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Tag: 2014

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many cases of non-payment of the minimum wage were (a) referred to the Crown Prosecution Service from HM Revenue and Customs, (b) prosecuted and (c) prosecuted successfully in 2013-14 and each of the preceding three financial years.

    Oliver Heald

    Based on data held centrally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) together with information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the National Minimum Wage, I have established (a) three referrals were made to the CPS from HMRC in 2010-2011. No referrals were made in the financial years 2011-2012, 2012-2013 or 2013-2014. (b) One prosecution commenced in 2011-2012 from the three cases referred in 2010-2011. (c) One conviction is recorded in 2010-2011 (referred in 2009/10) and one conviction in 2012-2013 (referred in 2010/11). This information represents the period of 2013-14 and the preceding three financial years.

    HMRC also has civil enforcement powers to secure and punish in cases of non-compliance.

  • Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to address the lack of compulsory dermatological training in the GP educational pathway.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. This mandate includes a commitment that HEE will ensure that general practitioner (GP) training produces GPs with the required competencies to practise in the new NHS. Consequently HEE will work with stakeholders to influence training curricula as appropriate.

    The content and standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body. It has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. Within the current GP curriculum, trainees are required to successfully complete training on care of people with skin problems.

    Responsibility for the commission of dermatology services sits with NHS England. NHS England commissions specialised dermatology services for those patients requiring needing care from Highly Specialist Dermatology Centres (around 10% of sufferers). The level of provision of non-specialised dermatology services is decided by the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and it will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

    The Department has not held any specific discussions on compulsory dermatological training for GPs with HEE or the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) since 4 December 2013, nor have HEE or NHS England held discussions with RCGP on this matter.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to allow families of patients in care homes to report concerns about standards of care.

    Norman Lamb

    Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 requires all care providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to “have an effective system in place for identifying, receiving, handling and responding appropriately to complaints and comments made by service users, or persons acting on their behalf”.

    Where a person’s care is provided or arranged by their local authority, complaints and concerns should be directed initially to the local authority, which remains responsible for the quality of care. If a person has arranged their own care, they should pursue the matter directly with the provider in the first instance.

    In both cases, should complainants not be satisfied with the response, they are entitled to ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate.

    People may also raise concerns with the CQC, as regulator of health and adult social care services. Under the 2008 Act, the CQC does not have the responsibility for investigating specific complaints about social care providers. However, where there are concerns about a provider which is registered with the CQC, such concerns should be brought to its attention. The CQC will use this information, together with local information from partners and the public, to help it decide when, where and what to inspect.

    The CQC is currently introducing a new system of inspection of social care providers. This new system of inspection will be structured around five key questions that matter most to people – are the services safe, caring, effective, well-led, and responsive to people’s needs. The new inspections will make more use of people’s views and will use expert inspection teams involving people who have personal experience of care. The CQC has been piloting this new approach in 252 of social care providers since April 2014.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what advice the Electoral Commission has given to electoral registration officers on the necessity of conducting local government data matching for the purposes of transition to individual electoral registration.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it has published comprehensive guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on their duties to maintain the electoral registers under Individual Electoral Registration (IER), including on using local data to identify and target potential electors and to verify and validate data held on the registers.

    The Commission also informs me that the Lord President of the Council has issued Ministerial guidance on IER which EROs must, by law, have regard to. This includes guidance on using local data as part of the confirmation process of data-matching existing electors’ details and the verification process for verifying applicants’ identity.

    The Commission’s guidance, which incorporates the Ministerial guidance, is available on its website at:

    http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/electoral-administrator/running-electoral-registration

    “

  • Chris Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the situation for religious minorities in northern Nigeria.

    Mark Simmonds

    Conflict in northern Nigeria has caused great suffering in communities of different faiths and ethnicities. Representatives of The Government maintain regular contact with religious and ethnic community leaders across Nigeria. We recognise there are tensions in many parts of the country, including in the north east, middle belt and the Niger Delta. Recent attacks by Boko Haram have been indiscriminate, but it is almost certain that these attacks have killed more Muslims than Christians.

    We recognise the underlying issues of poverty and inequality, which lead to inter-communal tensions and conflict in Nigeria and we urge political, traditional and religious leaders to work together in order to resolve these issues. The Department for International Development (DFID), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) continue to fund a range of conflict resolution projects across Nigeria designed to address these problems. We currently have an expert team in Abuja to help Nigeria deal with the abduction of the school girls from Chibok and to also look at addressing longer term challenges, including inter-communal tensions.

  • Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Dobbin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dobbin on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists the decision of its faculty of sexual and reproductive health not to allow doctors and nurses who have a conscientious objection to supplying contraceptive drugs or devices which act after fertilisation to receive its diploma in sexual and reproductive health.

    Jane Ellison

    The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare is responsible for decisions on the syllabus of its Diploma, the requirements for entry to the Diploma course, and the award of a Diploma qualification.

  • Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jeremy Corbyn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Corbyn on 2014-05-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response the UK has made to the application of the Marshall Islands to the International Court of Justice in respect of compliance by the UK with Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    Hugh Robertson

    The UK is currently considering its response to the proceedings instituted by the Marshall Islands in the International Court of Justice on 24 April 2014. The UK is confident of its record in progressing nuclear disarmament in accordance its obligations under the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and will defend its position robustly.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-05-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the medium-termhumanitarian,securityand protection risksin the Central African Republic.

    Baroness Warsi

    The humanitarian and security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is extremely poor. The UK is playing a strong role as part of the international community’s response, including through significant humanitarian aid, support to the African Union and EU support missions – the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) and the European Union Force (EUFOR), and co-sponsorship of the UN Security Council Resolution that authorised a UN Peacekeeping Operation (PKO). The UN PKO will deploy in September and will have a comprehensive mandate with an initial focus on protecting civilians. However, CAR represents a challenging environment and there is a clear risk insecurity will continue to affect the population of CAR in the medium term. This would continue to affect CAR’s neighbours, including through refugee numbers.

  • Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Julian Huppert on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to implement the recommendations of the Arts on Prescription 2010-2012 report produced by the charity Arts & Minds.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Arts & Minds charity is doing important work within the arts and health sector. I recently held a roundtable meeting on arts and health focusing on some of the issues raised in the Arts on Prescription report which the Executive Director of Arts & Minds attended. Health initiatives like the Arts on Prescription scheme have the potential to result in cost savings across health and social care and health practitioners and other relevant authorities should give careful consideration to the recommendations.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of interpretation services provided to the (a) magistrates’ courts and (b) Crown Court in England and Wales in each of the last three years for which information is available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Department does not hold centrally all of the information that has been requested. In order to provide the information we would be required toobtain a number of large reports from individual locations. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.