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Tag: 2014

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people wait more than (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months to receive a tribunal appeal decision following an employment and support allowance decision; and what steps the Government is doing to speed up that process.

    Mike Penning

    The information requested is not readily available.

    As a consequence of the recent significant drop in appeals the Tribunal service expects its clearance times to significantly decrease.

  • 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 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of China regarding the Basic Law and democratic elections in Hong Kong.

    Baroness Warsi

    We maintain a good dialogue both with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Chinese authorities, with whom we discuss Hong Kong regularly at senior levels. We did so most recently during the UK-China Summit in June, when the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and Premier Li discussed prospects for universal suffrage in 2017, alongside a variety of other issues. During his visit to Beijing in May, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met with Wang Guangya, Director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to discuss the transition to universal suffrage, as well as Hong Kong’s continuing prosperity.

    The Six Monthly Reports to Parliament demonstrate our commitment to closely monitor Hong Kong’s development. The latest Six Monthly Report is due to be published in mid-July.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the cost to industry of his Department’s requirement for Level 2 Building Information Modelling.

    Mr Francis Maude

    Building Information Modelling Level 2 operates alongside well-established industry standards such as ISO27001. Departments may specify additional security requirements as appropriate.

    Industry has responded positively to the introduction of Building Information Modelling Level 2, which represents the construction sector response to the Government’s “Digital by Default” initiative.

    BIM does not mandate the use of any specific software or hardware and supports innovation through its use of open standards. For SMEs BIM levels the playing field, allowing them to make their products immediately accessible to a global market, using freely-available tools.

    BIM represents an opportunity for UK industry to increase efficiency, its know-how and exports, thereby continuing its significant global presence in construction design and delivery.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has contributed funds to assist local authorities in the payment of external contractors to deliver childcare services excluding fostering and adoption.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Through its Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme, the Government is supporting local authorities to take new approaches to maximise the capacity and skills brought to bear in improving services for the most vulnerable children. Part of that work involves giving local authorities greater freedom to test new delivery models and harness external ideas and expertise by allowing them to delegate children’s social care functions to external providers.

    In November 2013 we gave all local authorities the power to operate in this manner. So far five providers have registered with Ofsted as performing these functions on behalf of local authorities.

    Local authorities also make widespread use of contractors in the provision of children’s services such as residential care and foster care.

    The Government does not collect data on local authority spend on external contracts.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which policies of other countries he has assessed with regards to the gassing of badgers.

    George Eustice

    Carbon monoxide gas has been used successfully in the United States and Australia to control a range of species including burrowing rodents, rabbits and larger mammals such as coyotes and foxes.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that national guidelines on asthma care are implemented; what data his Department is gathering to improve asthma care; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve the care and management of people with asthma.

    It is supporting clinical commissioning groups to improve out of hospital treatment for those with asthma by giving doctors more control over the commissioning of asthma services and improving information links between general practitioners and hospitals. The implementation of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) asthma quality standard, which sets out what good quality care looks like, will also raise the standard of care people with asthma receive.

    The National Clinical Director for Respiratory Disease, Professor Mike Morgan, is responsible for working across all five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework in NHS England in tackling asthma issues, and Dr Jacqueline Cornish, the National Clinical Director for children, young people and transition to adulthood, is working with the Strategic Clinical Networks for maternity, neonates and children and young people, to improve clinical outcomes for children and young people with asthma. NHS England also continues to work with Asthma UK and professional groups in both primary and secondary care to improve outcomes for all those with asthma. It is also working to ensure that everyone with a long-term condition is offered a personalised care plan and an asthma action plan should form part of that.

    In terms of data collection on asthma, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership is considering with NHS England, a national clinical audit of asthma services across the country against NICE quality standards for asthma.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nadine Dorries – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he will take to introduce safeguards to power of attorney to better protect elderly and vulnerable people from abuses of that power.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government is committed to protecting elderly and vulnerable people, and to ensuring that anyone responsible for abuse is dealt with appropriately.

    The Public Guardian has power to investigate cases where concerns are raised about the actions of a person acting under a power of attorney, and to apply to the Court to revoke the power of attorney where necessary to prevent abuse. The Public Guardian will refer cases to health and care authorities, who can act under statutory safeguarding powers to protect an individual who may be at risk, and to the police if he suspects a criminal offence has been committed.

    We are currently considering whether the Public Guardian needs additional powers to strengthen his role in safeguarding elderly and vulnerable people, including the power to continue an investigation after a power of attorney or court order has been revoked or disclaimed. This would require changes to primary legislation.

    Data on prosecutions for fraud, or for ill-treatment and neglect under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, do not specify whether the allegation relates to a person acting under a power of attorney. The Government’s response to the House of Lords Select Committee’s report on the Mental Capacity Act includes a commitment to review the use of the criminal offence under s44 of the Act.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will assess the level of care provided by Public Health England and local charities to help those suffering from addiction to, and withdrawal from, psychiatric drugs; and whether they have estimated the number of those afflicted.

    Earl Howe

    Public Health England does not provide care, its role is to support commissioners to better understand and address local drug need. If local addiction charities are commissioned by a local authority, then it is the responsibility of local commissioners to assess the level of care they provide. If they are registered with the Care Quality Commission then they will be expected to meet minimum care standards.

    There is no widely accepted definition of ‘psychiatric drugs’. In-depth research commissioned by the Department found that there are no national databases that can give us information on the number of people who are addicted to medicine.

  • Lord Noon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Noon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Noon on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the counter-terrorism budget for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was in each year since 2010; and how much they are budgeting for the current year.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) budget for counter terrorism work is comprised of a range of funding streams, as well as being incorporated into the overall approach taken to assist priority counter-terrorism partner countries.

    The main fund for terrorism-related assistance is the Counter Terrorism Programme Fund (CTPF). The tri-departmental (FCO, Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development) Conflict Pool supports complementary work in some fragile and conflict-affected states by tackling the root causes of terrorism through upstream conflict prevention activities. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 24 June 2014, Official Report, column WS107-108, total conflict resources for the financial year 2014-15 have increased to £683 million, of which £239m has been allocated to the Conflict pool.

    The budget for the CTPF for the financial years 2010-11 to 2013-14 was £38 million / £38 million / £36 million / £30 million respectively. The administration budget for CTD from the financial years 2010-11 to 2013-14 was £340,500 / £572,500 / £345,000 / £237,500 respectively. The administration budget for CTD in 2014-15 is £211,000. A Written Ministerial Statement will follow on the FCO Strategic Programme Fund allocation for 2014-15, which will include the CTPF.

  • Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-06-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of his Department’s consumption in kWh of (a) gas and (b) electricity in each month since June 2010; and what the cost of such consumption has been in each such month.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The information is not held by HM Treasury in the format you requested. Annual consumption and spend data is available in the Treasury Annual Report and Accounts for each year, copies of which have been deposited in the library.