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Tag: 2015

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Solutions for Public Health on developing a draft commissioning policy for everolimus.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has a service level agreement in place with Solutions for Public Health (SPH), a NHS public health unit which forms part of the NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit.

    NHS England has commissioned SPH to provide impartial clinical evidence reviews. These clinical evidence reviews are undertaken independently in line with an agreed methodology and are a critical component in informing evidence based clinical commissioning policies for directly commissioned specialised services, based on the latest published research.

    However, SPH does not have any subsequent involvement in the development, drafting or consideration of NHS England’s clinical commissioning policies.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the traffic commissioners in enforcing bus service reliability and punctuality.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has regular discussions with the Senior Traffic Commissioner and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (who provide evidence to the Traffic Commissioners on bus punctuality) on bus punctuality enforcement issues. I am pleased to note that in England 83% of non-frequent bus services ran on time in 2014/15 compared to 80% in 2009/10.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the position of cyber crime in the published lists of priorities of Police and Crime Commissioners.

    Mike Penning

    Decisions about setting police priorities are rightly a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), tailored to the needs of the local community, and for Chief Constables to determine the most appropriate response in their areas.

    PCCs set the strategic direction and objectives of the force through the Police and Crime Plan which must have regard to the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) set by the Home Secretary.

    The SPR, published in March 2015, sets out the national threats and the appropriate national policing capabilities required to counter those threats. It quotes cyber crime as a National Security Strategy Tier One risk. Section 5 of the SPR, on capability, sets out what the police will need to be doing in order to achieve various outcomes. It specifically states the capabilities needed to conduct complex investigations, including cyber crime, that require specialist resources, including the capability to do so across boundaries.

    Cyber Security, including combating cyber crime, is a top priority threat to national security. That is why, through the National Cyber Security Programme, we have invested over £90 million over the last five years to bolster the law enforcement response. As the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9 billion over the next five years.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming which benefit have been referred to Help to Work since April 2014.

    Priti Patel

    The number people claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal credit who have been referred to Help to Work between April 2014 and June 2015 is approximately 162,000. This breaks down as 51,430 people referred to Community Work Placement, 70,510 referred to Mandatory Intervention Regime, 40,060 referred to Daily Work Search Review.

    The Help to Work quarterly statistics: provides Official statistics to June 2015 on the numbers of people joining the Help to Work Scheme. This information can be found on the Gov.UK website.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-work-quarterly-statistics

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  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to Help to Work since April 2014 who have participated in (a) Community Work Placements and (b) Daily Work Search Review have subsequently been referred to the Mandatory Intervention Regime.

    Priti Patel

    The information is in the table below:

    Period April 2014 to June 2015

    1 Number of People Referred to Help to Work

    2 Number of People Subsequently Referred to the Mandatory Intervention Regime

    Proportion of People Subsequently Referred to the Mandatory Intervention Regime

    Community Work Placement

    51,430

    5,706

    11%

    Daily Work Search Review

    40,060

    15,230

    38%

    1. Source of Information: The Help to Work quarterly statistics provides Official statistics to June 2015 on the numbers of people joining the Help to Work Scheme. This information can be found on the Gov.UK website.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-work-quarterly-statistics

    1. Source of Information: This management information does not form part of any official statistics and is intended for DWP internal use only.

    “

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to tackle race inequality.

    James Wharton

    The Prime Minister outlined his 2020 vision last Spring, which set out challenging Government targets across Whitehall to increase BAME opportunities, including take-up of apprenticeships, employment, and recruitment in the police and armed forces.

    On 26 October many of the country’s top employers, including the Civil Service, committed to ‘name blind’ recruitment processes.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Northern Ireland Executive has the option to continue to issue its own Renewables Obligation Certificates.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Decisions regarding the issuing of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) are matters for Northern Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to determine in accordance with the Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009.[1]

    [1] S.R. 2009/154, as amended by S.R. 2010/134, S.R. 2011/169, S.R. 2013/116, S.R. 2013/174 and S.R. 2014/146.

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with Foreign Office Ministers on the implementation by UK Overseas Territories of public registers of beneficial ownership.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK continues to lead the way on beneficial ownership disclosure and to encourage others to do the same. We are having discussions at both Ministerial and official level with the Overseas Territories to emphasise the importance of this agenda. Any system should meet the following criteria: UK and domestic law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; these competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in, without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is under way.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many home visit assessments were offered to personal independence payment claimants in Scotland in the last 12 months; and whether his Department has declined to provide such assessments to any claimants who have requested such assessments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2015-11-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the scoring system for the Personal Independence Payment assessment for enhanced rate mobility is compatible with enabling more disabled people to work, particularly in rural areas.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Government is committed to giving all disabled people the opportunity to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions. Work is an important part of this, which is why the Government has committed to halving the disability employment gap, requiring us to transform policy, practice and public attitudes.

    Enhanced rate mobility payments within Personal Independence Payment are intended for those who face the greatest barriers to their mobility. We believe that the assessment criteria, which was designed in close consultation with disabled people and disability groups, achieve this by targeting support to those who need it most.

    We currently have no plans to review how the PIP assessment for enhanced rate mobility is working.

    Access to Work (ATW) provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. The type of support provided is tailored to an individual’s needs and can include travel to work, support workers and specialist aids and equipment.