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Tag: 2015

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Family Test was announced by my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister in August 2014, and introduced in October 2014. DWP published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and the Department follows that guidance:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf.

    The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance.

    The objective of the Test is to introduce a family perspective to the policy making process, specifically to make the potential impacts on family functioning and relationships explicit.

    DECC has not applied the Test to date but is considering where it is appropriate to do so. In addition where relevant, DECC already publishes in Impact Assessments analysis of the impact of policies on energy bills across different types of households.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to encourage applications to university technical colleges.

    Nick Boles

    Like all academies, each university technical college (UTC) is responsible for publicising their school and encouraging applications. Officials from the Department for Education and the Baker Dearing Educational Trust provide UTCs with advice to support pupil recruitment, drawing on the best practice from UTCs and other new schools. Statutory guidance to schools on careers guidance is clear that they should allow UTCs to engage with their pupils on their premises. This guidance can be found at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools. This careers guidance should ensure pupils have information about their full range of education and training options.

    “

  • Lord Forsyth of Drumlean – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Forsyth of Drumlean – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean on 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the minimum wage in sterling in each EU member state.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    In the Low Pay Commission’s National Minimum Wage Report 2015, Appendix 3 outlines details of 2014 adult minimum wage rates in 12 comparator countries, including EU member states. Minimum wages vary in level and structure between countries given the context of their economic and labour market conditions. These comparisons are broken down in the table below.

    Comparison of Adult Minimum Wage, by Country, End 2014

    In national currency expressed as hourly ratea In UK £, using: Date of last uprating % increase in national currency from 2012/2013 to 2014 Age full minimum wage usually appliesb
    Exchange rates PPPs
    Australiac AUS$16.87 9.37 8.44 Jul-14 3.0 21
    Belgium € 8.67 6.88 7.80 Dec-12 0.0 21
    Canadad C$10.39 5.79 6.29 e 1.5 16
    France € 9.53 7.54 8.57 Jan-14 1.1 18
    Greece €3.52f 2.73 3.82 Feb-12 0.0 25
    Ireland € 8.65 6.84 7.20 Jul-11g 0.0 20
    Japanh JPY780 4.46 5.31 Oct-13 2.0 15/18i
    Netherlands 8.63j 6.83 7.59 Jul-14 1.2 23
    New Zealand NZ$14.25 7.12 7.05 Apr-14 3.6 16
    Portugall € 2.91 2.30 3.33 Oct-14 4.0 16
    Spainl € 3.72 2.94 3.82 Jan-12 0.0 16
    United Kingdom $6.50 6.50 6.50 Oct-14 3.0 21
    United States US$7.25m 4.45 5.63 Jul-09 0.0 20
    Source: British Embassies and High Commissions, Low Pay Commission (LPC) calculations of country minimum wage rates in pounds sterling using exchange rates and PPPs. PPPs derived from Comparative Price Levels (CPLs), OEDC Main Economic Indicators, September 2014. Exchange rates, Bank of England month average spot exchange rates, September 2014.

    Notes:
    a. For countries where the minimum wage is not expressed as an hourly rate, the rate has been converted to an hourly basis assuming a working time of 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week and 173.3 hours per month.

    b. Exemptions and special rules apply in many cases. For example, in France and the US the full adult rate applies to young workers with tenure of more than six and more than three months respectively.

    c. The Australian Federal National Minimum Wage Order, effective from first pay period on or after 1 July 2014.
    d. Weighted average of provincial/territorial rates.
    e. Date of last uprating varies between provinces.
    f. Minimum hourly rate for ‘employees’. Different hourly rate operates for ‘blue collar’ workers.
    g. The hourly minimum rate was reduced from €8.65 to €7.65 for adult workers on 1 Feb 2011. That reduction was reversed and the hourly rate went back up to €8.65 on 1 July 2011.

    h. Weighted average of prefectural rates.
    i. Age 15 to receive the regional minimum wage. Age 18 to receive the sectoral minimum wage.
    j. Excludes 8 per cent supplement for holiday pay. Minimum wage based on a 40 hour working week. There are different minimum wage rates for those working a 38 or 36 hour week.

    k. For all employees aged 16 and over, who are not either on the training minimum wage or the starting out minimum wage

    l. Not including annual supplementary pay of two additional months of salary for full-time workers.
    m. Federal minimum wage. Tipped employees receive a lower minimum wage depending on state laws.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication, Towards a one nation economy: A 10-point plan for boosting rural productivity, how many rural exception sites for starter homes will be made available in 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    Rural exception sites are identified by communities to meet a local housing need. We are currently consulting on the provision of Starter Homes on such sites and subject to the outcome will bring forward new policy in 2016. We will be supporting communities in bringing these sites forward.

  • 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 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their experience with the collapse of Southern Cross, what contingency plans they have in the event of a significant withdrawal of large and medium-sized providers of residential and nursing home care from the provision of publicly-funded social care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    It is unacceptable for vulnerable people who need care and support to have their services interrupted if their provider fails financially.

    The Care Act 2014 placed duties on local authorities to step in and ensure people’s needs continue to be met if their provider fails financially and their services cease. These duties apply to all people receiving care services, regardless of who pays for them, and there are reciprocal arrangements in all countries of the United Kingdom. The Government has supported local authorities with this duty and recently published guidance for local authorities to assist them in developing contingency plans for managing provider failure. This guidance was co-produced with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Local Government information Unit.

    The Care Act also established the Care Quality Commission (CQC) with a new function to oversee the finances of the largest and most difficult to replace providers. This oversight function would provide early warning to relevant local authorities in the event that one of the providers in the CQC scheme was likely to fail financially and their services cease. This would allow local authorities time to implement contingency plans. This CQC Market Oversight scheme is now fully functional.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the agreements reached at the 2015 Valetta Summit on migration on the flow of refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea.

    James Duddridge

    At the Valetta Summit, EU and African leaders made clear their shared determination to provide a comprehensive solution to irregular migration. They agreed an Action Plan that sets out a clear strategy to deal with the root causes of irregular migration and respond to its consequences. The UK will now use our chairmanship of the EU-AU “Khartoum Process” on migration to drive forward delivery of that Plan in the Horn of Africa. The EU launched a £1.3billion Trust Fund at Valetta to improve stability in Africa and tackle the drivers of migration. Over £400 million of that funding will be spent in the Horn of Africa, including Eritrea. This, and other EU and bilateral funding, will be used to build the region’s capacity to fight organised immigration crime, and to help create jobs, security, better living standards and better governance. The UK has been clear to the government of Eritrea that poor respect for human rights is also a driver of migration. At the UN Human Rights Council and in bilateral discussions we have set out to the government of Eritrea steps we believe it needs to take to improve its human rights record, including fulfilling its commitment to limit National Service to 18 months.

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

    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 recent assessment they have made of morale in the Defence Medical Services.

    Earl Howe

    The Defence Medical Services (DMS) Continuous Attitude Survey (CAS) was completed in June 2015 and contained specific questions about morale.

    The survey included a question to personnel asking "What is the level of morale like where you work?" 35% of respondents reported that the level of morale is either ‘high’ or ‘very high’ with 34% reporting it as ‘neutral’.

    The results of the CAS have been considered by the Surgeon General and DMS Board.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) increase the rate of consent to deceased organ donation and (b) measure changes in attitudes towards deceased organ donation with regular public surveys.

    Jane Ellison

    The ‘Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK strategy’, published in July 2013, set out our plans for the United Kingdom to be among the best in the world for organ donation and transplantation. It also highlighted an aim to increase the consent/authorisation rate to donation and to make donation an accepted part of end of life care. Progress is measured through registration on the NHS Organ Donor Register and through actual donor numbers. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) the organ donation organisation for the UK evaluates the effectiveness of its communications in raising awareness, and having a positive impact on public perceptions of deceased organ donation, through regular tracking research.

    NHSBT is taking a number of steps to improve the rate of consent to deceased organ donation. As part of the behaviour change communication strategy, NHSBT has stressed in publicity and promotional material the important role conversations about organ donation within families have in improving consent rates. Families are encouraged to discuss organ donation, to talk about their decisions and to join the organ donor register. This includes the newly designed organ donor card. The message during National Transplant Week this year was the need to have conversations with families about donation.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Bradshaw – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of modern Class 170 diesel trains that would be released for re-deployment if the route from Hurst Green to Uckfield were electrified.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We have not done an assessment but electrification of the route is expected to be considered as part of the Network Rail led Electrification Route Study.

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to exempt people with long-term serious conditions from prescription charges for repeated renewals of their medication.

    Alistair Burt

    A person is entitled to apply for a medical exemption certificate exempting them from the prescription charge if they suffer from:

    – a permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy, or ileostomy) requiring continuous surgical dressing or requires an appliance

    – forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison’s disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential

    – diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism

    – diabetes mellitus (except where treatment of the diabetes is by diet alone)

    – hypoparathyroidism

    – myasthenia gravis

    – myxoedema

    – epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy

    – continuing physical disability which prevents the patient from leaving their residence without the help of another person

    – they are undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer or the effects of cancer treatment.

    There are no plans to change this list.

    Other extensive exemption arrangements are in place, in England, including those based on income, which support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. For those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.