Tag: 2015

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to extend the hours of social workers and other professionals required to support doctors in their new working arrangements to meet the Government’s aspiration for a seven day a week NHS.

    Alistair Burt

    Local authorities are already working with their local health service partners towards ensuring appropriate 7 day 24 hour social work cover. Out of hours social services and emergency duty services are already in place and some local authorities are employing social workers along with occupational therapists to work at weekends to manage safe hospital discharge and other requirements such as equipment provision, to ensure people have appropriate and timely support to leave hospital.

    We recognise that providing high quality urgent and emergency services seven days a week requires far more than just doctors to be present, and that nurses, diagnostic staff, and other allied health professionals all play an invaluable role in caring for patients. It will be for local providers and their Local Education and Training Boards to develop workforce plans for delivering seven day services in hospitals which will make the best use of staff skills and expertise. While there may be additional staff needed, we are working with NHS England to make sure we have the workforce we need, including looking at new working patterns and roles such as physician associates.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the annual budget for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate was in 2011-12.

    Nick Boles

    The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate for 2011-12 was £776,643.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the Primary Care Infrastructure Fund he plans to disburse in each of the next five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The Primary Care Transformation Fund (formerly the Infrastructure Fund) was announced in December 2014 and is a £1 billion fund over four years. As such we are planning to disburse £250 million in each of the next three years 2016/17 – 2018/19.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the potential sale of information stolen during the cyber-security breach of the Government Gateway system.

    Matthew Hancock

    To date the security reports on the Government Gateway system do not show a cyber-security breach.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training her Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps she has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of her Department; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Family Test has been integrated into the Department’s impact assessment process. Workshops are being scheduled to further assist staff in understanding how to apply the guidance introduced for the Family Test issued by the Department for Work and Pensions.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to safeguard the size of the homelessness prevention grant in the period up to the 2020 spending review.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We have made available over £500 million to local authorities and the voluntary sector to tackle homelessness and since 2010 this has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.

    Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government.

    The allocation of Homeless Prevention Grant has developed over many years to take account of different kinds of pressures, including rough sleeping and statutory homelessness. We supported the establishment of the National Practitioner Support Service’s ‘Gold Standard’ programme to help improve the effectiveness of local authority homelessness prevention services.

    Decisions on funding beyond 2015/2016 will be subject to the forthcoming spending review.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what the evidential basis is for his estimate that there are about 70,000 Syrian opposition fighters on the ground who do not belong to extremist groups; whether he has shared that estimate with all coalition partners; whether that estimate is congruent with those supplied by other partner countries in the coalition; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Cameron

    We estimate that there are around 70,000 Syrian opposition fighters on the ground who do not belong to extremist groups, many of whom are linked to the Free Syrian Army. In addition to these 70,000, there are around 20,000 Kurdish fighters in Syria, who are also playing an important role in combating ISIL. The information we have on individual groups which forms the basis of this estimate is drawn in large part from intelligence. It would not be to the benefit of these non-extremist opposition fighters if we were to make it public to ISIL and the Syrian regime. We have very close intelligence relationships with a range of allies and partners, and share assessments with them as a matter of course.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of senior civil servants in her Department attended (a) non-selective state schools, (b) state selective schools, (c) independent schools, fee assisted and (d) independent schools, not fee assisted.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education does not collect or hold this information.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Susan Elan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the effect of the reductions in funding to S4C proposed in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Stephen Crabb

    I have regular meetings with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which provide opportunities to discuss a range of issues, including matters related to funding of services across Wales.

    The Government is committed to Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C. The majority of S4C’s funding comes via the BBC and last week’s spending review settlement on the Government element of S4C’s funding therefore represents a modest reduction in its overall funding.

  • Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the German government on meeting with the Thalidomide Trust’s National Advisory Council on financial compensation for people with thalidomide.

    Mr David Lidington

    Following representations by the Government, senior representatives from the German government travelled to London to meet with the Trust in July. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to provide support to the Thalidomide Trust’s National Advisory Council to enable them to further their dialogue with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens and Youth, including through another meeting.