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Tag: 2015

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

    Lord Blencathra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any grant application by or award made to Action on Smoking and Health by the Department of Health in the last five years was not considered first by the Voluntary Sector Grants Hub.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    All grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the last five years have been awarded under Section 64 powers. There are a range of different circumstances under which it would not be appropriate or represent best value for money to run a competed scheme. The grants awarded to ASH have been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The assessment of any grant application for funding from ASH is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team. Following this assessment, the Grants Hub makes a decision regarding whether or not to approve the application. These policy assessments contain policy advice to Ministers and so are not made public. Approvals are required from Ministers and from HM Treasury or are subject to a Departmental approval process that has been agreed with HM Treasury.

    To identify relevant representations the Department has received would result in disproportionate cost.

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps his Department took to ensure accuracy of the £2 billion quoted as the cost to insurers of whiplash claims; and if his Department will conduct its own estimate of that cost.

    Dominic Raab

    The Government received and analysed data from numerous sources when formulating the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The quoted figures were arrived at by combining published industry estimates along with data from government and other sources.

    Government data, compiled by the Compensation Recovery Unit at the Department for Work and Pensions, indicates that claims volumes remain at historically high levels, some 50% higher than in 2006. Over the same period accident rates have fallen by around 26%. This is clear evidence that the system is in need of further reform, which is why on 25 November, in his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced tough new measures to control costs and reduce the number of unnecessary whiplash claims.

    The Government will consult on the detail of the new reform package in due course and the consultation document will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the viability of (1) the care home sector, and (2) the private home care provider sector, in the light of local government expenditure restraint and the implementation of the National Living Wage.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government has engaged with the care sector, including care providers, to understand the impact on the market arising from amongst other things, local authority commissioning behaviour and the introduction of the National Living Wage. This has included a number of deep dive sessions held with both care home businesses and providers of home care services.

    As part of its spending plans for the next four years the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20. Local authorities will be able to introduce a new Social Care Precept, allowing them to increase council tax by 2% above the existing threshold. The Government estimates this could raise nearly £2 billion a year for adult social care by 2019/20.

    Councils will need to increase the price they pay for care to cover costs for care providers such as the National Living Wage. To support this, the Social Care Precept puts money raising powers into the hands of local authorities which are best placed to target resources based on their understanding of their local care market.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to enable smaller London airports to provide extra aviation capacity for the South East of England over the next 10 years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government set out in its 2013 Aviation Policy Framework that it would like to see airports making best use of their existing capacity. However, we recognise that the development of airports can have negative as well as positive local impacts, including on noise levels. We therefore consider that proposals for expansion at these airports should be judged on their individual merits, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental impacts.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether members of the security forces are included within the concept of parity of esteem as required by the Belfast Agreement 1998.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Government believes in parity of esteem for all the people of Northern Ireland.

  • Angela Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Crawley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Crawley on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many welfare claimants were sanctioned between 21 and 27 December 2015; and how many such claimants were single parents.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not yet available.

    The Department publishes Official Statistics on Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), (including JSA Lone Parents) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) sanction decisions and these statistics are published via the following link:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

    The latest set of Official Statistics was released on 11 November 2015 and covers all decisions made to 30 June 2015.

    Guidance on how to extract the information required from Stat-Xplore can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    The latest set of Official Statistics on Income Support Lone Parent sanctions was released on 11 November 2015 and covers all decisions made to 30 June 2015. A summary of this data can be found here

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/income-support-lone-parent-regime-figures-on-sanctions-and-work-focused-interviews–2

    “

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of withdrawal of ESOL Plus mandated funding on the ability of refugees in the UK to access ESOL courses.

    Nick Boles

    The decision to withdraw the 2015/16 ESOL Plus (Mandation) funding was taken in the knowledge that providers could use their adult skills budget to continue to provide ESOL training for jobseekers and therefore mitigate any adverse impact. Our data showed that the numbers of claimants being referred to ESOL Plus (Mandation) provision was significantly lower than originally anticipated.

    Adults who are granted refugee status or humanitarian protection become eligible for skills funding through the adult skills budget, as any other English resident and are not subject to the normal 3 year qualifying period.

  • 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 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of his Department’s budget for employment support has been allocated to the Work and Health Programme for each of the next four years.

    Priti Patel

    In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a new Work and Health Programme to provide specialist support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities and those unemployed for over 2 years after current Work Programme and Work Choice contracts end.

    The Department is currently undertaking its normal prioritisation process to determine how funding secured at the Spending Review is allocated on an annual basis.

  • Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to reduce the Big Lottery Fund budget for Scotland.

    Tracey Crouch

    In line with the arms’ length principle of lottery distribution, the Big Lottery Fund itself decides how much of its funding to allocate to Scotland and to each of the other home nations.

  • Lord Dubs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Dubs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider providing a 24-hour mental health helpline for serving soldiers.

    Earl Howe

    Combat Stress provides a free 24-hour service for the entire military community (Service personnel, veterans, and their families) when seeking confidential and safe help and advice about Service-related mental health issues. The MOD is the single biggest contributor of funding to Combat Stress.

    In addition, the MOD has a contract with the Big White Wall, a 24-hour online community which provides safe, anonymous support to anyone struggling with mental health issues. It is free for all serving personnel, veterans, and their families.

    There are no plans for MOD to provide an additional mental health helpline.