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Tag: 2015

  • Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to countries which have not yet developed a national eye care plan.

    Grant Shapps

    In 2013, the World Health Assembly approved the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment 2014-2019 – Towards Universal Eye Health. This is a roadmap for WHO Member States and international partners with the aim of achieving a measurable reduction of 25% of avoidable visual impairments by 2019. One of the three key objectives of the plan is the development and implementation of integrated national eye health policies, plans and programmes to enhance universal eye health. The UK has signed up to the plan and existing UK programmes on avoidable blindness are contributing to achieving its objectives.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 18122, (a) how many times and (b) on what grounds Palestinian academics have not been given permission to attend academic conferences in the UK in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    Acquiring information on the number of times academics of Syrian nationality have been refused entry to attend an academic conference would involve examining each individual case record held by UK Visas and Immigration for the category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.

    In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide information on the reasons for refusing entry to the UK.

    All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made on the effect of the withdrawal of ESOL plus mandation funding ESOL on employment prospects for refugees.

    Priti Patel

    We are committed to supporting those who are unemployed to finding and keeping employment. In doing so, we ensure that any learning provision is delivered in the context of local employment and labour market demand. Data shows that the numbers of learners in England previously being referred to ESOL Plus (Mandation) provision was significantly lower than originally anticipated and the ESOL Plus (Mandation) budget was underspent in 2014/15.

    The decision to remove the specific English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Plus (Mandation) funding for 2015/16 enables providers, as independent organisations which manage their own budgets, to have the flexibility to use their adult skills budget more effectively to support jobseekers. They are able to continue to provide ESOL training for jobseekers where it is likely to result in the most effective labour market outcome, and jobseekers with poor English language skills can still be mandated to this training. All new claimants are screened for spoken English at their first interview and if below entry level 2, they are referred for a more detailed assessment and, if appropriate, training provision.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what funding is being made available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to investigate ongoing legacy issues.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The UK Government has agreed to provide up to £150m over five years (£30m a year) to support the work of the new legacy bodies proposed in the Stormont House Agreement. We remain committed to establishing the new bodies and I will continue to work with the political parties, Northern Ireland Executive and victims groups to achieve broad consensus for the legislation needed to do this.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether reducing incidents of negligent care will be the primary focus of the Government’s proposed package of reforms aimed at reducing costs in medical negligence litigation.

    Ben Gummer

    Over the past 10 years claimant legal costs as a percentage of damages paid by the National Health Service have increased from 32% to 52%. We believe that claimant legal costs are disproportionate to the value of the damages paid, sometimes representing up to 299% for lower value claims, and disproportionate to the defendant costs. Ultimately this all comes out money for front line services. The proposal for fixed recoverable cost in lower value clinical negligence claims was suggested by Lord Justice Jackson in his report Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales.

    The Department is working closely with partners and interested parties to develop a proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims. The Department’s proposal in the consultation is a maximum threshold level of £250,000, based on Lord Justice Jackson’s original proposal and with a view to covering at least 80% of all claims. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors. The results of a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and the consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances.

    The level of potential savings will ultimately depend upon the final maximum threshold level proposed. By making legal costs proportionate to the damages paid we would hope to save circa £80 million per annum. The Department is also working with various clinical groups looking at how the current level of incidents can be reduced. In terms of maternity our target to reduce avoidable harm by 50% and save 6,000 lives.

    The Department sees the fixed recoverable cost work as part of an overall strategic approach aimed at improving patient safety, improving customer care and improving litigation. Improving patient safety and reducing the incidents of harm is a key element of this.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the timeframe for repairing flood damage to the A591 in Cumbria.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport is providing funding of up to £2 million to help both Cumbria County Council and Lancashire County Council assess the local highway networks for which they are responsible for the damage caused by Storm Desmond. In respect to the A591 this will be for Cumbria County Council to determine the options for the repair of this road to ensure it can be opened as quickly as possible.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints relating to the implementation of charging for the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme have been received by (a) the Child Maintenance Service and (b) Child Maintenance Options.

    Priti Patel

    (a) The information requested is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    (b) Child Maintenance Options (CM Options) is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. They are also the gateway to the statutory Child Maintenance Service, ensuring parents who wish to access the 2012 Scheme are making a fully informed decision and have considered making their own arrangements first.

    CM Options will provide information on the charging associated with applications made to the 2012 scheme, but any dissatisfaction in relation to collections charges is directed to the Child Maintenance Service to respond.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with cruise ship operators on reducing the amount of food waste generated by cruise ships.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is in favour of reducing waste at source and supports efforts in the cruise ship sector to reduce, reuse and recycle waste including food waste.

    Such efforts are best led by the industry themselves in the first instance and officials are engaged with the cruise sector trade association over their work to improve the handling of wastes including food wastes.

  • Martin John Docherty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martin John Docherty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin John Docherty on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent health and safety checks for civilian personnel have been carried out at Faslane Naval Base.

    Mark Lancaster

    The health and safety management arrangements at Faslane are comprehensive and multi-layered with all staff empowered to intervene or stop work when unsure about any aspect of working practices. This is supported by a wide range of routine risk assessments, inspections and audits conducted by both an internal assurance team and external regulators.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each gender and age group were diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    2012-13 is the first year for which information is available. The number of people in England who were referred to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services with obsessive compulsive disorder as the recorded problem from 2012-13 to 2014-15 is given in the attached table Improving Access to Psychological Therapies: Number of referrals where the recorded problem was Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, by gender and age group 2012-2013 to 2014-2015.