Tag: 2015

Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons other than those working on the railway have been killed on (1) the UK railways, and (2) the London Underground, in each of the last 10 years, and in the current year so far; and how many of those were (a) suicides, (b) accidents to persons trespassing on the line, (c) accidents at level crossings, and (d) owing to other causes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Other than those working on the railway, the number of fatalities on UK Railways over the past decade and to date this year is noted in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Fatalities on UK Railways

	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16*
Suicide	225	225	207	219	243	208	250	246	278	292	142
Trespass	44	43	52	46	42	24	40	33	22	22	15
Level Crossings	13	10	10	12	13	6	4	9	8	11	0
Other	8	11	6	6	6	9	8	4	4	4	4
Totals	290	289	275	283	304	247	302	292	312	329	161

*April – September

The Department for Transport does not hold any information in relation to fatalities on London Underground.

01/01/2023

Yasmin Qureshi – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment he has made of the ability of local authorities in the (a) poorest and (b) richest areas in England to meet their social care spending needs through a two per cent council tax charge.

Alistair Burt

The Government recognises that councils have varying capacity to raise money through council tax. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will shortly publish for consultation the provisional local government finance settlement for 2016-17. This will include proposed changes to rebalance support, including to those authorities with social care responsibilities, by taking into account the main resources available to councils, including council tax.

01/01/2023
Lord Touhig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the relocation of families on staff retention in the Defence Medical Services.

Earl Howe

Based on the results of exit interviews, conducted when an individual leaves the Service, the majority of medical officers who choose to leave are citing stability as a reason.

The Surgeon General is aware of the reasons why medical officers are choosing to leave and is working with the heads of the single Service medical branches to address this.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that all parents with a child admitted to a neonatal unit have access to psychological and bereavement support.

Alistair Burt

The NHS locally is expected to ensure that appropriate facilities and services are in place to support parents following the illness or death of a newborn baby. NHS England’s Neonatal Critical Care Service Specification states that “the service will deliver the aim to improve both life expectancy and quality of life for newborn babies by:

– Delivering care in a family-centred way that seeks to minimise the physical and psychological impact of neonatal care on the baby and their family, for example by improving psychological outcomes and breastfeeding rates

– Providing an environment where parents are enabled to make informed decisions about treatment and become involved in the care of their baby / babies, thereby minimising the psychological trauma of premature or sick term babies.”

The MBRRACE-UK report on the confidential enquiry into term antepartum stillbirths, published on 19 November 2015, found a good standard of bereavement care documented as being given to parents immediately following birth. However, several areas for improvement were identified including the finding that there was wide variation in the availability of a specialist bereavement midwife, with only one third of case notes showing evidence of their involvement.

Following that report, and following a debate in the House of Commons on 2 November, (Official Report, columns 844-852) the Department is looking at the number of bereavement suites around the country and will engage with the NHS to reaffirm the importance of putting into practice existing guidance on bereavement including through mandated accountability processes.

Health Education England is working with partners to ensure that pre and post registration training in perinatal mental health is available to enable specialist staff to be available to every birthing unit by 2017.

01/01/2023
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to reduce the rate of odometer mileage fraud and increase conviction rates of those who fraudulently adjust mileage and sell on adjusted vehicles.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Advice on second hand car purchases features regularly in consumer awareness campaigns led by Trading Standards and the Citizen’s Advice Service. Consumers should call the Citizen’s Advice consumer helpline, which receives its funding from Government, for advice on fraud and to report alleged offences of misleading advertising or mis-selling.

The Citizen’s Advice Service will refer clear breaches of consumer law to Trading Standards and advise on reporting suspected fraud to ‘Action Fraud’, the national fraud database led by The City of London Police. ‘Action Fraud’ has received 67 complaints of mileage fraud since 2010 and actively campaigns for more fraud cases to be reported, with viable lines of enquiry, to equip the police to convict the culprits.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Police and Crime Commissioners have powers to instruct the police to impose fines on motorists found to be travelling at 71 mph in 70 mph zones.

Mike Penning

How the police enforce road traffic law, including in respect of speeding offences, is a matter for their professional judgement and operational discretion.

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) do not have powers to instruct the police in operational policing matters. The operational independence of the police is a fundamental principle of British policing. The Policing Protocol Order 2011, which sets out how the relationship between PCCs and Chief Constables should work, is explicit when it states that “At all times the Chief Constable, their constables and staff, remain operationally independent in the service of the communities that they serve.”

Regardless of the PCC in office, the police have the discretion to use their judgment when deciding who to investigate or arrest, and must by law be wholly without influence of the PCC in respect of operational policing.

01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government spent on each infrastructure project in Easington constituency in each of the last five years.

Greg Hands

The information requested is not held centrally. More than 100 infrastructure schemes have been delivered in the North East since 2010. There are 27 projects and programmes in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (published July 2015) with a total capital value of £5 billion, as well as cross-regional and UK-wide projects and programmes.

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people owe money to his Department in criminal courts charge impositions; what proportion of those people were convicted in (i) magistrates court and (b) a crown court; and what the total amount of outstanding debt is owed in criminal courts charges.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Data relating to the criminal courts charge for the period April to September 2015 will be published on 17 December 2015.

Enforcement action is taken against the total amount an offender owes and offenders are often ordered to pay more than one type of financial imposition.

The cost of enforcing the criminal courts charge cannot be separated from the total cost of enforcing all types of court ordered financial impositions.

It is not possible to identify how many people have had a criminal courts charge imposed in magistrates or crown courts or for specific offences without carrying out a manual search of all financial imposition accounts which would incur disproportionate costs.

01/01/2023
Baroness Redfern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of their measures to reduce long-term unemployment, and how many people previously classified as long-term unemployed have entered work since 2010, (1) nationally, and (2) in North Lincolnshire.

Lord Freud

Since 2010 long term unemployment has fallen by over a quarter of a million in the UK, and since the Work Programme began in June 2011, it has helped 459,370 long term unemployed people find sustained work. In North Lincolnshire alone, 1,550 long term unemployed people have found sustained work through the Work Programme.

The Department is continuing to modernise the way Jobcentre Plus delivers its services and has given responsibility to Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches – trusting them to assess the individual needs of people and offer the support and advice they think is best to get them back into work.

01/01/2023
Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of current progress against the air quality target of 40 microgrammes of NO2 per cubic metre; and whether the Government expects to meet that target.

Rory Stewart

We have improved air quality significantly over recent decades and the UK currently meets the EU limit values for almost all pollutants. We have consulted on our draft revised air quality plans for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), which set out a range of local, national and international actions to lower levels of harmful emissions and are currently analysing all of the responses received. By the end of the year we will submit the finalised plans to the European Commission outlining how the UK will meet the EU limit values for NO₂ including those of 40 micrograms of NO₂ per cubic metre in the shortest possible time.

01/01/2023