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Tag: 2014

  • 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.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners were released on temporary licence by way of (i) resettlement day release, (ii) resettlement overnight release and (iii) childcare resettlement in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Jeremy Wright

    Table 1 presents the number of individuals who were granted each of these temporary licence (ROTL) release types, broken down by gender, for 2012, which is the latest year for which published figures are available.

    An individual prisoner can have a number of different types of ROTL over a period of time. Where an individual received more than one type of ROTL within the year, this individual has been counted once under each type received. Therefore there will be some individuals who are counted more than once in the table presented.

    These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, how much has been spent under each cost heading by the Government in relation to the Scottish independence referendum.

    Greg Clark

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus on 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 667W.

  • Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of presumption for contact in relation to the role of fathers in the family courts; and if he will make a statement.

    Simon Hughes

    I have been asked to reply. Section 11 of the Children and Families Act 2014 requires courts to presume that a child benefits from the involvement of each parent who can be involved in a way which does not put the child at risk of harm. This is subject to the principle that the welfare of the child must be the courts’ paramount consideration. ‘Involvement’ may be direct or indirect and it is for courts to determine the most appropriate way for a parent to be involved in the light of the individual circumstances.

    Section 11 of the Act will be commenced in the autumn. One of the aims of the policy is to encourage parents to resolve disputes without the need for court intervention. The Government therefore intends to consider the impact of the policy as part of wider work to assess the impact of the family justice provisions in the Act.