Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent people migrating illegally from Haiti to the Turks & Caicos islands.

    James Duddridge

    Through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund the Ministry of Defence has delivered maritime training to the Turks and Caicos Islands to build maritime police capacity as well as to facilitate their participation in Exercise TRADEWINDS 16, an annual regional exercise sponsored by the United States. This will enable Turks and Caicos Islands maritime police to work and train in partnership with the Royal Bahamian Defence Force and the United States Coastguard, to develop mutual capacity, relations and integration to help deter and detect irregular migration. Her Majesty’s Government has also funded an Immigration Adviser between September 2013 and March 2015 to help build Turks and Caicos Island’s capacity to deal with the full range of migration challenges.

    Our Embassy in Haiti continues to press the Haitian government to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding to establish agreed arrangements for repatriations and better communication on migration issues. In parallel, our Embassy in Haiti will be taking forward work on a public diplomacy campaign in Northern Haiti to highlight the dangers and risks of attempting the dangerous sea crossing.

  • 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 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL3988), what is the expected difference, in each county, between an increase of two per cent of the council tax levied by counties in two-tier areas, and the same increase in total if levied by both the counties and all the districts in each of those counties.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The flexibility is not being offered to districts, and so we have not calculated figures for a hypothetical difference. Councils, including non-metropolitan districts, can set any council tax increase they like. If the increase is above the threshold approved by the House of Commons, they must obtain the consent of their local electorate in a referendum.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many female inpatient mental health beds there were on (a) Saturday 7 November 2015 and (b) Sunday 8 November 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not hold this information centrally. However we know that there were beds available across the country the weekend in question. Where there are shortages of beds, we would expect trusts to respond appropriately to any increase in demand. Providers and commissioners work in collaboration to ensure that they secure the most appropriate beds or places as close to home as possible.

    The Government has made it clear that beds must always be available for those who need them. We have set out in our Mandate to NHS England that plans must be put in place to ensure no one in mental health crisis will be turned away.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 9 December (HL4036), what assessment they have made of whether it is appropriate for the Chief Executive of NHS England to take part in a political debate programme, and of whether doing so is consistent with the requirement for senior public servants to remain politically neutral; and whether they plan to issue new guidance to NHS England on the basis of that assessment.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, is not a civil servant and it is for him to take decisions on invitations received. There are no plans to issue guidance to NHS England.

  • Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve children’s oral health in England through (a) diet and (b) other methods.

    Jane Ellison

    Our comprehensive childhood obesity strategy, due to be published in the new year, will be looking at areas for potential action including diet and sugar consumption which are risk factors in poor oral health and tooth decay.

    The Department is working with NHS England to test a possible new dental contract which will increase access and improve oral health. Building on earlier pilots we are about to move to a new stage of testing by establishing prototypes. The new dental prototypes will continue to test a clinical care pathway focussed on preventing future dental disease. This approach includes offering patients personalised care plans and advice to both patients and parents on diet and good oral hygiene.

    In 2014 Public Health England (PHE) published an evidence informed toolkit for local authorities to support their work on oral health improvement among children and young people. PHE also published an evidence based toolkit for dental teams to support preventive advice and treatment for their patients. These toolkits include oral health improvement programmes and advice focussing on a healthier diet and reducing the consumption of free sugars.

    In addition these toolkits include other methods to improve oral health, for example tooth brushing programmes and fluoride varnish application.

    The PHE report Local authorities improving oral health: commissioning better oral health for children and young people: An evidence-informed toolkit for local authorities is attached and can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321503/CBOHMaindocumentJUNE2014.pdf

    The PHE report Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention is attached and can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/367563/DBOHv32014OCTMainDocument_3.pdf

    “

  • Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Campbell-Savours – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell-Savours on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, before 13 November, the B1 planning class remained a requirement for offices that also qualified for a residential planning designation.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.

  • Jo Cox – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jo Cox – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of a seven-day elective service in the NHS on the number of NHS staff available (a) Monday to Friday and (b) on a weekend; and how he estimates staffing levels will change.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government’s current plans for ensuring the same quality of care in hospitals on all days of the week are focussed on those with urgent and emergency care needs at weekends and those who are already inpatients. It is for individual health economies to determine if they wish to provide elective care at weekends, for example if they can use more efficiently additional resources that are available to meet urgent and emergency care needs.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Sturdy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the VAT status of care providers to zero-rated in order to assist them in meeting the cost of complying with the national living wage.

    Mr David Gauke

    Care services provided by certain bodies are subject to a mandatory VAT exemption under EU VAT rules.

    EU VAT rules do not allow the introduction of any new zero rates without the unanimous agreement of all 28 Member States on the basis of a proposal from the Commission.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to Question 10091, what the implications for his policies are of the decision by NHS England to remove (a) the pancreatic cancer drug Abraxane and (b) 22 other drugs and indications from the Cancer Drugs Fund List.

    George Freeman

    We remain committed to continuing to invest in the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

    NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Fund. Following appeals and further discussions with pharmaceutical companies, 18 drug and indication combinations, including Abraxane for pancreatic cancer, were removed from the national CDF list on 4 November 2015.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the extent of financial and operational links between the social housing sector in Scotland and England.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has made no such formal assessment. The Social Housing Regulator for England’s Regulatory Framework only applies to registered providers of social housing in England. Responsibility for housing is a devolved matter.