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Tag: 2014

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to address backlogs of medical assessments for personal independence payments.

    Mike Penning

    We are committed to ensuring personal independence payment (PIP) claimants receive high quality, objective, fair and accurate assessments. Since the introduction of PIP new claims in April 2013, we have been closely monitoring all aspects of the process.

    As personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit, processes are currently bedding in. Our latest analysis is telling us that the end-to-end claimant journey is taking longer than expected. We are working closely with the assessment providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. We are also seeking to ensure that all the steps in the process run as smoothly as possible and that there are no barriers in our processes and systems that contribute to claims taking longer than necessary to progress.

    Whilst there are no statutory (legal) requirements to complete action on a claim to PIP within a specified time, we have set both personal independence payment assessment providers a target for the length of time to complete assessments of 30 working days.

    Any delays experienced in the new claims process will not affect the date from which claimants are paid; all successful claims will be paid from the date the claim was initially made or the date the qualifying period is met, whichever is the later.

    As for the administration of all benefits, a claimant is free to complain about the service they have received from the Department for Work and Pensions. Complaints about the service received from our assessment providers should be made direct to the relevant assessment provider. A complaint may result in a special payment if the claimant has experienced unfair treatment or suffered financially.

    The Department has robust expectations for provider performance and contracts include a full set of service level agreements setting out expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department. Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. The contracts include a range of remedies and failure to meet contractual obligations will result in the Department applying service credits in line with the contract.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to increase the number of Registered Intermediaries available for use by child victims and witnesses of sexual abuse; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Green

    As at 19 June 2014, 29 Registered Intermediaries (RIs) were available for use by child victims and witnesses in the Greater Manchester police force area that covers Bolton, 25 RIs for Lancashire, 81 RIs for England and 26 RIs for Wales. Support for vulnerable witnesses is a devolved matter in Scotland.

    We recruited over 25 RIs this year, to increase the numbers of Active Registered Intermediaries to be used across the 43 police forces to help vulnerable witnesses.

    Registered Intermediaries are available for work across multiple police force areas and the numbers quoted above do not reveal the total number of active RIs.

    The number of child victims and witnesses involved in sexual abuse cases that have benefitted from the use of an RI in the last four years since the Witness Intermediary Scheme has been operational are provided in the table below. We do not hold data on cases before this time.

    Age
    0 to 4

    Age
    5 to 11

    Age
    12 to 17

    Yearly
    Total

    2010

    131

    152

    351

    2011

    62

    107

    171

    340

    2012

    87

    173

    165

    425

    2013

    168

    257

    261

    686

    TOTAL

    385

    668

    749

    1802

    The Ministry of Justice continues to monitor the number of Registered Intermediaries and is considering future recruitment plans. We are working with the CPS and police so that RIs are used to help more vulnerable witnesses to give their best evidence.

  • Lord Myners – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned any investigation into, or received any report about, possible manipulation of auctions conducted by the Debt Management Office on behalf of HM Treasury or of purchases of securities under the Asset Purchase Scheme.

    Lord Newby

    Any evidence relating to the potential manipulation of financial markets received by a public or private body or member of the public should be passed to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has a statutory responsibility for regulating conduct in financial markets.

    Any investigation into the potential manipulation of financial markets would be a matter for the FCA. As a matter of policy the FCA does not normally provide any comment about potential or actual investigations or potential enforcement so as to avoid prejudicing cases.

    The FCA announced on 20 March 2014 that it had taken enforcement action against an individual for the manipulation of a government bond in the run up to a Bank of England operation on 10 October 2011. The FCA’s investigation found this was the action of one trader on one day, and there was no evidence of collusion with traders in other banks.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their principal aims in establishing closer diplomatic ties with Iran.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), announced on 17 June his decision to reopen the British Embassy in Tehran with a small initial presence, as soon as the practical arrangements can be made.

    Iran is an important country in a volatile region, and maintaining embassies around the world, even under difficult circumstances, is a central pillar of the UK’s global diplomatic approach. We have no illusions that returning to Iran will be easy – there will continue to be many areas where we strongly disagree. Ultimately, having an Embassy in Tehran will enable us to better understand and respond to those challenges.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the financial impact, in terms of percentage of United Kingdom food prices, of the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy; and what is their assessment of the overall effect on the United Kingdom economy if the Common Agricultural Policy were abandoned.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cost EU consumers approximately €16 billion in 2012 as a result of higher food prices. This equates to 4% of consumption expenditure on agricultural commodities (at farm gate prices).

    The Government does not have estimates of the effect of abandoning the current CAP programme. However studies are available from 2009 which estimated the impact of removing aspects of the CAP policies and budgets that were in place at the time:

    1) Modelling commissioned by Defra estimated the impact of phasing out direct payments in CAP and liberalising agricultural trade. The results vary by sector, ranging from a negligible impact expected on UK cereal production and prices to around a 25% reduction in beef prices and production.

    2) A European Commission study estimates the impact of eliminating direct payments and liberalising trade. The results showed a 6% reduction in land use and a 30% reduction in land prices across Europe. However the impact on agro-food production was modest and food price changes ranged from a 33% fall in beef, to just a 1% fall for milk and eggs.

  • Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received on steps to encourage more firms to offer apprenticeships for the long term unemployed.

    Matthew Hancock

    No recent representations have been received on steps to encourage more firms to offer Apprenticeships for the long term unemployed.

    Despite that, we are taking forward action to do so. Apprenticeships play a vital role in equipping people to lead successful and rewarding working lives, and are a key pathway into work. Apprenticeships and the introduction of Study Programmes for the 16-19 age group are at the heart of our drive to equip people with the skills that employers need. Traineeships, which we introduced last year, provide an education and training programme with work experience, focused on giving young people aged 16-23 the skills and experience they need to get Apprenticeships and other sustainable jobs.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many men in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) England died from advanced prostate cancer in each of the last five years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Low of Dalston – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Low of Dalston – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Low of Dalston on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make available to Parliament their assessment of the impact of the stronger regulatory powers available to the Care Quality Commission since 2008 on the provision of human rights-compatible care to service users, including the evidence on which that assessment is based, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in its report Legislative Scrutiny: Care Bill (11th Report, Session 2013–14, HL Paper 121).

    Earl Howe

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (2008 Act) all providers of regulated activities have to register with the CQC and meet a set of requirements of safety and quality. As the CQC is a public authority it has a legal obligation in relation to protecting, respecting and fulfilling people’s rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 (1998 Act).

    If a provider fails to meet these requirements the CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use to protect patients and service users from the risk of poor care.

    The CQC has advised that it has taken the following published enforcement action during the financial year 2013-14.

    – The CQC undertook two urgent cancellations of providers’ registration;

    – The CQC undertook 53 cancellations of providers’ registration;

    – The CQC imposed a condition on a provider on 45 occasions;

    – The CQC varied a provider’s condition of registration on 13 occasions;

    – The CQC undertook an urgent variation of a provider’s conditions of registration on 13 occasions;

    – The CQC imposed 1,269 warning notices on providers and 18,408 compliance actions on providers; and

    – The CQC issued over 500 fixed penalty notices.

    The CQC monitors and inspects health and social care providers under regulations which stipulate that providers must deliver care and treatment to people with due regard to their age, sex, religion, sexual orientation, race, cultural and linguistic background and disability (Regulation 17).

    Where services do not meet standards for Regulation 17, the CQC sets compliance actions and monitors whether providers have taken action to meet the standard. If they have not, the CQC may take enforcement action. Between 1 October 2012 and 30 September 2013, the CQC found 48 services did not comply with Regulation 17, leading to enforcement action. This enforcement action is set out in the following table.

    Enforcement action around Regulation 17 in 2012-13

    Acute hospitals

    1

    Mental health hospitals/hospitals for

    people with a learning disability

    2

    General practitioners

    0

    Dentists

    2

    Care homes

    36

    Home care agencies

    3

    Other social care services

    4

    Total

    48

    The CQC’s consultation ‘A New Start’, in June 2013 on how it regulates, inspects and rates services included a section on how Human Rights would be protected by changes to its regulatory model. To accompany the consultation, the CQC produced a draft document entitled, ‘Equality and Human Rights Duties Impact Analysis (decision making and policies)’, to give more detail about the impact of the proposed changes on equality and human rights and how they would promote equality and human rights for people who use health and social care services.

    The CQC also consulted on its approach to human rights as part of a broader consultation on changes to regulation of care services. The CQC explained its proposed strategy for delivering on its commitment to promote equality, diversity and human rights in its regulatory work; to provide detail about what the strategy will mean in practice; and to receive feedback from important stakeholders.

    The CQC held the consultation between 9 April 2014 and 4 June 2014. The CQC will respond to the results of the consultation in September 2014.

    The consultation can be found at the following web link:

    www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20140406_our_human_rights_approach_public_consultation_final.pdf

    In January 2014 the CQC published ‘Equality Counts’, a report providing information about equality in its workforce and for people who are affected by its regulatory policies and practices. The CQC will use the information in this report to drive its work in promoting equality and human rights, both in its regulatory functions and as an employer. The CQC will continue to develop its new approach to ensure equality in different types of health and social care services.

  • Mike Gapes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mike Gapes – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Gapes on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the proposed EU regulations on heritage seeds.

    Dan Rogerson

    Defra is negotiating for a proportionate, flexible and simplified approach to the proposed new EU legislation for Plant Reproductive Material. Our principal objectives are to make things simpler and to achieve positive outcomes for businesses and gardeners alike.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings he has had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

    Mr David Willetts

    As was the case under previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.