The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons received how many detached duty staff of which grade in each month since December 2013.
Jeremy Wright
The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the technical fault was with Typhoon aircraft T3 ZJ815 which forced it to land in Lajes Field; whether this fault has been rectified; and whether this aircraft has since returned to the UK.
Mr Mark Francois
Typhoon ZJ815 was on a pre-planned stop at Lajes Field on its return journey to the UK from exercise in the USA. A fault with the Inertial Measuring Unit on Typhoon ZJ815 was identified during routine pre departure checks at Lajes Field. The fault was repaired in situ and the aircraft returned to the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for applicants for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in each region of the UK is between submission of the PIP2 form and the date of the face-to-face PIP assessment from each assessment provider.
Mike Penning
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to the hon Member for Liverpool, West Derby, official report, 5 March, column 850W.
In order to manage the gap between Personal Independence Payment go-live and the first release of Official Statistics in Spring 2014, we are assessing whether we can release some further information. If the quality assurance of this information shows that it is sufficiently robust and reliable then we will publish it via ad-hoc statistical releases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to ensure that third party providers taking on children’s social care functions under his Department’s proposals adhere to quality standards set out in regulations.
Mr Edward Timpson
Delegation of children’s social care functions does not remove a local authority’s duties to meet statutory obligations. It remains a local authority’s responsibility to ensure the quality of services regardless of what arrangements it makes for the discharge of its functions.
Delegated social care functions are inspected by Ofsted, in the same way as directly delivered local authority social care functions, as part of its local authority inspection framework. In addition, regulations currently govern the fitness of third party providers and require their registration with Ofsted.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2014-04-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of British Cycling’s Time to Choose Cycling campaign, what progress has been made in promoting cycling as a safe and viable transport method around the United Kingdom.
Baroness Kramer
Cycling is normal and fun and we are committed to making it a safer travel choice so more people can appreciate the benefits of physical activity. Cycling can help tackle congestion, reduce CO2 emissions and improve air quality.
In August last year the Prime Minister set out his ambition for increasing cycling. This included £94 million for Cycling Ambition Grants which covered eight cities and four National Parks across England. These eight cities all have ambitious targets to increase cycling over the coming years.
In addition, we have invested £15 million for cycling and walking links in communities and almost £15 million for cycling infrastructure at rail stations – our rail funding has been the major enabler in doubling the amount of cycle-rail facilities at stations since 2009. We also continue to support Bikeability training for children – we provide funding of up to £40 per training place – over a million children have been trained.
Finally, to help realise the Prime Minister’s ambition for cycling, we are working with stakeholders and Government to produce a Cycling Delivery Plan for publication later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether garages, boiler rooms and other non-habitable areas affected by flooding are eligible for the Repair and Renew Grant.
Dan Rogerson
The “Repair and Renew” grant is available to establish resilience and resistance measures in properties to minimise the risk of damage caused by flooding. As it stands, the grant only applies to homes and businesses affected by flooding and excludes non-habitable areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Duke of Montrose on 2014-04-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any countries have outstanding applications for membership of the European Union and which they are; how many countries having applied are pending recognition that they have reached the level of compliance required under Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union; and whether any precedence will be given to applicants based on the date when they are recognised as having reached the compliance criteria.
Baroness Warsi
Five countries currently have the status of a ‘candidate’ for membership of the EU. Of these, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are currently in accession negotiations. Iceland has suspended its accession negotiations. Macedonia is a candidate country but has not yet opened accession negotiations. Negotiations are opened on the basis that countries have achieved a high degree of compliance with the membership criteria, including respect for the values referred to in Article 2 Treaty on EU (TEU).
Albania has also submitted an application for EU membership. It did this in 2009. The Council is considering Albania’s application in light of assessments prepared by the Commission.
Each aspiring country’s progress towards the European Union depends on its individual efforts to comply fully with the Copenhagen criteria for accession and broader enlargement conditionality. No precedence is given to applicants based on the date they have been recognised as having reached the criteria for opening accession negotiations.
The UK continues to be a strong supporter of enlargement based on firm-but-fair conditionality. Countries should proceed strictly on merit, with full adherence to the necessary conditionality before accession.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what regulatory oversight his Department will apply to 24 hour helplines provided by independent abortion clinics.
Jane Ellison
It is a condition of approval from the Secretary of State that independent sector providers have a 24 hour helpline available. The Care Quality Commission is considering the best approach to regulating termination of pregnancy services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of conclusions of the recent UN IPCC report on the effects of climate change on developing countries.
Lynne Featherstone
The Government welcomes the IPCC report. Climate change poses very serious consequences to human health, global food security, and can slow economic growth. Its impacts will be an extra burden for those living in poverty, and make it harder to reduce poverty in developing countries.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-06-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of opiate-related overdoses among people recently released from prison.
Jane Ellison
People who have recently been released from prison are at a greater risk of overdose. A 2005 report on drug-related mortality among newly released offenders (1998-2000) showed that male prisoners in the study were about 29 times more likely to die than males in the general population.
The Department of Health and Ministry of Justice have funded a joint initiative to improve the “through the gate” provision for prisoners who are dependent on drugs and alcohol. Ten prisons in the North West are currently piloting a range of innovative interventions to provide more intensive support and supervision for people leaving custody which include the use of peer mentors, recovery housing services and take-home naloxone as they return to the community.
Public Health England has also published a checklist to support local authorities with commissioning services and interventions that help to prevent overdose, as part of a wider treatment and harm reduction system.
The Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) programme, implemented in prisons between 2006 and 2010, sought to improve the standard and quality of drug treatment in prisons. One of the key drivers for this programme was the need to reduce drug-related deaths among people who had been recently released from prison.
Through IDTS, prisoners could get access to evidence-based opioid substitution treatment in prison, which they could continue in the community after release. The extent in which this was successful in reducing drug-related overdose deaths will be one of the themes in the IDTS evaluation, which will be published next year.
The principles of IDTS continue to be adopted by local partners responsible for commissioning health services.