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Tag: 2014

  • Andrew Turner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Turner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, by what process Tony Blair was appointed to the post of Middle East peace envoy; and who approved that appointment.

    Hugh Robertson

    Tony Blair was appointed by the Quartet (US, EU, UN and Russia) as the representative of the Middle East Quartet in June 2007. The Quartet principals (Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana) approved his appointment.

  • Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have to capture the experiences of cancer patients outside hospital settings.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England now has responsibility for the Cancer Patient Experience Survey (CPES) and advises that it plans to continue the surveyin 2015.

    Although the sample for the CPES is drawn from those who have had treatment for cancer within a hospital, the questionnaire also asks many questions about the patient’s experience outside of hospital too. For example, the initial process around diagnosis, interactions with a cancer nurse specialist (which may be outside of a hospital setting), home care and support, community nurses and care from their general practitioner. From this, it is possible to learn what the experience of cancer patients has been both inside and outside of a hospital setting.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Doughty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on car driving lessons and tests for prisoners in 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    My officials are currently working to provide the information requested but it has not proved possible to produce it in the time allowed. I will write to you in due course.

  • 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, what the total cost incurred by his Department was of appeals against employment and support allowance decisions in 2010 and in each year since.

    Mike Penning

    We have taken action to reduce the cost of appeals by reforming the DWP appeal process. Mandatory reconsideration, where we look again at individual decisions before it goes to a tribunal, alongside our wider reforms to streamline the system are designed to avoid the need for expensive appeals.

    We have seen a significant reduction in the volume of appeals. During the first quarter of this year appeals against ESA decisions decreased by almost 90 per cent, compared to the same time last year. We expect that this will be reflected in a lower total cost incurred by this Department in 2014/15.

    The operating costs incurred by the Department for appeals against ESA decisions prior to 2014/15 are as follows:

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    ESA Appeals

    £16,464,859

    £19,651,619

    £28,678,396

    In addition to these costs the Department has paid the following amounts to HMCTS. These costs are for the number of appeals against ESA decisions that HMCTS have handled which are in excess of the volume for which they have been funded for in their baseline funding.

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    Total Costs payable to HMCTS

    £26,157,701

    £29,291,646

    £41,179,738

    Note: Comparable data is not available prior to 2011/12.

  • Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stone of Blackheath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stone of Blackheath on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 26 June (WA 177), what were the exact amounts of money given by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development to the Conflict Pool in the financial years 2012–13 and 2013–14; and what are the projected amounts for 2014–15 and 2015–16.

    Baroness Northover

    The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), which is funded and managed by DFID, the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), which is co-funded by the FCO and DFID and is managed by the FCO, and the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MoD) Conflict Pool. We estimate that since 2011 approximately £17m has been spent in Egypt through regional programmes funded by the APEF; due to the regional nature of this funding we are not able to further disaggregate the amounts spent. A small amount of APEF funding has been spent by the Embassy on local-level economic projects, as follows: £129,538 in 2012-2013; £784,801 in 2013-14; and £629,000 in 2014-2015. All APEF funds for 2014/15 have now been allocated.

    Through the Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), £1.5m was provided in financial year 2012-2013; £1.3m in 2013-14; and £1.3m has been allocated for 2014-15.

    Through the tri-departmental (FCO, DFID, MOD) Conflict Pool (CP) £264,386 was provided in 2012-13; £458,370 in 2013-2014; and approximately £2m is allocated for 2014/15.

    We are not currently able to provide projected amounts for 2015/16. From 2015/16 onwards, the Conflict Pool will be replaced by the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), which will have a global budget of £1billion. CSSF allocations by country and according to government department will be finalised in early 2015. FCO and DFID funding for the Arab Partnership for 2015/16 has not yet been agreed.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason allowing employers which wish to continue with current apprenticeship funding arrangements to do so was not listed as an option in his Department’s recent consultation on the future of apprenticeships.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Apprenticeships Funding Reform Technical Consultation sought evidence on the practical implications for employers of two new systems for routing apprenticeship funding: the PAYE model and the Apprenticeship Credit. The practical implications of the current system are already well understood, therefore we did not include this in the technical consultation. We are giving careful consideration to all feedback received, before announcing our next steps in the autumn.

  • 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, what meetings Ministers in his Department have had on the outsourcing of local authority children’s services since May 2010.

    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.

    Ministers have regular internal and external meetings to discuss this policy in particular and approaches to delivering children’s social care more widely.

  • 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, if he will make an assessment of the potential suffering felt by badgers through gaseous methods of slaughter.

    George Eustice

    In August 2013, we commissioned new research into alternative methods of culling badgers.

    The first step involved reviewing and updating the ‘Review of effectiveness, environmental impact, humaneness and feasibility of lethal methods for badger control’ published in 2005. The review was completed in September 2013.

    Following research carried out as a result of Lord Zuckerman’s review in the 1980s, we would not support the use of hydrogen cyanide gas due to humaneness concerns. However, we are considering potential humane alternatives.

    In October and November 2013 we carried out initial trials of nitrogen-filled foam to analyse its dispersal in an artificial sett-like environment. These trials did not involve the use of active setts or tests on live animals.

    Further research is now planned into the use of carbon monoxide as a potential sett-based means of humane culling.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adults with autism in England receive support having previously been identified by a local authority as being at risk of abuse or neglect.

    Norman Lamb

    This information is not kept centrally.

  • 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, if his Department will take steps to expand the investigatory powers of the Office of the Public Guardian to better protect elderly and vulnerable people in cases in which power of attorney is abused; and if he will make a statement.

    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.