Tag: 2015

  • Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of her Department’s programmes to help reduce the incidence of avoidable blindness and low vision.

    Grant Shapps

    DFID uses evidence on the cost-effectiveness of health interventions to inform DFID investment decisions. This includes the World Health Organisation CHOICE (CHOosing Interventions that are Cost-Effective) project that provides detailed cost-effectiveness estimates of a large number of interventions to reduce risks to health, including many causes of blindness. DFID’s aim is to maximise health gains through targeted, cost-effective health interventions that are delivered through strengthened, more efficient and effective health systems.

    Every DFID project is rigorously appraised before approval. During implementation each project is regularly monitored to examine whether the targeted results are on track, whether the project represents value for money and remains cost effective, and what, if any, corrective action needs to be undertaken. DFID considers alternative approaches and cost-effectiveness, amongst other factors, whenever we make an investment. The best value for money in a given country at a given time will depend on many factors, including the local context and what others are doing.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the makes and models of cars bought by the Government Car Service in each of the last five years; and what the carbon dioxide output of each of those cars is.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The attached table lists the make, model, and carbon dioxide emissions for cars procured by the Government Car Service in the last five years.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received on the Action for ESOL Manifestos.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not received any representations on the Action for ESOL Manifesto.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when officials of her Department last visited the asylum seekers staying at the Britannia Hotel in Wigan.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office regularly conducts visits of all asylum accommodation, including hotels used as contingency, in collaboration with our COMPASS providers. The latest inspection of the Brittania Hotel in Wigan by Home Office officials took place on Thursday 10 December 2015.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of fixing recoverable costs in medical negligence cases to a maximum of £250,000 on a claimant’s ability to pursue a case.

    Ben Gummer

    Over the past 10 years claimant legal costs as a percentage of damages paid by the National Health Service have increased from 32% to 52%. We believe that claimant legal costs are disproportionate to the value of the damages paid, sometimes representing up to 299% for lower value claims, and disproportionate to the defendant costs. Ultimately this all comes out money for front line services. The proposal for fixed recoverable cost in lower value clinical negligence claims was suggested by Lord Justice Jackson in his report Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales.

    The Department is working closely with partners and interested parties to develop a proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims. The Department’s proposal in the consultation is a maximum threshold level of £250,000, based on Lord Justice Jackson’s original proposal and with a view to covering at least 80% of all claims. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors. The results of a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and the consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances.

    The level of potential savings will ultimately depend upon the final maximum threshold level proposed. By making legal costs proportionate to the damages paid we would hope to save circa £80 million per annum. The Department is also working with various clinical groups looking at how the current level of incidents can be reduced. In terms of maternity our target to reduce avoidable harm by 50% and save 6,000 lives.

    The Department sees the fixed recoverable cost work as part of an overall strategic approach aimed at improving patient safety, improving customer care and improving litigation. Improving patient safety and reducing the incidents of harm is a key element of this.

  • Dawn Butler – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dawn Butler – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will publish its equality impact assessment of the Immigration Bill.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government has already published a number of equality impact assessments relating to the Immigration Bill covering residential tenancies, driving, banks, appeals and support. They can be found online:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-bill-2015-16

    Further equality statements in relation to labour market enforcement and the English language requirement in the public sector will be published in the New Year together with the Government’s responses to the recent public consultations on these subjects.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been for owning a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in each of the last two years.

    George Eustice

    The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for possession, without exemption, of a prohibited dog, in England and Wales from 2013 to 2014 (latest available), can be viewed in the table below.

    Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for possession, without exemption, of a prohibited dog (1), England and Wales, 2013 to 2014 (2)(3)

    2013

    2014

    232

    216

    (1) An offence under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
    (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
    (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

    Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services – Ministry of Justice.

    Ref: PQC 599-15 to PQ 16503

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her assessment is of the implications for the peace process of recent reports of an increasing number of threats being made against community workers in Belfast by the UDA and other loyalist groups.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    As set out in the Assessment of Paramilitary Groups published in October 2015, individual members of loyalist paramilitary groups continue to engage in criminality and seek to exercise community control through violence and intimidation. However, the overall assessment remains that these organisations as a whole remain committed to their ceasefires. I welcome the commitments contained within the Fresh Start Agreement aimed at achieving a Northern Ireland society free from the malign impact of paramilitarism.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-11-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of people who are earning below the lower earnings limit and have more than one employer and do not qualify for national insurance contribution deductions.

    Mr David Gauke

    Estimates of the number of individuals who work in more than one job but do not pay national insurance, even though their total earnings are above the lower earnings threshold, are available to view at the following internet address:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-coverage-lower-earnings-limit-and-multiple-jobs

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s most recent estimate is of the number of illegal firearms in the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not maintain records of firearms seized by police forces in England and Wales.The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of illegal firearms in use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.