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Tag: 2015

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to (a) simplify and (b) increase the effectiveness of regulatory standards on trade in horses.

    George Eustice

    Defra is taking a number of steps to simplify and strengthen existing rules for horses. These include implementation of new tighter EU legislation for equine identification, introduction of a new UK equine database recording horse identification information, and continuing to take an intelligence-led and risk based approach to enforcing the regulatory framework which relates to the domestic and international trade in horses.

  • Lord Mancroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mancroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the national framework for hepatitis C, due for release in spring 2015, will be published, and why it has been delayed.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    A date for publication of the hepatitis C improvement framework has not yet been set. Public Health England continues working with NHS England and Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) to establish a process of monitoring hepatitis C treatment access and uptake.

    Following their establishment in August 2015, ODNs will need to continue to be developed as a mechanism for ensuring equitable access to expert multidisciplinary team care and treatment for hepatitis C. ODNs are working to develop their plans, based on the published service specification and with the support of local specialised commissioning teams and regional clinical directors of specialised commissioning. Work is also underway to establish by February 2016 a national network of ODN clinical leads to share good practice. In addition, the draft hepatitis C improvement framework includes a number of areas pertinent to ODN operation and will therefore support further development of their role.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions are in place to safeguard the welfare of pregnant women in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

    James Brokenshire

    Pregnant women are not normally detained. The only exceptions to this general rule are where removal is imminent and medical advice does not suggest the woman’s baby is due before the expected removal date.

    Fitness to travel by air is assessed on a case by case basis using guidance from the International Air Transportation Association (IATA). The guidance states that for a single, uncomplicated pregnancy, travel could be appropriate without a medical certificate up to 37 weeks.

    Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre has a dedicated Care Suite that offers enhanced care to vulnerable and pregnant women, staffed by a dedicated female member of staff. Midwives from NHS Bedford Hospital Trust visit the centre once a week and the centre’s GP or nurses can be accessed 7 days a week and can refer any specific concerns to the ante natal clinic, Early Pregnancy Unit in hospital or other appropriate service if necessary. The centre also has a Pregnancy Liaison Officer who provides a range of support and welfare services to pregnant detainees.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish data about actual spending on mental health services for each Clinical Commissioning Group in England in 2015–16.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    As part of the mental health parity of esteem requirement for 2015-16, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were asked to plan for an increase in spend on mental health services at least in line with the increase in their overall funding allocation for the year, which set a higher bar than achieving a real terms increase in spending, though not all CCGs were able to achieve this target. 192 of the 209 CCGs achieved a real terms growth in mental health planned spend measured against the 1.4% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator for 2015-16.

    The list attached shows which CCGs have achieved real terms increases in spending on mental health in 2015-16.

    The final data for CCGs’ spending on mental health in 2015-16 will be submitted to NHS England by commissioners in May 2016, and it is anticipated NHS England may be in a position to provide final spend information by around the end of the first quarter of 2016-17.

    NHS England has not yet published CCG planning guidance for 2016-17. Consideration will be given to holding commissioners to account for spending on mental health.

    CCG and NHS England mental health spending information is now routinely collected as party of NHS England’s monthly financial reporting regime. Monthly financial reports by CCGs are scrutinised and quality assessed by NHS England’s regional teams. The monthly reports also form part of the CCG assurance process. NHS England is also in the process of setting up the financial plan assurance process for 2016-17, which will incorporate the review of planned spending on mental health services for future years.

  • Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the level of funding for the Big Lottery Fund.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office engages with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly on a range of important issues, including the Big Lottery Fund. The Parliamentary under Secretary of State, Lord Dunlop, met with the Big Lottery Fund in Edinburgh on 14 September.

  • Earl Baldwin of Bewdley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Earl Baldwin of Bewdley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their view on the merits of reducing the concentration of fluoride in water supplies subject to fluoridation schemes from 1.0 to around 0.7 part per million, in the light of the experience of countries such as Canada, the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England advise that there is no current evidence from monitoring data to support a variation of the target level for fluoride in drinking water.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) the amount of any underspend expected against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year and (b) his Department’s latest forecast of total annually managed expenditure spend for this year is; and what the forecasts were for those sums at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 and March Budget 2015.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office is not forecasting any underspend against departmental expenditure limits in the current fiscal year. There was no underspend forecast at the time of the Summer Budget 2015 or the March Budget 2015 either.

    The Department’s latest forecast of total annually managed expenditure is £5 million, in line with the budget for 2015-16.

  • Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount they plan to make available to local authorities to add to the Better Care Fund in each year from 2016–17 to 2019–20 inclusive, in the light of the commitment to make £1.5 billion available by 2019–20 set out in paragraph 2.124 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The annual breakdown of the £1.5 billion that will be made available to local authorities by 2019-20 to add to the Better Care Fund, as announced by the Chancellor in the 2015 Spending Review, has not yet been finalised. More detailed figures will be announced in due course.

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the reason is for the time taken to publish the terms of reference of the review of the localisation of council tax benefit.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The details of the Chair and terms of reference for the independent review of local council tax support schemes will be published in due course. A Review team comprising four full-time equivalents staff has been set up to provide project and analytical support to the Chair.

    The Review will be completed by the end of March 2016.

  • Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which trades unions will be represented in the proposed Institute for Apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    The independent Chair and Board members of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be appointed in accordance with the public appointments process.