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Tag: 2014

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the availability of beds for accident and emergency patients.

    Earl Howe

    Not all patients who attend accident and emergency departments are admitted into hospital and require a bed. In 2013-14, 24% of 21.8 million accident and emergency attendances resulted in an emergency admission. Information is collected every quarter on bed availability and occupancy, including general and acute beds. In 2013-14 there were, on average, 135,964 general and acute beds open overnight, of which 88.0% were occupied. Information is collected every month on critical care bed availability and occupancy. In 2013-14 there were, on average, 4,274 adult and paediatric critical care beds, of which 82.9% were occupied. This information does not separately identify bed availability or occupancy for patients admitted via accident and emergency or any other admission method.

  • Ms Karen Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ms Karen Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Karen Buck on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the (a) change and (b) percentage change was in the number of homelessness acceptances arising from the end of a private sector tenancy in each (i) London local authority and (ii) English region between March 2010 and December 2013.

    Kris Hopkins

    To assist public scrutiny, I have placed in the Library of the House, a table showing homelessness acceptances due to loss of private sector tenancy, by local authority, in each year from 2003 to 2013.

    Data is not collected by Parliamentary constituency. My Department does not publish statistics by the former government office regions.

    The dataset shows that under the last Administration, the average numbers were higher than under this Administration, especially when taking account the changes in the overall size to the private rented sector.

    I would note that the rental sector policies of HM Opposition would make the problem worse, by reducing the availability of private rented accommodation, forcing up rents and discouraging investment in the private rented sector. By contrast, this Government is increasing house building, delivering £19.5 billion of investment in affordable housing, supporting billions of private investment in new private rented accommodation, providing £470 million to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness, and avoiding the excessive regulation which would harm the interests of tenants.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to prevent members of Britain First and other extreme groups causing offence in mosques in England; and whether there are any plans to take out injunctions against known offenders.

    Baroness Warsi

    Everyone has the right to feel safe in the place where they worship, free from discrimination and prejudice and we utterly condemn the recent intrusions of Britain First in Bradford and the fear and intimidation this has created among residents. In our country people of all religions must be able to worship without fear of harassment or interruption.

    The Secretary for State for Communities and Local Government (the Rt Hon Eric Pickles) has met with representatives of the Bradford Council of Mosques to encourage them to develop guidance for all mosques on what they should do in case of a repeat of the incidents in Bradford. Freedom of worship is a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty that should be defended and we will continue to work with faith organisations and the Council of Mosques to take the right security precautions and ensure that people in Bradford and elsewhere feel safe

    Injunctions would be taken out by the individual Mosques involved, not by Government. We are unaware of any plans to take out injunctions in this case.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in Warrington North constituency in the recent confirmation dry run.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

    Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

    The ward results for the Warrington North constituency were as follows:

    Ward

    Green matches

    Amber matches

    Red matches

    Birchwood

    83.9%

    1.1%

    14.9%

    Burtonwood and Winwick

    83.4%

    2.3%

    14.3%

    Culcheth Glazebury and Croft

    85.5%

    1.5%

    12.9%

    Fairfield and Howley

    75.1%

    1.8%

    23.1%

    Orford

    83.7%

    1.5%

    14.8%

    Poplars and Hulme

    83.9%

    1.0%

    15.2%

    Poulton North

    84.0%

    1.1%

    14.9%

    Poulton South

    86.9%

    0.8%

    12.3%

    Rixton and Woolston

    86.7%

    1.3%

    12.0%

    Westbrook

    83.4%

    1.5%

    15.0%

    “

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much was raised through the implementation of the UK HGV Road User Levy Act 2013 in Northern Ireland in April 2014.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The HGV Road User Levy applies to the UK.　 Once a levy is purchased for a foreign registered HGV, it is not possible to assign the levy to the specific country (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) which the vehicle visits.　 By the end of April 2014, levy receipts from foreign HGVs visiting the UK were £7.2 million.　 Cumulative levy receipts from foreign HGVs at the end of May were £10.5 million.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to penalise those who fail to attend scheduled meetings at jobcentres.

    Esther McVey

    Where a person is required to attend an interview as part of their obligations as a benefit claimant, and subsequently fails to attend that interview, a sanction will be applied to their benefit unless they can show good reason/cause for their failure.

  • 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 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the daily average (a) number and (b) proportion is of prisoners serving custodial sentences who are out of prison on temporary licence in each county.

    Jeremy Wright

    Temporary release can be a valuable tool in the resettlement of prisoners in the community but it must never take place at the expense of public safety. We conducted a fundamental review of the policy and practice of rerelease on temporary licence (ROTL) after serious failures last year. We are introducing a system that enhances the assessment of serious offenders and restricts access to ROTL to cases where there is a clear, legitimate reason for the release. We have already introduced some of these changes and have additionally introduced a restriction on prisoners transferring to open conditions and having ROTL if they have previously absconded from open prisons; or if they have failed to return or reoffended whilst released on temporary licence.

    It has not been possible to provide an answer in the time specified, I will write to you with an answer as soon as possible.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the future use of the Post Office Card Account; and if he will make a statement.

    Steve Webb

    The Post Office card account (POca) contract expires in March 2015 with the possibility of a 2 year extension beyond that date.

    The POca is a very simple account designed for the receipt of pensions and legacy benefits. It cannot be used for the payment of wages/salaries and does not offer transactional services such as direct debits so will not be suitable for the majority of working age claimants eligible for Universal Credit.

    No decision has been made on the future of the POca but discussions are currently taking place between DWP, Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015 and any announcement on this matter will be made in due course.

    Ministers and Officials have also met with relevant stakeholders, including the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters to discuss POca related issues.

  • Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group takes account of evidence from (a) patients, (b) clinicians and (c) patient groups when making decisions on the availability of treatments for progressive conditions.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England has advised that the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) is an advisory group and not a decision making body. It considers policy and makes recommendations to the Directly Commissioned Services Committee who make the final decisions on NHS England’s commissioning position.

    The Group’s membership includes four Patient and Public Voice members and senior clinicians from NHS England. The policies that are presented to CPAG for consideration are developed by Clinical Reference Groups (CRGs) who are made up of patients, clinicians, and key stakeholders including patient groups. These members are involved in the development of policies.

    Prior to submission of any documents to CPAG, a two week stakeholder testing phase is undertaken where registered CRG stakeholders including clinicians, patients, and patient groups, as well as industry, have an opportunity to make comments. These are considered as well as the evidence base for the policy by CPAG.

  • Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Jopling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2014-03-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 10 March (WA 348), whether they will now answer the question.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    As I stated to the House on 23 January 2014, Official Report, column 846, and
    repeated in my reply to the noble lord, Lord Vinson on 10 March (WA 348), the
    Government remains committed ‘to holding another vote on the final package of
    measures that we will apply to rejoin’.