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Tag: 2015

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost of using external agencies for recruitment of Senior Civil posts in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of using external agencies for the recruitment of Senior Civil Service posts in the last 5 financial years is set out in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Cost

    2010-11

    £161,706

    2011-12

    £32,028

    2012-13

    £102,390

    2013-14

    £70,347

    2014-15

    £20,300

    Total

    £386,771

    We predominantly use external recruitment firms for specialist roles where the necessary experience and expertise does not exist elsewhere in the Civil Service

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the time needed to devolve the adult skills budget; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    We expect to be able to fully devolve the adult education budget to local areas that have agreed devolution deals with Government and where readiness conditions (as set out in the devolution agreements) have been met during this parliament. This timetable will ensure other important work such as the further education area reviews can first be completed and implementation plans put into action.

  • 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 steps her Department has taken to help reduce the incidence of avoidable blindness and low vision since 2010.

    Grant Shapps

    DFID has a number of programmes that directly and indirectly support the prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness. Since 2010 DFID has supported: the control of river blindness; programmes that contribute to the elimination of blinding trachoma; the work of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust to tackle trachoma, diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity across the Commonwealth; a Programme Partnership Arrangement with Sightsavers and several UK Aid Match schemes that provide a range of sight-restoring and sight-saving operations; and funding provided to UNICEF, the GAVI Alliance and the Measles and Rubella Initiative (MRI) that has helped provide, amongst other things, food fortification, Vitamin A supplementation and measles immunisation, which reduce the risk of blindness.

    Prevention and treatment of avoidable blindness requires a strong health system. Through its health systems strengthening, DFID is helping to ensure that eye treatment is available for all. The UK is providing significant support to developing and maintaining robust health systems to enable developing countries to address their health priorities.

  • Greg Knight – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the criteria are for authorising an average speed monitored stretch of non-motorway highway; what measures are in place to prevent an artificially low speed limit being implemented and then being made subject to an average speed limit camera check; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    It is up to the Highways Authority and the Police to decide whether to use cameras and how they wish to operate them. Guidance was issued in 2007 entitled “Use of speed and red-light camera for traffic enforcement: guidance on deployment, visibility and signing”.This can be viewed on GOV.UK. This guidance is not mandatory but on 20 October 2015 we wrote to local authorities drawing it to their attention.

    The Department issued revised guidance entitled “Setting local speed limits” in January 2013 aimed mainly at local traffic authorities who are responsible for setting speed limits on local roads. It has been designed to help explain to everyone why and how local speed limits are determined. This guidance was revised following full public consultation in Summer 2012 and is available online on GOV.UK.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assistance his Department is providing to help businesses to employ migrants with in-demand skills but poor English language skills.

    Nick Boles

    In our approach to skills, we aim to create a fair balance between the investment made by Government, the employer and the individual. We believe that non-native speakers of English, who choose to live in the UK, should be expected to invest in the improvement of their English, with some exceptions. Similarly, where employers seek to rely on non-English speaking labour, it is their responsibility to cover the cost of training employees.

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Highways Act 1835 to allow the use of hoverboards and segways.

    Andrew Jones

    To maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading location to test, develop, and use connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies, the Department for Transport is planning a wider review of domestic regulations by Summer 2017.

    The Highways Act 1835 will form part of the review, which is at an early stage. No decisions have yet been taken as to which regulatory changes will be necessary to support CAV technologies, or if the review will cover other forms of transport such as Segways or so-called ‘hoverboards’. People are already free to use Segways and ‘hoverboards’ on private land.

  • 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, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of fixing recoverable costs in medical negligence cases to a maximum of £250,000 on the accountability of the NHS to the public.

    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.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Clwyd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has received the report of Lady Justice Macur on Sir Ronald Waterhouse’s inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former Gwynedd and Clwyd Council areas of North Wales between 1974 and 1996.

    Caroline Dinenage

    On 10 December Lady Justice Macur delivered her report to the Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales.

    It is being considered as a matter of urgency with a view to publication as soon as possible.

    The Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales are very grateful to Lady Justice Macur for her work on this important matter over the last three years.

  • 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 and what proportion of child maintenance cases in the 1993 and 2003 legacy schemes which were in receipt of regular ongoing maintenance being paid to the non-resident or receiving parent and which were subject to forced closure did not migrate to the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme.

    Priti Patel

    Child Support Agency (CSA) cases from the 1993 and 2003 schemes are not automatically transferred / migrated to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) 2012 Scheme. All existing CSA cases are being closed gradually as part of the CSA Case Closure process.

    Before an application can be made to the CMS, they must speak with the Child Maintenance Options Service where they are encouraged to make their own family based arrangement. Where this is not possible, or appropriate, they are able to apply to the CMS.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will establish a Coastal Watch of volunteers who can work alongside police and other agencies to report unusual or suspicious activities in the UK’s harbours and ports.

    James Brokenshire

    National Crime Agency, police, and Border Force have established Project Kraken, an initiative aimed at increasing public vigilance on matters related along the UK’s coastal and maritime security. Project Kraken encourages the public to report any unusual or suspicious behaviour in harbours, ports and other maritime environments.

    In addition, Border Force is already working closely with the National Coastwatch Institution volunteer network. The network use their expert knowledge of the maritime environment to spot and report unusual or suspicious activities along the coastline. Any such information is provided directly to the National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) which is a cross-government organisation that is focussed on sharing intelligence concerning maritime security issues. Border Force is actively exploring similar arrangements with other maritime related organisations