition, both the CAA and the Department for Energy and Climate Change seek to learn what they can from the investigations into reported incidents.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how the £1 million pledged by the UK to the UN’s Safe Schools Initiative is being used to ensure that children are being protected.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID is providing technical support to the design and development of the Safe Schools Initiative, as well as working through our existing education programmes in northern Nigeria to ensure safe access to learning. The Safe Schools Initiative was launched in May. The Government of Nigeria are leading on implementation. The aim is to provide a response for the protection of schools and the prevention of future attacks on schools. It will include a combination of school-based and community interventions to create safer environments in which schools can operate, improve school security measures and support provision of safe opportunities for learning.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which senior medical and administrative staff responsible for the operation of the Gamma Knife Centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust are employees of (a) the Trust and (b) the Hospital Corporation of America.

    Jane Ellison

    We are advised that three senior neurosurgery consultants are responsible for the Gamma Knife operation at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, along with one neuro interventional radiologist and two clinical oncologists. All are employed by Barts Health NHS Trust, and are overseen by the Clinical Director for Neurosciences and the Group Director for Emergency Care and Acute Medicine, both of whom are clinicians.

    HCA employs one senior administrator, the Acting Chief Operating Officer for the Harley Street Clinic, along with the physicist and nursing staff and an administration co-ordinator who work in the Gamma Knife centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

    We are advised that HCA owns the Gamma Knife based at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and that HCA pays a rental fee to Barts Health NHS Trust.

    We understand that, as the Gamma Knife was purchased by HCA, St Bartholomew’s Hospital (then part of Barts and The London NHS Trust) incurred minimal set up costs for the establishment of the service in 2009. This included costs for associated building work to accommodate the facility.

    Gamma Knife surgery is funded by NHS England as the commissioner for all specialist services. We are advised that Barts Health NHS Trust receives approximately £9,200 per patient from NHS England and that HCA charges Barts Health £7,310 per patient treated by the Gamma Knife facility at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

    If the hon. Member wishes to obtain further information about the Gamma Knife facility at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, he may wish to contact Barts Health NHS Trust directly.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charlotte Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Care Quality Commission look at (a) current and (b) historic patient files and consent forms.

    Norman Lamb

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services.

    The CQC has provided the following information.

    CQC looks at current and historic patient records when appropriate in order to assess the quality and safety of services registered with it. Patient records are commonly reviewed during CQC inspections, in compliance with the Data Protection Act, to see how well care at a service is planned, delivered and reviewed, and form an integral part of judging the quality of care. In order to protect the confidentiality of people who use services, and to comply with legal requirements, CQC will only look at patient files where it has decided that it is both necessary and proportionate to do so for the purpose of CQC’s regulatory functions. This approach is set out in CQC’s Code of Practice on Confidential Personal Information and in guidance for inspectors on using CQC’s powers to access health and care records.

    The Code of Practice on Confidential Personal Information is available on CQC’s website at :

    www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/20121105_code_of_practice_on_cpi.pdf

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department allocated to National Breastfeeding Week in each year since 2010.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The last year for which the Department provided funding for National Breastfeeding Week was 2010, when the contribution was £110,000.

    Since 2011 the Department has collaborated with key partners including the Royal College of Midwives, Public Health England and UNICEF UK to promote National Breastfeeding Week through material and information on the NHS Choices website that can be used locally.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that UK assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo is not misused or misappropriated.

    Justine Greening

    DFID takes seriously tackling the misuse or misappropriation of UK Aid, and has a range of robust controls and measures in place to safeguard the UK taxpayers’ money.

    In the DRC this includes regular rigorous risk assessments of the fiduciary environment to determine the way in which UK Aid is provided. Currently this means DFID funds in DRC are channelled through United Nations agencies and NGOs, rather than provided directly to the government. All partners selected are subject to pre-funding due diligence checks and regular scrutiny during implementation.

  • 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 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect on prison numbers of Clause 25 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill.

    Mike Penning

    Knife crime is a scourge, and this Government has already introduced new offences of threatening with a knife in a public place or school in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. We are also legislating in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to place statutory restrictions on the use of adult cautions for certain offences, which includes knife possession.

    Clause 25 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill was introduced by back bench amendment in the House of Commons. On the 17 June the House of Commons passed the clause into the Bill at Report stage. The clause is now being considered in the House of Lords. We will publish an assessment of the impact of this clause on prison numbers, if it were to become law, in due course.

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many officials of the Office of the Advocate-General for Scotland have been allocated to work on the Scotland Analysis programme; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of that work.

    David Mundell

    Work on the Scotland analysis programme has been undertaken in the course of normal business across Government by policy and legal experts in relevant areas. In the Office of the Advocate General, any work relating to the Scotland analysis programme and any associated costs have been absorbed by existing teams within the Office of the Advocate General in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities and from existing budgets. Therefore there have been no additional costs involved in work of the Office of the Advocate General on the programme.

  • Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mark Lazarowicz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Lazarowicz on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time is taken to process an application for funeral expenses from the Social Fund from the time an application is submitted to a decision being taken.

    Steve Webb

    The clearance time for Funeral Payments, as published in the 2012/13 Social Fund Annual report, is an average of 14.76 days, against a target of 16 days

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the impact assessment of the single-tier pension published in October 2013, if he will make an estimate of how many people reaching state pension age after implementation of the single-tier pension in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland would have been eligible for savings credit in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2030 had savings credit not been abolished.

    Steve Webb

    The full rate of the new State Pension will give an income above the basic means test, rewarding retirement income saving.

    It is estimated that in 2020 around 10% of pensioner households receiving the new State Pension, around 200,000 benefit units, in Great Britain would be eligible for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit if it had not been removed for people who reached State Pension age after the introduction of new State Pension in April 2016.

    By 2030, it is estimated that 15% of the new State Pension households, around 1 million benefit units, would be in this position.

    Not all of these people would take up their eligibility to Savings Credit. The Department estimates that take-up amongst people eligible for only the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit is between 43% and 48%.

    Breakdowns of the impact analysis by country or region within Great Britain are not available.

    It is estimated that retaining Savings Credit for all pensioners and uprating it line with earnings would lead to additional annual costs in the UK of around £2bn in 20 years’ time.