Tag: 2014

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that jobseekers whose jobseeker’s allowance claim is cancelled are informed with greater clarity that their housing benefit will also be cancelled as a result.

    Esther McVey

    When a Jobseeker’s Allowance claim is terminated, the claimant is issued with an end of award notice. This notification informs the claimant that they need to contact their Local Authority if they have a claim to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit.

    Over and above this, Jobcentre Plus guidance is being strengthened to stress the importance of advising claimants to contact their Local Authority if they have a claim to Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit and their claim is terminated, sanctioned or disallowed.

  • Sir Greg Knight – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Sir Greg Knight – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Greg Knight on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he plans to take to prevent leaks and improve monitoring at existing (a) in use and (b) extinct or abandoned onshore oil and gas sites.

    Michael Fallon

    The construction and use of oil and gas wells in the UK is subject to stringent regulation by the HSE to ensure the integrity of the well in all phases of its life. Recognised industry design and construction processes must be followed, and the operator’s work and plans are subject to scrutiny by an independent well examiner as well as the HSE. Monitoring and inspections are be carried out by the Environment Agency, the HSE and the independent well examiner as appropriate. Oil and gas wells which have no further usefulness are plugged and capped to ensure the retention of any fluids in the well.

    We seek to improve this robust regulatory system further wherever practicable. Further consideration is being given to control and monitoring of methane emissions in the light of the recommendations of the report by Prof David Mackay and Dr Tim Stone on potential greenhouse gas emissions associated with shale gas production and use, published in September 2013.

  • Christopher Pincher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Christopher Pincher – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Pincher on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes and activity her Department undertakes in Bangladesh.

    Justine Greening

    DFID funds a wide range of programmes to reduce poverty and support progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in Bangladesh. Our programmes are improving the provision of basic services, supporting private sector development and helping to reduce risks to development, including from natural disasters. We are also focussed on improving working conditions and building safety in the garment sector.

  • Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Julian Huppert on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of updating awareness training for public order-trained staff operating alongside water cannon.

    Damian Green

    The Home Secretary has now received the request to authorise water cannon for
    use by the police in England and Wales. She is considering this request and
    will announce her decision in due course and lay the relevant information in
    the House Library.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households in each constituency in Northern Ireland were in receipt of child benefit during 2013.

    Nicky Morgan

    The latest information on the number of families receiving Child Benefit, by each parliamentary constituency, local authority and region is available in the HMRC snapshot publication “Child Benefit Statistics Geographical Analysis. August 2013”. This can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286670/Child_Benefit_statistics_geographical_analysis_August_2013.xls

    Table 6 has this information by Westminster Parliamentary Constituency.

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

    Simon Hughes

    I refer the hon Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham on 26 March (Official Report col. 300W).

  • Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Liz Kendall – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS trusts have spent (a) on agency and contract staff and (b) on all staff in each financial year since 2009-10.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    As part of the response to the issues in Mid-Staffordshire hospital, and following the recommendations of the Francis report, many trusts have increased agency spend in the short-term to protect patients and improve patient care. Over the longer term, a key objective for the NHS is to keep agency spend to a minimum, an increase in the number of permanent front-line staff is vital to both improving patient care and delivering value for money. The number of frontline clinical staff has increased by more than 16,300 since 2010.

    In 2013-14, NHS foundation trusts planned to spend £523 million on agency and contract staff and spent £1,373.0 million. NHS trusts spent £1,209.1 million, how much they planned to spend is not available.

    Sources: for NHS trusts – unaudited data in NHS trust summarisation schedules; for NHS foundation trusts – quarterly monitoring information.

    Plans are in place in Better Procurement to reduce by £450 million spend on agency and contract staff by the end of 2016.

    NHS Trusts spent £1,209.1 million on agency and contract staff n 2013/14.

    Source: Unaudited data in NHS Trust Summarisation Schedules.

    Amounts for 2009-10 to 2012-13 were not separately identified from other non-permanent staff.

    Spend by NHS Foundation Trusts on agency and contract staff is in the following table.

    Year

    £ million

    2009/10

    764.1

    2010/11

    854.7

    2011/12

    907.0

    2012/13

    1,101.0

    2013/14

    1,373.0

    Notes: For 2009/10 – 2012/13 actual figures are based on gross staff costs as per notes in the NHS FT consolidated accounts. The figures from the consolidated accounts may differ to the Board reports due to adjustments made on redundancy, early retirement, capitalisation of staff costs and costs of R&D staff. 2013/14 figures are from quarterly monitoring information.

    Information available about spend on all staff is set out in the tables below.

    NHS Trusts

    Year

    £ million

    2009/10

    18,225.1

    2010/11

    18,929.5

    2011/12

    19,839.5

    2012/13

    19,344.7

    Source: NHS (England) Summarised Accounts 2009/10, 2010/11; NHS Trust Audited Summarisation Schedules 2011/12, 2012/13.

    Note: Total staff costs for 2013/14 are not yet available.

    NHS Foundation Trusts

    Year

    £ million

    2009/10

    17,599.7

    2010/11

    19,442.9

    2011/12

    23,046.0

    2012/13

    24,709.0

    2013/14

    26,246.0

    Notes: For 2009/10 – 2012/13 actual figures are based on gross staff costs as per notes in the NHS FT consolidated accounts. The figures from the consolidated accounts may differ to the Board reports due to adjustments made on redundancy, early retirement, capitalisation of staff costs and costs of R&D staff. 2013/14 figures are from quarterly monitoring information.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the growth prospects of small and medium-sized enterprises in Wales.

    Mr David Jones

    190,000 Small and medium-sized businesses in Wales will be helped by a significant package of support measures announced at Budget 2014, including doubling the Annual Investment Allowance to £500,000 from April 2014 until 31 December 2015, and measures to improve the availability of finance.

  • Aidan Burley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Aidan Burley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Aidan Burley on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children began treatment for Type 1 diabetes in (a) Cannock Chase constituency and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information is not available in the format requested.

    Information on the number of children aged up to 18 years, registered in primary and secondary care, that were newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 in the former (a) North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), (b) South Staffordshire PCT and (c) Stoke-on-Trent PCT, is shown in the following table.

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    North Staffordshire PCT

    *

    10

    25

    South Staffordshire PCT

    23

    23

    24

    Stoke on Trent

    PCT

    15

    9

    24

    Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre – National Diabetes Audit

    Notes:

    1. Participation in the National Diabetes Audit (NDA), which audits diabetes registrations in primary and secondary care, is not mandatory. The NDA does not have 100% coverage or participation and therefore cannot accurately provide the information requested.

    2. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health are the authoritative source for all Paediatric diabetes audit data.

    3. 2012-13 data has not yet been published. The NDA currently only holds data for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.

    4. Information is not available by constituency.

    5. The NDA provides data on the number of children aged up to 18 years that were newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which is synonymous to the number of children who began treatment.

    6. To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five inclusive have been replaced with *.

  • Jesse Norman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jesse Norman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jesse Norman on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support young people into work.

    Esther McVey

    The Government’s approach is working. For the 21st consecutive month we have seen the youth claimant count reduce.The Youth Contract is successfully providing young people with the support they require, building on support already available via Jobcentres and the Work Programme. Opportunities available to young people include Work Experience, Sector-based WorkAcademies, traineeships and intensive work searches.