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Tag: 2015

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that deafblind people unable to use a telephone or complete paper forms are able to submit claims for personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The claim process for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been developed involving claimants and people who support disabled people. This includes organisations which represent individuals with sensory impairments, including Sense, the deafblind charity, and Deafblind UK.

    The current process allows for someone else to start the application for PIP over the telephone with the claimant present when the call is made. If a face-to-face visit and a specialist interpreter is required we would seek to provide one.

    For the remainder of the process the claim forms, paper guidance and general information are available in a range of formats including large print, Braille, audio and British Sign Language.

    We are working with Sense and RNIB in the development of the PIP Digital Claim. This will involve deafblind people testing the design and giving us feedback which we will use to make improvements to the online journey.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many application forms for jobseeker’s allowance were given out by Wrexham Jobcentre in each of the last 24 months.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on UK business of the continuing disruption by migrants of rail and road freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Although it has made no specific assessment, the Government is well aware of the disruptive impact of migrants seeking to access the UK across the English Channel, both through the Channel Tunnel and on the shipping routes. The impact at the Channel Tunnel is particularly severe on the rail freight operators, who have seen a significant reduction in their business, and on Eurotunnel itself.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Care Quality Commission reports of acute hospital inspections in 2014 and 2015 recommended increased staffing levels.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. The CQC has provided the following information.

    CQC inspections of acute trusts include an assessment of how trusts are meeting the legal registration requirement on staffing.This requires providers to have sufficient numbers of suitably skilled and experienced persons to deliver safe care. The CQC can take enforcement action where providers do not meet the registration requirements.

    For acute National Health Service trusts and acute NHS foundation trusts, the CQC found 38 breaches of the staffing registration requirement in 2014 and four between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2015. These figures include CQC re-inspections and include locations for specialist acute trusts.

    The CQC does not provide a rating of staffing levels and does not make recommendations on the appropriate number of staff a trust should employ.

    The CQC has issued 106 ratings of acute NHS trusts and acute NHS foundation trust hospital sites in 2014, and 97 in 2015 up to 30 September 2015. These figures include locations with more than one published rating in the period and include locations for specialist acute trusts.

  • Baroness Kramer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Kramer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been paid to external research and polling companies by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in each month since October 2014, and to which companies payments were made.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Details of research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. BIS has published its research strategy and details of the monitoring and evaluation of its programmes. Details can be found at the ‘BIS evaluation strategy’ and ‘BIS research strategy’ sections of the GOV.UK website, which are attached.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what military hardware and components have been imported into the United Kingdom from Israel in the past 12 months.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    Firearms, firearms component parts and ammunition are the only items of military equipment subject to import licensing controls.

    In 2014, BIS Import Licensing Branch issued 10 import licences for imports from Israel totalling 240 firearms and 2760 firearms component parts.

    In 2015 (to 30th September), BIS Import Licensing Branch issued 20 import licences for imports from Israel totalling 1858 firearms and 3260 firearms component parts.

  • – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 16 September (HL1984) which states that decisions on plant closures are a commercial matter for individual plant owners”

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Electricity Act (1989) and Gas Act (1986) place obligations on the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority to secure long-term viable supplies and to secure that all reasonable demands for electricity are met.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the case of planning applications for schemes involving hydraulic fracturing that have been determined by the Secretary of State after being called in as a result of the failure of the Minerals Planning Authority to do so within 16 weeks, any conditions that require further approval of details of the scheme will be dealt with by application to (1) the planning authority, or (2) the Secretary of State.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    I refer the noble Lord to the written ministerial statements of 16 September, HLWS194 and HLWS195, which set out a number of measures to enable planning applications and appeals relating to shale gas and oil to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

    These include a commitment by the Secretary of State to actively consider calling-in shale planning applications. Separately, a scheme has been put in place to identify local planning authority underperformance in respect of their determination of oil and gas planning applications. The scheme uses the same threshold of underperformance set out in the document ‘Improving planning performance – Criteria for designation’, of 50% or fewer applications being made within the relevant statutory time limit, or such extended period as has been agreed in writing by the applicant. The statutory time limit applies once an application has been validated by the local planning authority. Where an authority is identified as underperforming under the scheme, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will actively consider calling-in for his determination oil and gas planning applications that are validated by that authority, in accordance with existing policy.

    The decision on whether to call-in any application will be taken in line with current call-in policy. Any applications relating to shale gas that are called-in would be prioritised for urgent resolution.

    If the Secretary of State were to grant a planning permission in respect of a called-in application, then any details of the scheme that are the subject of planning conditions would need to be submitted to and approved by the relevant local planning authority.

  • Lord Moynihan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Moynihan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moynihan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as part of their water resource management responsibilities, water companies have been asked to look beyond their boundaries to secure sufficient water supply to satisfy future customer demand.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ofwat and the Environment Agency published joint water resources management planning guidance in 2012. This included the expectation that water companies should consider all options to balance supply with demand, including water trading, cross boundary solutions and third party supplier solutions. Updated guidance is currently being prepared for publication for the next planning round.

  • Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans are in place to reduce the current average wait for children before a diagnosis of autism.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism make it clear that families should wait no more than three months to start diagnosis. Every part of the National Health Service should be adhering to these guidelines.

    There are new arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs, introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014. These require clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities to make joint arrangements for ensuring a coordinated assessment of the range of eligible children’s needs, and the development of an Education, Health and Care plan to provide necessary support.

    NHS England’s Children with Complex Needs Implementation Board is leading working on ensuring robust and accountability mechanisms are in place to ensure delivery and to allow NHS England to hold CCGs to account for performance.