The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities permit taxi drivers to charge for carriage of a wheelchair; and how many local authorities specify in their licensing rules that such charges may not be levied.
Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport does not hold information regarding individual licensing authorities’ taxi tariffs or licensing rules.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to improve employment support for people who are classed as economically inactive due to long term sickness or disability.
Priti Patel
In the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 25 November, the Chancellor announced a real terms increase in funding to help people with health conditions and disabilities including those in receipt of the support component of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), return to, and remain in, work.
Government will be launching a new ‘Work and Health Programme’ – restructuring our current provision so that it provides the best possible support for people with health conditions or disabilities, including those classed as economically inactive due to long term sickness or disability.
At least £115m of funding will go to the Work and Health Unit, including a work and health innovation fund to test new ways to join up health and employment to help people with disabilities and health conditions to return to and stay in work.
Government will publish a White Paper in the New Year that will set out further reforms to improve support for people with health conditions and disabilities and further reduce the disability employment gap.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working households in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) universal credit have marginal deduction rates of (i) less than 70, (ii) between 70 and 80, (iii) between 80 and 90 and (iv) more than 90 per cent on earned income above the level of the applicable disregard.
Priti Patel
In 2010 we estimated that in the existing system half a million people had marginal deduction rates of 80% or above. See page 55 of Universal Credit: Welfare that Works report, below:
Further information is not available as we have not updated these estimates.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency can license the drug bevacizumab in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration in the absence of an application by the company that holds the patent.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an executive agency of the Department of Health, is responsible for the licensing of medicines. The MHRA is only able to assess and grant a licence for a particular use of a medicine once an application has been made and supporting data have been submitted to demonstrate that the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine are satisfactory for the intended use.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many new cases of psychosis were diagnosed in (a) the UK, (b) London, (c) each London borough and (d) each health trust in London in each year between 2010 and 2015.
Alistair Burt
Sadiq Khan (Tooting):
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many new cases of psychosis were diagnosed in (a) the UK, (b) London, (c) each London borough and (d) each health trust in London in each year between 2010 and 2015. [14122]
ALISTAIR BURT
Data on new cases of psychosis is not collected at United Kingdom level.
Data for England is provided in the table below:
|
England Level Data |
|
|
Financial Year |
The number of new cases of psychosis served by early intervention teams |
|
2014-15 |
10,186 |
|
2013-14 |
10,475 |
|
2012-13 |
10,375 |
|
2011-12 |
10,099 |
|
2010-11 |
10,312 |
Data for new cases of psychosis in London is provided in the table below:
|
Financial Year |
The number of new cases of psychosis served by early intervention teams |
|
2014-15 |
1,993 |
|
2013-14 |
2,177 |
|
2012-13 |
2,198 |
|
2011-12 |
1,952 |
|
2010-11 |
2,051 |
Data on a London borough level is not available centrally.
Data for new cases of psychosis diagnosed in each London Trust are provided in the attached table.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made in the Comprehensive Spending Review of the incidence of mesothelioma in the constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Spending Review has not made assessments on the incidence, or expected incidence, of mesothelioma in constituencies covered by the Northern Powerhouse.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of changes to stop and search guidelines on the level of knife crime in (a) north east Essex and (b) other areas with a higher than average incidence of such crime.
Mike Penning
No assessment has been made of the effect on knife crime or other offences of the amendment to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Code of Practice A which makes clear what ‘reasonable grounds for suspicion’ are and that officers would be subject to conduct or performance procedures as a result of misusing the power. The changes came into force on 19 March 2015. More generally, statistical evidence does not suggest a clear relationship between changes in the use of stop and search and knife crime. The Home Office continues to monitor levels of knife crime but the latest figures show that nationally it is 17% lower than in June 2010, and although it has seen a slight rise of 4% in the last year (to June 2015) it remains close to its lowest level since data was first collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Attorney General, how many employers were (a) charged with and (b) convicted of a criminal offence by the Crown Prosecution Service for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation in each of the last five years.
Robert Buckland
Data held centrally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), together with information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the National Minimum Wage (NMW), shows that in the financial year 2010 – 2011, no employers were charged with a criminal offence for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation but one employer was convicted from an earlier charge. One charge was made in the financial year 2011 – 2012 and one conviction was made in 2012 – 2013. No cases were charged or convicted in 2013 – 2014 and one case was charged in 2014 – 2015.
The majority of employers identified as paying below the National Minimum Wage pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they do not do so, HMRC pursues recovery through the civil courts. For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour HMRC operates a policy of selective and exemplary criminal investigation action as part of a wider enforcement strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the procurement process for legal aid duty solicitor contracts; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Shailesh Vara
13 temporary staff were employed through the Brook Street Agency and a Crown Commercial Services Recruitment framework and were selected by the Legal Aid Agency and interviewed by permanent members of staff to ensure their suitability. These individuals made up 19% of the overall assessment team. In addition contracts were entered into with legal practices to provide additional resource.
The key criteria for employment were analytical skills and the ability to conduct a qualitative assessment. A legal or procurement background was considered an advantage but not essential, given that they would be supervised by permanent staff from the Legal Aid Agency.
The procurement was undertaken in line with the Public Contract Regulations and applicant organisations were required to pass a number of stages of assessment in order to be considered suitable to hold a duty provider contract. The criteria against which organisations were assessed is set out in the Information For Applicants which govern this procurement process.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will assess the extent to which grants made by his Department to third parties are used for activities designed to influence his Department, other departments or Parliament.
Joseph Johnson
Grants made by my Department and its partner organisations can only be used for lawful activities and for purposes which have been approved by Parliament – for example to promote business, research and innovation. Any unauthorised activities should not attract grant support.