Tag: 2015

Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that all academy schools, their leaders, boards of directors, advisers and heads of department, adhere to all aspects of equality legislation in the UK.

Lord Nash

Academy trusts, and the academies they run, are required to adhere to all aspects of equality legislation. The Department’s model funding agreement for academy trusts, available on GOV.UK, states that the academy trust must ensure the academy promotes principles that support equality of opportunity for all. The Education Funding Agency is responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for holding academy trusts to account for meeting the terms of their funding agreements.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the implementation of European Professional Cards for doctors does not inhibit his Department’s ability to perform background checks on doctors from European countries and to ensure that they meet the medical qualification standards required by the NHS.

Ben Gummer

The European Professional Card (EPC) will not be introduced for doctors until 2018 at the earliest. The European Commission will review the effectiveness of the EPC process for the first wave of professions, which includes nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists, before any decision is taken to extend the EPC to other professions.

In the United Kingdom, independent health regulators are responsible for performing checks on health professionals from European countries to ensure that they meet agreed standards of fitness to practise. For doctors, this role is undertaken by the General Medical Council.

Although under the EPC system the responsibility for carrying out initial background checks will transfer to the home regulator of the professional, UK regulators will continue to be able to carry out registration checks, and can require additional information if there are any justifiable doubts about a registrant’s application or fitness to practise.

The UK Government has negotiated new safeguards to ensure that the high standards we expect from staff in this country are met by those from elsewhere in Europe who come to work here. These include:

– the introduction of an EU-wide alert mechanism which regulators will use to inform other countries of professionals who have been restricted from practising; and

– applying language controls for healthcare professionals from the EU so that regulators are able to ensure that professionals have the necessary knowledge of English before they are able to work in the UK.

January 1, 2023
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 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS Improvement will consider further applications from NHS trusts to become foundation trusts.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We will continue to discuss the role of foundation trusts (FTs) in the National Health Service with the leaders of NHS Improvement as the organisation moves to a more aligned approach to the regulation and oversight of FTs and NHS trusts.

The clinical and economic sustainability of all trusts is of paramount importance, and NHS Improvement will continue to support NHS providers to determine the most appropriate means of securing their long-term future.

The NHS Trust Development Authority is continuing to refer organisations to Monitor for FT authorisation decisions. No decisions have yet been made about how this activity will be undertaken by NHS Improvement from 1 April 2016.

January 1, 2023
Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of 16 November 2015, Official Report, column 393, on the Paris terrorist attacks, what capabilities for Border Force maritime aerial surveillance are needed; and whether those capabilities are fewer than under the present contract.

James Brokenshire

For security reasons we do not disclose details of the surveillance capabilities available to Border Force. Border Force will ensure it retains appropriate air surveillance capabilities to meet continuing operational needs.

January 1, 2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current foodbank provision in London.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Government does not hold data on numbers of food banks. We commissioned a study to look at this issue in 2013. The “Review of Food Aid in the UK” published in February 2014 was a short, literature based study designed to improve understanding of food aid provision in the UK, who makes use of it, and why. It was not a complete assessment of food aid as it found a variety of types of food aid, with mostly community-led provision responding to local needs.

Defra does not estimate numbers of households experiencing food insecurity. There is no single definition of food insecurity. The factors that impact on household food security are complex and include economic, social and environmental issues.

January 1, 2023
Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he intends to respond to the report of the Children’s Commissioner, Protecting children from harm, published in November 2015.

Caroline Dinenage

I refer my Honourable Friend to the response of the Secretary of State for Education to this question.

January 1, 2023
Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support local authorities in training staff to identify and support those with mental health problems, and to link services in local areas to support mental health strategies.

Lord Prior of Brampton

It is important that local authorities employ individuals who possess the necessary skills to engage effectively with those with mental health problems. Local authorities should make training opportunities available to all staff.

Mental health social workers empower individuals with mental illness and their families, carers, and communities to lead fulfilling, independent lives. On 1 September this year applications for a new fast track route into mental health social work careers opened for an intensive on-the-job programme called Think Ahead. The programme aims to attract promising students and graduates into mental health careers.

Health Education England, working with NHS England, aims to ensure that there are sufficient therapists and other staff with the right skills to support the identification of mental health issues.

Community mental health services, which include community mental health teams, crisis and home resolution teams, assertive outreach teams and early intervention in psychosis teams, all have a key role in supporting people with mental health problems either to avoid the need for in-patient care or to provide them with on-going support once in-patient treatment is no longer necessary.

From April 2016, the first set of mental health waiting time standards will be introduced which requires that 50% of people experiencing a first episode of psychosis are treated with a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved package of care within two weeks of referral; 75% of adults referred to the national programme for psychological therapies will be treated within 6 weeks, and 95% within 18 weeks.

This is supported by an £80 million funding package for 2015-16 from NHS England’s budgets, breaking down as:

‒ £40 million recurrent funding to support delivery of the early intervention in psychosis (EIP) standard;

‒ £10 million to support delivery of the new psychological therapies standards; and

‒ £30 million to support liaison psychiatry in acute hospitals.

The Time to Change initiative is an ambitious national programme being delivered by leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness to reduce stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems. The Department, the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief have all provided funding for the programme.The Department funded the campaign with over £16 million between 2011-12 and 2014-15 and is continuing to fund the programme with £2.5 million in 2015-16. Time to Change continues to work with people with experience of mental health problems to challenge attitudes and discrimination; run social marketing campaigns and work with local and regional partners on community-led activity. To date, more than 350 organisations across England have committed to tackling mental health stigma and discrimination in the workplace.

January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has put in place to fund walking and cycling infrastructure once the Local Sustainable Transport Fund ends in March 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department has a statutory obligation to deliver the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). The Department has commenced the early first stages of work to develop the first CWIS by summer 2016 following a formal consultation in spring 2016. Detailed content of this Strategy is not yet available.

The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking by investing over £300m during this Parliament. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition programme in full, and funding the Bikeability cycle training programme, which increases cycle proficiency amongst school children. It also includes a new ‘Access’ fund for sustainable travel building on the legacy of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund. It is too early to say what the details of this new Access fund will be as discussions are ongoing, but information is expected to be available in the coming weeks.

January 1, 2023
Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to ensure that civil servants respond to comments in the 2014 report on the UK’s International Climate Fund (ICF) by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact that pressure to spend ICF funds quickly has not always been conducive to effective delivery.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government’s response to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s review is available online. We accepted or partially accepted all of ICAI’s recommendations and we are on track to implement or have already implemented the actions set out in this response.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 12462, when he expects to announce further policy details of the Youth Obligation.

Priti Patel

The detailed policy design is still under development. We will make further announcements over the coming months as we develop the policy detail.

January 1, 2023