Tag: 2014

  • Russell Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Russell Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Russell Brown on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what response he has given to the letter to him of 21 March 2014 from the Welfare Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament on the recommendations of its review of work capability assessments.

    Mike Penning

    As Minister of State with responsibility for this policy area I responded to the letter from the Welfare Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament on 26 April 2014 thanking them for their recommendations and drawing out the links between those and the recommendations made by Doctor Litchfield in the fourth Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment published in December 2013.    

  • 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 assessment she has made of the potential of water cannon to cause (a) temporary and (b) permanent injury.

    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.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of being able to access a GP appointment within 48 hours on levels of patient satisfaction.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    Overall patient satisfaction is driven by a range of factors, including accessing a general practitioner (GP) appointment at a convenient time, ability to see a preferred GP and the quality of the conversation with the GP.

    The Government recognises the importance of timely access to general practice. The PM Challenge Fund has allocated £50 million to pilot ways to improve access around the country, to give GPs the flexibility to meet the needs of the local population.

    In addition, the new GP contract introduced a new Enhanced Service, which includes a commitment to same day phone consultations with a professional in the GP surgery, where necessary, for the most at risk in the population.

  • Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied migrant children have been forcibly removed to another country in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    No unaccompanied child under the age of 18 can be forcibly removed from the UK
    unless adequate care and reception arrangements are in place in their country
    of origin. The difficulty of setting up suitable reception arrangements has
    meant that, with the exception of transfers to other European Union countries
    under the *Dublin Regulations, the Home Office does not routinely enforce the
    return of unaccompanied children to any country. The majority of unaccompanied
    children whose asylum claims are rejected are granted temporary leave which is
    reviewed when they reach 17½ years of age. We believe that the vast majority of
    enforced returns of unaccompanied children undertaken between 2006 and 2010
    were transfers under the Dublin Regulations.

    Table 1: Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children removals 2009 to 2013

    Date of Removal

    Total

    2009

    31

    2010

    12

    2011

    2

    2012

    6

    2013

    2

    Grand Total

    53

    ‘Migrant children’ have been interpreted as unaccompanied asylum seeking
    children (UASC) in answering this question.

    * The Dublin Regulation EC No. 343/2003 is a binding measure of European
    Community law to determine which State should be responsible for examining an
    application for asylum made within the EU territory.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on air quality of the escape of methane and other gases from disused mine workings in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Coal Authority is responsible for dealing with reported cases of escaped gases from disused mine workings, including monitoring concentrations where necessary. Consequently, Defra has made no assessment of the impact on air quality of the escape of methane and other gases from disused mine workings.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to relieve congestion on roads.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    This Government is committed to investing in infrastructure to reduce traffic congestion. This means spending £24 billion on strategic roads over this and the next Parliament, and accelerating the pace of delivery so that people affected see a difference more quickly.

    This includes a £500 million programme of pinch point schemes specifically targeted at tackling congestion on both the strategic and local road network, and a further £800 million being invested in 25 local major road schemes.

    We have previously announced £183.5m for road repairs following the severe weather this winter and in the recent Budget, the Chancellor announced a further £200 millionfunding for pothole repairs. Of this, £168m will assist Councils in England, with the remaining £32m allocated to the devolved administrations.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many HSA4 certificates his Department has returned to terminating doctors pending completion in the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    It is estimated that between 2009 and 2013 approximately 49,000 forms were returned to registered medical practitioners (RMPs) for further information and clarification.

    Form HSA4 already requires information to be provided as to whether the two certifying RMPs saw and/or examined the pregnant woman.

  • Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graham Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff his Department has employed in data entry roles relating to universal credit in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire in each quarter since 2010.

    Mike Penning

    There are no dedicated data entry roles and accordingly no cost to the department can be reliably estimated.

  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which infrastructure projects have accessed the UK Guarantees scheme; and how much funding was issued in each such case.

    Danny Alexander

    Three guarantees and one Stand-by Facility have been signed under the UK Guarantees Scheme with a total value of £1,090,800,000. This includes Drax Power (£75m), Sustainable Development Capital – UK Energy Efficiency Investment Funds (£8.8m), Northern Line Extension (£750m) and Mersey Gateway Bridge (£257m).

    Any guarantees signed are reported to Parliament as required by the legislation, Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012, underpinning the Scheme and can also be found on the gov.uk website.

  • Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Mrs Mary Glindon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Mary Glindon on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect of reductions in the number of people employed in the public sector in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Andrew Robathan

    The Government is committed to rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy in favour of the private sector which we, and the Executive, believe is the best way to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future. Over the last year, private sector jobs in Northern Ireland have increased by 10,490 and public sector jobs by 1,790.