Tag: 2015

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate the Government has made of the number of training places for nurses required by the NHS in each of the next five years.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) was established and has been mandated by the Government to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service. As one of the arm’s length bodies to help improve the quality of care delivered to patients, it ensures that the future workforce is available in the right numbers with the right skills, values and competencies to meet patient needs today and tomorrow.

    HEE operate an annual comprehensive planning process to ensure their investments meet the future needs of the population. This process determines the education commissioning volumes for the following financial year and are published in the Workforce Plan for England.

    The current workforce plan for England for 2015-16 published in December 2014 can be found at the following link:

    http://hee.nhs.uk/work-programmes/workforce-planning/

    HEE will publish its next annual National Workforce Plan for England by the end of December 2015.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 13434, on Cabinet Committees: Airports, under what circumstances (a) full minutes, (b) dates of and (c) other information about such meetings would be published.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    Information relating to the proceedings of recent Cabinet Committee meetings is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. Cabinet Committee minutes and other papers, which are not subject to national security or other restrictions, will be released to The National Archives after 20 years once the transition from the 30 to the 20-year rule has been complete. A detailed list of the Cabinet Committees, including their membership and remit, can be found on Gov.uk.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of disability hate crime offences committed in each of the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office has collected disability hate crime data from the police since 2011/12.

    In 2011/12, the police recorded 1,748 disability hate crime offences, 1,911 in 2012/13, 2,006 in 2013/14, and 2,508 in 2014/15.

    As stated by the Office for National Statistics, action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard has led to improved recording of crime over the last year, especially for violence against the person offences. Together with a greater awareness of disability hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in disability hate crimes recorded by the police.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has allocated to each local authority in London per head of population in each year since 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    My Department does not hold the information in the format requested.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much of her Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    My Department has no funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 for research and development expenditure. Funding for research and development expenditure in Northern Ireland is allocated to NI Executive Departments.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of the recent visit to the MFA Tidespring by Lady Boyce; and whether his Department plans for Lady Boyce to make further such visits.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The cost to the Ministry of Defence of Lady Boyce attending the naming ceremony of RFA Tidespring was £5,418. This includes the cost of transfer to the airport from Lady Boyce’s home and the flights of Lord and Lady Boyce to the Republic of Korea (ROK).

    Costs of accommodation and transfers within the ROK were funded separately under the contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). The costs of the naming ceremonies arising under the contract are not separately identified.

    There are no plans to invite Lady Boyce to act as the Lady Sponsor for the remaining three ships in the class. Lady Boyce will, however, be invited to attend the planned events scheduled for when the ships arrive in the UK.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what relative weight he plans to give to (a) deliverability and (b) affordability in assessing the option for increasing aviation capacity in the South East; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to prevent illegal timber entering Europe.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra is committed to tackling the trade in illegal timber. We implemented the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which makes it an offence to place illegally logged timber on the EU market for the first time, and the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation, which aims to combat illegal logging and improve the supply of legal timber to the EU. The EU FLEGT Regulation establishes Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber producing countries. Once VPAs have been agreed, timber producing countries will issue exports with a ‘FLEGT licence’ which verifies the timber’s legality.

    The Government’s Timber Procurement Policy also requires Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies to procure timber and timber products that are both legal and sustainable.

    Domestic forests provide about 20% of the UK’s timber needs. They are managed in accordance with the UK Forestry Standard, the reference standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. Moreover, about 85% of UK timber production is independently certified, providing additional assurances of sustainability. We are strongly supportive of initiatives such as Grown in Britain, which create new sustainably managed woodland to increase the supply of British timber destined for use by local people and businesses. Timber and wood products labelled with the Grown in Britain logo are from trees and forests assured as compliant with the UK Forestry Standard.

    I welcome the fact that UK companies and other bodies are making similar commitments to trade in both legal and sustainable timber by signing up to WWF’s Forest Campaign.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long it takes for the average claimant to receive a first payment of universal credit from the time they became unemployed in those areas where universal credit has been introduced.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit entitlement is assessed and paid in arrears. Payment is made on a fixed date 7 days after the end of the monthly assessment period.

    Where a claimant’s earnings or income is insufficient to meet their living costs and in order to safeguard against financial hardship before the first UC payment, an advance payment of up to 50% of their UC award may be made.

    Personal Budgeting Support advice is also available to all claimants.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of elderly people experiencing loneliness.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government has not made an estimate of the number of elderly people experiencing loneliness, but recognises that in an increasingly mobile and more fractured society, isolation and loneliness is a significant social issue.

    Through the Care Act 2014 the Government has placed a duty on local authorities to have measures in place to identify people in their area who would benefit from universal services to help reduce, delay or prevent needs for care and support. This includes needs that may arise from loneliness and social isolation.

    Given the complexity of loneliness and the different ways that people are affected there is no single solution that can tackle loneliness and having a range of interventions and solutions is helpful. The Department has funded the Social Care Institute for Excellence to develop and run the Prevention Library which includes examples of emerging practice to prevent, reduce or delay peoples care and support needs from deteriorating.

    The Department has supported a ‘digital toolkit’ for local commissioners, which was developed by the Campaign to End Loneliness, and is now incorporated in their guidance Loneliness and Isolation: Guidance for Local Authorities and Commissioners. This supports commissioners in understanding, mapping and commissioning for loneliness and social isolation in their communities, and includes promising approaches to tackling loneliness.

    We are building a better understanding of how prevention can maintain people’s wellbeing and the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions is expanding. Through the Prevention Library local authorities can learn from emerging practice, and exchange ideas and experience of the impact of information, advice and befriending services.