Tag: 2015

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what training her Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps she has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of her Department; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Defra has a team leading on the Family Test who collaborate with the Department for Work and Pensions. The team work closely with staff across the Department to raise awareness, following the guidance on the family test issued by DWP.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Baroness Randerson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions since the National Assembly for Wales acquired full legislative powers (1) the Welsh Government has sought permission under Minister of the Crown functions for proposals within Welsh bills, and (2) such permission was refused.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Secretary of State consent to amend Minister of the Crown functions has been sought in relation to seven of the Acts passed by the Assembly since 2011. The Government has refused such consent once, in relation to the Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Act 2012, having suggested an amendment to the drafting which would have enabled the UK Government to give consent but was rejected by the Welsh Government.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulation of the quality of social care paid for through Direct Payments.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to meet an individual’s eligible needs for care and support. If a person is assessed as being eligible for care and support from their local authority, they must be provided with a care plan to help decide the best way to meet their needs. People may choose to take a direct payment with which to purchase their own care and support, or they may wish to receive services arranged by their local authority, or a combination of both.

    It is important that people are enabled to be flexible to choose care and support from a diverse range of sources. This may include registered care providers but also “non-service” options, such as information and communication technologies and personal assistants. Providers of adult social care must register with the national regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is responsible for regulating the quality and safety of services. However, non-care services, including personal assistance services, are not required to register with the CQC.

    Statutory guidance issued under the Care Act makes it clear that local authorities should provide people with appropriate advice concerning their use of direct payments, including how they differ from traditional services and provide helpful information such as the difference between purchasing regulated and unregulated services, for example, personal assistants, to help people make fully informed decisions on how best to meet their needs.

  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress he has made on publishing a statutory code for pub companies; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government published the first part of a two-part consultation on the statutory Pubs Code on 29 October 2015 at the GOV.UK website.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13471, if he will assess the proposed standardised packaging of tobacco against the revised one in, two out framework criteria published by the Better Regulation Executive in its publication entitled, Better Regulation Framework Manual, published in March 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    Government policies, including standardised packaging of tobacco products, are assessed against the Better Regulation Framework in place at the time.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many independent tribunals have been brought to challenge mandatory reconsiderations of tax credits by Concentrix in each month since that company has been under contract with his Department.

    Damian Hinds

    The following table outlines the number of applications HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received from HM Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) as a result of a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix.

    Month

    Number of applications HMRC received from HMCTS following a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix

    March 2015

    3

    April 2015

    1

    May 2015

    6

    June 2015

    5

    July 2015

    3

    August 2015

    3

    September 2015

    19

    Prior to March 2015 HMRC did not receive any applications from HMCTS challenging a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mike Penning

    The amount of funding allocated for research and development will be determined through the Ministry of Justice’s internal budget setting process. This process has not yet concluded so the amount is not known.

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the change in the number of firefighter posts was in Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service in 2013-14.

    Greg Clark

    Information on the number of full time equivalent firefighter posts for each fire and rescue service and for each year, together with greater detail, is available in the Department’s Fire and Rescue Operational Statistics publication (Table 2 for full time equivalent posts) at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-and-rescue-authorities-operational-statistics

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of teachers who will be trained in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the demand for qualified teachers in active service within state-funded schools in England each year using a range of assumptions, including projections for the numbers of pupils in schools and the number of teachers expected to leave the sector. The TSM then estimates the number of postgraduate Initial Teacher Training places required in England to meet this demand, given the number of entrants expected via routes other than Newly Qualified Teacher (for example, entering as a re-entrant) and the proportion of trainees that will either fail to complete training or gain employment post-training.

    The 2016/17 version of the TSM, which was used to inform the 2016/17 ITT recruitment process, along with a user guide explaining the methodology in detail, is available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model