Tag: 2015

Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of changes to the use of the Young Persons Railcard for peak time services on people holding that card.

Claire Perry

The administration of all the national cards, both mandatory and voluntary, is performed by a council, run as part of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). The council agrees the conditions of the schemes and any changes to the mandatory schemes have to be approved by the Secretary of State. All Train Operating Companies are obliged to participate in such schemes under the terms of their franchise agreements.

As it is for ATOC to suggest any change to the schemes, it would be for them to make such an assessment when proposing any change which would be reviewed before approval by the Secretary of State.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Wildlife Crime Unit in preventing wildlife crime in the UK and in rescuing animals illegally held in captivity.

Rory Stewart

The Government appreciates the important work which the National Wildlife Crime Unit carries out in tackling wildlife crime. It has not, however, conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of its contribution to preventing crime or rescuing animals.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s publication, Mandatory Programmes official statistics: May 2011 to August 2015, published on 25 November 2015, how many people who joined the Mandatory Work Activity scheme during this period finished their work placement early as a result of taking up paid employment.

Priti Patel

Mandatory Work Activity is a supportive programme designed to help claimants who need extra support from a short work placement to re-focus their job search activity and gain further experience of work. Unemployed Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit claimants are referred for up to 4 weeks work experience and will participate on the placement for up to 30 hours a week.

The number of referrals and starts is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working.

An impact assessment of Mandatory Work Activity was published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-work-activity–2) which considered referrals to the programme in the period May to July 2012. An evaluation of Mandatory Work Activity also published in 2012 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-mandatory-work-activity-rr823) which included a telephone survey of participants who had been referred to and started an Mandatory Work Allowance placement.

The evaluation and impact assessment were conducted in 2012 and does not cover the period of the Official Statistics from May 2011 to August 2015.

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January 1, 2023
Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of respect for human rights in Nepal.

Mr Hugo Swire

We note the milestone represented by the new Nepalese Constitution and welcome the adoption of 31 different rights, which include rights for women and Dalits. However, we are concerned about discrimination against women in the citizenship provisions and the violence which followed the adoption of the Constitution. We welcome progress on Nepal’s implementation of the recommendations made in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review on transitional justice but remain concerned about amnesty provisions and the absence of legislation to criminalise torture.

We issued a statement and a series of recommendations to this effect on 4 November 2015, at the 23rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/uk-statement-on-nepal-at-the-23rd-session-of-the-universal-periodic-review-geneva-2-to-13-november-2015

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January 1, 2023
Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18554, on housing benefit: social rented housing, what proportion of the estimated 80,000 claimants referred to in that answer are in receipt of (a) disability and (b) in-work benefits.

Justin Tomlinson

The estimated 80,000 claimants referred to in Question 18554 are not disabled for the purposes of the shared accommodation rate exemption. Above this figure there are some disabled claimants within this category who were identified as having rents above the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate. However as these are exempted from the policy they were not included in the original response.

Of the estimated 80,000, around 31% have self-declared disabilities which are not exempt from the shared accommodation rate. Of these around 18% are in receipt of disability benefits (DLA/PIP/AA) and around 13% are in receipt of either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit and are in work.

January 1, 2023

Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which hospitals he has visited in an official capacity in 2015-16 to date; and what the date of each such visit was.

Jane Ellison

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has undertaken the following visits to hospitals services in an official capacity since January 2015.

15 January 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Luton and Dunstable University Hospital	Luton
29 January 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust	King’s Lynn
5 February 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Colchester Hospital	Colchester
5 February 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Queen’s Hospital, Barking, Havering, and Redbridge	Romford
12 February 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Hereford County Hospital	Hereford
6 March 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Princess Alexandra Hospital	Harlow
6 March 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Lister Hospital	Stevenage
20 March 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Dover Hopsital	Dover
12 June 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Papworth Hospital Cambridge	Cambridge Midlands and East
26 June 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Tameside Hospital	Manchester North
17 July 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	London
23 July 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Royal Free	London
23 July 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Whipps Cross Hospital	London
30 July 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	Royal London	London
9 September 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	St Thomas Hospital	London
12 November 2015	Mr Jeremy Hunt	Hospital	St Thomas Hospital	London

January 1, 2023

Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last made representations to the government of Turkey about freedom of expression and information, as provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights, and with what result.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We continue to monitor specific cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. Our Ambassador to Turkey highlighted his concerns about the number of journalists detained in Turkey, including Mr Dündar and Mr Gül, in his public blog released on International Human Rights day. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in these and other areas. Freedom of expression must be respected and all media outlets must be allowed to report freely without intimidation.

January 1, 2023
Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health support and services for looked-after children.

Alistair Burt

Future in Mind, the previous Government’s report on the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Taskforce, established a clear and powerful consensus for change across the whole system, including health, social care and education. This Government is driving forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services to improve access and make services more widely available across the country so that, where possible, children can access high-quality support locally.

This transformation programme, backed by additional investment of £1.4 billion allocated over the next five years, will deliver a step change in the way children and young people’s mental health services are commissioned and delivered. Emphasis will be placed on prevention and early intervention, building care around the needs of children, young people and their families, including the most vulnerable, such as those who are looked-after and adopted.

Clinical commissioning groups, covering all areas in the country, have submitted Transformation Plans for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing developed with local partners which are currently being assured by NHS England.

A national programme of work will support local areas. This will include the extension and expansion of the use of evidence-based interventions, tacking stigma, improving data and information to inform greater transparency and accountability and developing a specialist and stronger workforce.

January 1, 2023
Lord Rana – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the efficacy of UK aid to India in 2015.

Baroness Verma

The UK can be proud of the results that its aid to India continues to achieve. For example, during the five years to 2015, UK aid has ensured that over 3.5 million pregnant women and children under 5 are covered by nutrition programmes in eight low income states; that over 1.3 million people have sustainable access to improved sanitation; and that over 600,000 additional people have access to low carbon energy.

January 1, 2023
Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to encourage higher donor registration among (a) all people and (b) mixed ethnicity donors to the UK stem cell and bone marrow register.

Jane Ellison

Since 2012, the Department has provided nearly £19 million to improve the provision of stem cells in the United Kingdom for all people. This funding has enabled the recruitment of over 75,000 young male donors who are more likely to be able to donate bone marrow and we continue to expand the pool of young male donors.

The stem cell improvement programme has directly addressed the difficulty faced by patients from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community and those with mixed ethnicity through targeted recruitment. The Department also continues to support the work of the National BAME Transplant Alliance. The programme has also funded the collection of umbilical cord blood samples, which has a specific target to achieve 40% of samples come from BAME and mixed ethnicity births.

January 1, 2023