Tag: 2015

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average annual cost to the NHS of the effects of sight loss; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no recent estimate of the number of people with sight loss, the likely number who will have sight loss in the future, or of the costs in treating sight loss and eye health issues.

    Information on the number of patients who are blind or have sight loss is not collected centrally. However information is available on the number of people who are registered by local authorities as blind or partially sighted. At March 2014, the number of people on the register of blind people was 143,000 and on the register of partially sighted people 147,700.

    Registration as blind or partially sighted is voluntary so the numbers registered are likely to be an underestimate of the total number of people living with sight loss. Research funded by the Royal National Institute of Blind People, published in 20091, estimated there were almost 2 million people in the United Kingdom living with sight loss and that this number would double to 4 million by 2050.

    Information is collected centrally and published on NHS expenditure on `problems of vision’ across both primary and secondary care. In the latest year for which data has been published2 for both primary and secondary care, 2012/13, primary care trust expenditure was £2.3 billion. The Department expects NHS England to commission services for eye health to meet any increased demand, as it would in any other area of healthcare. The ‘Five Year Forward View’3 sets out the vision for how services may be organised going forward.

    1 http://www.rnib.org.uk/sites/default/files/FSUK_Report.pdf

    2 http://www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/

    3 http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf

    “

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to make the register of deaths of UK residents available online.

    Richard Harrington

    Under present legislation, the register of deaths in England and Wales contains details of all deaths which have taken place there, regardless of whether the deceased was a UK resident. Similar arrangements are in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Civil registration is a devolved matter.

    In England and Wales, information from the register of deaths is made available in the form of a certificate, on payment of the appropriate fee. Currently, there are no plans to change this process.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the fine levels for offences related to section 168 of the Equality Act 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    The figures do not suggest that courts are finding their sentencing powers inadequate.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-09-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the noise impact of the Future Airspace Strategy on Windsor constituency.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government has not made such an assessment.

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) led Future Airspace Strategy provides a framework for how the UK’s airspace should be managed in the future. It is a CAA requirement that any proposer of an airspace change should consult with their local communities on how the implementation of the strategy will affect them.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Randerson on 10 February (HL4725) relating to invitations to a briefing on 3 February about Northern Ireland, if such invitations were delivered why Lord Laird did not receive such communication; and why Lord Maginnis of Drumglass was invited only when he complained to the Northern Ireland Office; and whether they will supply a complete answer to the original question and list those Members of the House of Lords who were invited and explain why the question was not answered in full.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Invitations to the briefing for Peers on 3 February were delivered to the House of Lords by a Northern Ireland Office official on 23rd January.

    Invitations were issued to the following Peers, including Lord Laird and Lord Maginnis of Drumglass:

    The Lord Alderdice

    Rt Rev the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells

    The Lord Bew

    The Baroness Blood MBE

    Rt Hon the Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville CH

    The Viscount Brookeborough DL

    The Lord Browne of Belmont

    Rt Hon the Lord Browne of Ladyton

    Rt Hon the Lord Carswell

    Rt Hon the Lord Cope of Berkeley

    The Baroness Crawley

    The Lord Dubs

    Rt Rev the Lord Eames OM

    The Lord Empey

    The Lord Feldman of Frognal

    The Lord German OBE

    The Lord Glentoran CBE DL

    The Baroness Harris of Richmond DL

    The Lord Hay of Ballyore

    The Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill

    The Lord Hylton

    Rt Hon the Lord Kilclooney

    The Lord King of Bridgwater

    The Lord Laird

    The Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC

    The Lord Lexden

    The Lord Lyell DL

    The Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

    The Lord McAvoy

    Rt Hon the Lord Mawhinney

    Rt Hon the Lord Mayhew of Twysden QC DL

    The Lord Morrow

    The Baroness O’Cathain OBE

    The Baroness O’Loan DBE

    The Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve CBE FBA

    The Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale

    General the Lord Ramsbotham GCB CBE

    Rt Hon the Lord Reid of Cardowan

    The Lord Rogan

    Rt Hon the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

    The Lord Shutt of Greetland

    Rt Hon the Baroness Smith of Basildon

    Professor the Lord Smith of Clifton

    Rt Hon the Lord Tebbit CH

    The Lord Temple-Morris

    Rt Hon the Lord Trimble

    The Lord Willis of Knaresborough

    The list has been compiled of Peers known to be from Northern Ireland or who have shown an interest in its affairs, primarily through Parliamentary business or correspondence.

    Any Peers not included on this list who have an interest in Northern Ireland Affairs are invited to contact the Northern Ireland Office to be added to future invitations.

  • Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 26 January (HL4088), whether every prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm is automatically under the care planning system of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork process.

    Lord Faulks

    All Prisons must have procedures in place to identify, manage and support prisoners who are at risk of suicide or self-harm harm and to reduce that risk.

    National policy requires that any prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm must be managed and supported using the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process. ACCT is a multi-disciplinary process, and each prisoner subject to it is managed by a team composed of a range of staff drawn from the prison and other organisations, such as healthcare and education providers.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to allegations of the theft of almost 300 cats in the Suffolk area between June and December 2014.

    Lord Bates

    Allegations of criminal behaviour should be reported to the Suffolk Constabulary so they can decide whether to instigate a criminal investigation. The Government has introduced Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to ensure that police force priorities across England and Wales better reflect those of the communities they serve, and that the police respond effectively to crime committed in the local area.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the future prospects for the UK’s credit rating.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government’s long term economic plan has secured the UK’s strong credit rating, which has contributed to lower borrowing costs and help protect frontline services. In June 2014, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) revised the outlook on their UK AAA rating from negative to stable. The key driver cited by S&P was ‘Amid further progress in consolidating public fiannces, the UK’s economic recovery is broadening.’

    S&P have assigned the UK sovereign the top triple AAA rating since they first published a UK rating in 1978. Moody’s and Fitch have assigned the UK the second highest rating Aa1 and AA+ respectively, with a stable outlook. The Government remains committed to its long term economic plan to ensure that the UK’s strong credit rating is maintained.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support market towns.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government is fully committed to helping communities respond to the structural changes underway in our town centres. Since 2010, we have helped create over 360 town teams, including 27 Portas Pilots. We have funded successful initiatives such as ‘Love your Local Market’ and the Great British High Street Portal and awards. We have strengthened the role of Business Improvement Districts, introduced new permitted development rights and are tackling aggressive parking enforcement.

    In addition, approximately 600,000 businesses are benefitting from Small Business Rate Relief with approximately 400,000 paying no rates at all.

    We announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-16. That includes amongst other things:

    • doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further year (2015-16);
    • increasing the temporary discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 from £1,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16.

    Over half of the £1.4 billion package will go to retail.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the flag of the Commonwealth nations will fly on public buildings on Commonwealth Day 2015.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The flags of the Commonwealth nations will fly on Parliament Square to mark Commonwealth Day on 9th March. Commonwealth Day is a designated day for the flying of the Union Flag on all UK Government Buildings, so the Union Flag takes precedence over other flags on this day. Other public authorities may be participating in the independent initiative ‘Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth’ by flying the Commonwealth Flag from their buildings on Commonwealth Day.