Tag: 2015

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Russian government on strengthening cultural links between Russia and Scotland.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK and Russia have a long history of cultural collaboration that encourages and strengthens people-to-people links.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports the annual ‘Days of Scotland’ cultural festival in Russia, and is hosting a reception at the Consulate General in St Petersburg this year. FCO officials have discussed Scotland’s cultural and and people-to-people links with Russian Government officials.

  • Glyn Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Glyn Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Welsh language is taken into account in his Department’s policy development processes.

    Matthew Hancock

    We expect all policy making to take account of the needs of all parts of the UK, including Wales, and continue to build up our policy making capability to do so. The government fully recognises the importance of the Welsh language in providing services to citizens. For Cabinet Office, the priority is to make sure that GOV.UK carries high quality Welsh content and to provide the tools for other parts of government to publish in both languages.

  • 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 steps he is taking to support and promote the (a) use and (b) continued production and purchase of existing off-patent drugs.

    George Freeman

    Existing arrangements allow patients to access the medicines which are appropriate for their care, including off-patent drugs. Doctors may prescribe any drug, whether within the terms of its license or not, where it best meets the individual clinical needs of a patient. Medicines are already prescribed legally, safely and appropriately outside their licensed indications to large numbers of National Health Service patients.

    The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, NHS England, the pharmaceutical industry and others in the supply chain to help ensure continuity in the supply of medicines to patients.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints about Concentrix HM Revenue and Customs received from tax credit claimants in the last financial year.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs received 159 complaints about Concentrix from tax credit customers during the last financial tax year.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rosie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when HM Courts and Tribunals Service Delivery Director for the North West region was informed of the inclusion of courts in Lancashire on the list of courts being considered for closure under the proposals announced on 23 June 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    A Written Ministerial Statement announcing the consultation on the closure of 91 courts in England and Wales was laid on 16 July 2015. Until that announcement, no final decision had been made on courts being considered for closure.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the £600 million additional funding for mental health announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 will be allocated to (a) talking therapies, (b) perinatal mental health support and (c) crisis support.

    Alistair Burt

    The additional £600 million for mental health over the next five years announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement is additional to current spending. The levels of funding in individual years and the specific mental health service improvements it will fund will be determined in the new year, once the Mental Health Taskforce has reported.

  • Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Oliver Heald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Heald on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether home educators are permitted under her Department’s guidance to receive help from education authorities (a) through the SEN budget and (b) for looked after children, through the pupil premium; and what financial help is available to guardians who wish to home educate children with SEN.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities can use the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant to fund provision for home-educated children, where it is appropriate to do so. Guidance is available from the Department of Education on funding provision for home-educated children.

    As set out in the ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice’[1], where local authorities and parents agree that home education is the right provision for a child or young person with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, then the local authority must arrange the special educational provision set out in the plan.

    In cases where the EHC plan gives the name of a school or type of school where the child will be educated and the parents decide to educate him or her at home, the local authority is not under a duty to make the special educational provision set out in the plan, provided it is satisfied that the arrangements made by the parents are suitable.

    Where parents choose to home educate children who have special educational needs but do not have EHC plans, local authorities should work with parents and consider whether to provide support in the home to help the parents make suitable provision.

    The presumption is that looked-after children should access full-time learning in an education setting that best meets their needs. In the exceptional circumstances where a decision is made to home educate a looked-after child it would be for a local authority’s Virtual School Head, who is responsible for promoting the educational achievement of looked-after children, to decide how pupil premium funding should be used to support the young person.

    Where a child’s carer has a special guardianship order, that person would have full parental rights over the child and would therefore be entitled to whatever home education support the local authority would normally provide to a parent, as described above.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education.

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the projected savings for his Department arising from military pay restraint in the 2015-16 financial year and in each of the next five such years; and what proportion of those savings will arise from (a) pay rises limited to one per cent and (b) the ending of military commitment bonuses.

    Mark Lancaster

    The estimated military paybill saving in 2015-16 from pay restraint is £98 million.

    The Summer Budget confirmed that the Government would fund public sector pay awards at 1% for four years from 2016-17 onwards. The estimated military pay saving is £1.8 billion over the next five years as detailed below.

    Figures are all in £millions.

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    80

    180

    366

    602

    625

    Commitment bonuses which have not proven effective are to be withdrawn in full with effect from 1 April 2021. The estimated saving from ending commitment bonuses is £118 million over the next five years as detailed below.

    Figures are all in £millions.

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    5

    10

    20

    35

    48

    “

  • Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Iain Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the names are of the in-patient mother and baby units specialising in caring for women during the perinatal period that were open in 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    Mother and Baby Units open in 2010:

    1. Newcastle Beadnell Ward, St George’s Park, Morpeth, Northumberland
    2. Leeds Mother and Baby Unit, Leeds Partnership Foundation Trust
    3. Manchester Anderson Ward, Wythenshawe Hospital
    4. Nottingham Perinatal Psychiatric Services, Perinatal Inpatient Unit
    5. Derby Mother and Baby Psychiatric Unit, Derby City General, Uttoxeter Rd, Derby
    6. Leicester Mother and Baby Unit, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital (closed 2014)
    7. Stafford Brockington Mother and Baby Unit, St George’s Hospital Foundation
    8. Birmingham Mother and Baby Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
    9. Welwyn Garden Thumbswood, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Howlands, Welwyn
    10. Hackney Mother and Baby Unit, Mermaid Ward, City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health, Homerton Hospital, Homerton Row
    11. North Middlesex Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Coombe Wood Annexe, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health
    12. Beckenham Mother and Baby Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Rd, Beckenham, Kent
    13. Bristol New Horizon Mother and Baby Centre, Southmead Hospital
    14. Basingstoke Fairways House, Parklands Hospital (Moved to Winchester in 2013)
    15. The Eastbourne Clinic Mother and Baby Unit, Eastbourne, East Sussex (this unit was open in 2010 but not referenced in report closed 2014)
    16. Mother and Baby Unit, Godden Green Clinic, Godden Green, Sevenoaks, Kent (closed in 2010)
    17. York Mother and Baby Unit, Bootham Park Hospital (closed temporarily in 2010 and remained closed)

    Source: National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report 2010

    This information updates previous information submitted in relation to the number of mother and baby units open in 2010. Previous answers were drawn from the Specialised Mental Health Services (all ages) Definition No 22 (2009), which states that “there are 10 MBUs in England” but does not include a list of the 10 units.

    The updated answer is taken from the 2010 National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report. The Department recommends using the latter as the source of information on services in 2010 as this report provides more detail, specifying the name and location of the units.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what specialist skills and opportunities were available to trainees at (a) MOD Grantown-on-Spey, (b) MOD Llanwrst, (c) MOD Fairbourne, (d) MOD Crickhowell were in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    RAF personnel are set generic Leadership, Management, Air Power, Communication, Force Protection, Ethos, Military Skills and Organisational objectives. Training delivered at the Force Development Adventurous Training Centres helps deliver these objectives.