Tag: 2015

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the change in the publication date of the Mental Health Taskforce report to January 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    The independent Mental Health Taskforce has committed to delivering a costed five year mental health strategy for the NHS. Following the important announcement in the Spending Review that the Government is investing an additional £600m in mental health during this period, in line with the priorities identified in the strategy, the Taskforce is now finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be ready for publication by NHS England in the New Year.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the contribution international students studying in the UK make to British soft power overseas; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The presence of international students in the UK, and UK students going overseas, helps build relationships and understanding which have life-long effects. There is no limit on the number of bona fide overseas students able to study in the UK, and the UK is the second most popular destination for international students after the USA.

    The wider benefit to the UK of international students was considered in a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills research paper which highlighted the value of alumni becoming informal ambassadors for the UK, with the benefits increasing as they become more influential in their home country. Research by the British Council suggests that the average level of trust in the UK is 16% higher amongst those who had participated in cultural relations activities such as education.

  • 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 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many representatives from the criminal justice system are on the Mental Health Taskforce; and what areas of that sector each represents.

    Alistair Burt

    Membership of NHS England’s Mental Health Taskforce is drawn from the Department of Health and its arms-length bodies which hold critical responsibilities related to the planning and delivery of care. It also includes representatives from the third sector, providers and professional bodies.

    Senior representatives from other NHS England work programmes may be invited to advise, participate in decision making or contribute resources where there is a common purpose or objective. Kate Davies OBE, Director for Direct Commissioning of Health & Justice Services, NHS England has contributed to the work of the Task force.

    Further details about the organisations represented on the Taskforce can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/10/mh-tor-fin.pdf

    In recognition of the critical interdependencies with a wide range of services outside the health and care system, the Taskforce was asked to consider the enabling actions required from the wider system, including criminal justice.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will discuss with the government of Turkey measures to slow the rate at which refugees and migrants leave Turkey, and the feasibility of their having European interviews before they leave that country.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has strong bilateral relations with Turkey and regularly discusses a number of issues, including migration. The Government recently announced that the UK will resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament – this will include a number from Turkey. The Government supports Turkey’s efforts to manage the flow of illegal migration, and maintain an effective border between Turkey and the EU. Turkey is responsible for refugees on its territory and EU Member States are responsible for interviewing and deciding asylum claims lodged on their territories. There are no plans to create a mechanism to allow asylum interviews to be conducted in Turkey on behalf of EU countries.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle online fraud.

    Mike Penning

    The Government takes fraud including online fraud incredibly seriously. That is why we established the Economic Crime Command and the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency to tackle the most sophisticated international cybercriminals and fraudsters. We have also made significant investment in Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, both operated by City of London Police, to improve our intelligence on fraud and provide a better disruption response.

    We are also investing in regional and local police capabilities to tackle fraud. This includes, establishing cyber teams at a regional level to support the National Crime Agency and local forces in more complex digital investigations, training police officers and staff in how to identify and secure evidence on digital devices, and launching a network of police officers to offer advice on cybercrime and fraud to individuals and businesses across the country.

    Furthermore, as the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9billion. Many successful frauds and cybercrimes could be prevented. Through the most recent phase of our Cyber Streetwise campaign, we are helping to educate the public and businesses on the importance of adopting simple security measures, such as installing security software and stronger passwords.

    Industry also has a role to play in fraud and cyber crime prevention. That is why we are working with the banking sector and law enforcement agencies to more effectively disrupt fraudsters and protect victims. This work will be a key part of the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which the Government intends to publish next year.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce mandatory training on disability awareness for bus drivers, and if so, when.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We do not plan to mandate disability awareness training for bus drivers at this time. Disability Awareness Training remains available to all drivers as part of the periodic Certificate of Professional Competence training syllabus and the industry has reported that virtually all drivers have now undertaken the training.

  • Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and (b) Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hearing centres are projected to close in (i) London and (ii) the UK in the next five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are currently no plans to close any First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum hearing centres.

  • Lord Turnberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Turnberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conversations they have had with the government of Iraq about the recent attacks on Camp Liberty.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We strongly condemn the attack against the civilian residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq on Thursday 29 October. Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad raised the attack with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on Friday 30 October and made clear the importance of an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the incident and that all those responsible are brought to justice.

    In all of our engagement with the Government of Iraq on this issue, including at Ministerial level and in our statements, we have emphasised the importance of the Iraqi government doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty. We support the UN calls for more to be done to protect the residents.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many monthly Child Maintenance Service new applications from January 2015 were (a) former Child Support Agency (CSA) cases affected by reactive CSA case closure, (b) former CSA cases affective by proactive CSA case closure and (c) other new applications.

    Priti Patel

    From January 2015 to August 2015 there have been approximately 75,200 applications made to the Child Maintenance Service.

    6,800 of these were made by former CSA cases affected by reactive case closure, 22,000 were made by former CSA cases affected by proactive case closure and 46,400 were new applications.

    Notes:

    1. Total Child Maintenance Service applications can be found in table 1 of the Child Maintenance Service 2012 Scheme Experimental Statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme
    2. A system issue has been identified which impacts New Application Intake figures. Investigations have been carried out which identified incorrect duplication of New Applications. Figures have been adjusted to account for these duplicates
    3. Cases have been linked between CSA systems and CMS Systems using the paying and receiving parents national insurance numbers.
    4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

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  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department introduced the Welsh Language Scheme; when that scheme was last updated; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that scheme.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government is enthusiastically committed to the Welsh language and to providing Government services in the Welsh language where there is demand for them.

    The Cabinet Office is improving the quality of service for Welsh speakers through user research, conducted jointly by the Wales Office and the Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as feedback from subject matter experts in governmental Welsh Language Units.

    GDS has liaised with government departments on a user needs-based review of current Welsh-language content on GOV.UK. The content in Welsh will be more prominently promoted from the equivalent English-language pages.

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