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Tag: 2015

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what public information campaigns his Department funds on perinatal mental illness; and how much such campaigns cost.

    Alistair Burt

    Perinatal mental illness is an important topic area covered by the Start4life NHS Information Service for Parents (ISP) which is led by Public Health England. The service includes information about health and wellbeing and includes short videos on how to spot the signs of perinatal mental illness and how to seek further help.

    Advice is also included in emails at key stages of pregnancy and post birth for both parents.

    The Start4Life ISP was developed as a universal NHS-branded resource to help provide support and advice for expectant and new parents. The service provides regular emails and text messages during pregnancy and for the first three years of a child’s life.

    The total Start4life ISP programme budget in 2014/15 was £2 million and in 2015/16 it is £2.3 million. This is used to promote a range of relevant health messages for new parents and parents to be through the Information Service for Parents, the Start4Life website and other channels including materials for healthcare professionals to use with families, online advertising and social media.

    Information is also available online via NHS Choices and can be found here:

    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/feeling-depressed-after-birth.aspx

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent young people from being forced in to arranged marriages overseas.

    Karen Bradley

    The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out forced marriage, with our Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat this brutal practice. The FMU can provide support and assistance to anyone in the UK at risk, and to British nationals overseas. The Unit works with our High Commissions and embassies overseas to assist with protection and repatriation of vulnerable victims.

    o To date, over 800 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made to prevent people from being forced into a marriage and to assist in repatriating victims;

    o In 2014, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,267 cases.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to reduce aid spending in countries with their own space programme.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    No UK aid money is spent on helping developing countries put people in space. We already take the growing ability of emerging economies like India and China to finance their own development programmes into account in reviewing our aid relationship with such countries.

    Through the ongoing Bilateral Aid Review, we will decide which countries will receive bilateral funding and how much. We will use a range of criteria to determine allocations to countries, including the level and persistence of extreme poverty in the country and the ability of the government of that country to finance its own development needs.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance or direction his Department has given on the amount of time that inmates at Foston Hall Prison, Derbyshire, should spend outside their cells; and what monitoring of such time his Department carries out.

    Caroline Dinenage

    At Foston Hall, prisoners are expected to spend 6.25 hours a day out of their cells in order to take part in work, training or education opportunities thatsupport their rehabilitation. This daily activity structure was implemented on 31 August 2015 andis monitored at local, regional and national levels.

    In addition to the activity structure, as with all prisons in England and Wales, there is a statutory requirement to give prisoners 30 minutes in the open air on a daily basis. There is also an agreement with National Offender Management Commissioners which applies to all prisons in their Service Level Agreements, that prisoners should receive 2.5 hours per week PE. These national requirements are also in place at Foston Hall

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

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle vehicle parking on pavements.

    Andrew Jones

    Local authorities are best placed to assess the need for pavement parking controls in their area and the effectiveness of any restrictions in place. It would be for the relevant traffic authorities to conduct an assessment of legislation specific to London.

    Last year this Department received around a thousand communications from Guide Dogs campaigners in support of two Private Members’ Bills on pavement parking. Departmental officials met with Guide Dogs officials as recently as 13 October this year.

    Local authorities already have the powers to introduce enforceable pavement parking restrictions where they consider it appropriate. My Department’s guidance to local authorities makes clear that, during the appraisal of their parking policies, an authority should consider whether pavement parking is problematic in any part of its area. If it is, and is not covered by an existing Traffic Regulation Order, the authority should consider amending the existing Order or making a new one. We have issued councils with authorisation to place specifically designed traffic signs without the need for Whitehall approval.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants there have been in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Liverpool city region since that policy’s implementation.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

    “

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2015 to Question 10532, how many local authorities have applied for funding from his Department for the transition to individual electoral registration.

    John Penrose

    In total, 116 local authorities are receiving additional funding to help target their remaining carry forward entries. They have all now been informed. Almost £700k was allocated to 60 authorities where carry forwards made up over 5% of their register in May. Furthermore, 70 local authorities successfully submitted bids for additional funding and will share £500,000. Of the 70, 14 authorities that are receiving direct funding successfully bid for more. In addition to the 70 successful bids, 2 further bids were received but were later withdrawn by both authorities.

    The table sets out all 116 authorities who are receiving additional funding directly and those who submitted a successful bid along with the total amount they are receiving.

  • Jo Churchill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jo Churchill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Churchill on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding has been provided per pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the county of Suffolk (A) in cash terms and (B) at 2015 prices in each financial year since 2005-06.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Average per pupil revenue funding figures for Suffolk are given below. With the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, the changes to the funding mechanism meant figures were no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.

    Figures for financial years 2005 to 2013 are shown below. These are in cash terms:

    Average revenue per pupil funding (cash)

    2005-06 (baseline)

    2006-07

    2007-08

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    Suffolk LA

    3,590

    3,820

    4,100

    4,290

    4,500

    4,760

    4,680

    4,680

    These are in real terms using September 2015 GDP deflators in 2014-15 prices:

    Average revenue per pupil funding (real)

    2005-06 (baseline)

    2006-07

    2007-08

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    Suffolk LA

    4,410

    4,560

    4,760

    4,840

    4,960

    5,100

    4,930

    4,840

    Per pupil figures are using DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15 rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.

    The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013 to 2014 with funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The table below shows the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash and real terms for Suffolk LA.

    DSG schools block per pupil funding

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-2016

    Suffolk LA (cash)

    4,241

    4,241

    4,354

    Suffolk LA (real)*

    4,302

    4,241

    4,311

    *Real terms figures shown in 2014-15 prices using GDP deflators at 30.09.15

    Since 2011-12 schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the Premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:

    Pupil Premium per pupil (£)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-2016

    Free School Meal Pupil Primary

    £488

    £623

    £953

    £1323

    £1320

    Free School Meal Pupil Secondary

    £488

    £623

    £900

    £935

    £935

    Service Children

    £200

    £250

    £300

    £300

    £300

    Looked After Children

    £488

    £623

    £900

    £1900*

    £1900*

    *Also includes children adopted from care

    Total Pupil Premium allocations for Suffolk local authority for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:

    Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-16 (prov.)

    Suffolk

    5.548

    12.021

    19.244

    26.165

    26.363

    These figures in real terms:

    Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-16 (prov.)

    Suffolk

    5.851

    12.450

    19.519

    26.165

    26.102

    Price Base: Real terms at 2014-15 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 30.09.2015

    The table below shows capital funding for the financial years that are available. The data is in cash terms as allocations are phased across more than one year making real terms calculations meaningless. Complete information on the split of capital between phases of education is not held centrally.

    Suffolk

    £m

    Capital allocations

    2005-06

    41.7

    2006-07

    33.0

    2007-08

    42.5

    2008-09

    47.6

    2009-10

    86.4

    2010-11

    75.4

    2011-12

    45.2

    2012-13

    64.1

    2013-14

    53.4

    2014-15

    36.7

    2015-16 (prov.)

    11.3

    Notes:

    1. Capital allocations includes capital grant and supported borrowing allocations.

    2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.

    3. Funding in 2015-16 is still subject to project progress and is therefore subject to change. The funding figures provided for 2015/16 only include formulaic programmes and payments to date. Further funding is yet to be released for capital programmes dependent upon project progress and this has not been reflected in the figures.

  • John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by NHS bodies to tackle loneliness.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not carried out an assessment of the impact of loneliness in England or in Basildon and Billericay. The Campaign to End Loneliness report Loneliness: the State We’re In (2012) demonstrated that loneliness has a very negative impact on health. Research identified by the Campaign to End Loneliness has shown it has an effect on mortality that is similar in size to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and is worse for us than obesity. Loneliness and social isolation is also associated with conditions such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, poor sleep and depression.

    The Government has not made an assessment of the steps the National Health Service and local authorities have taken to tackle loneliness. 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. This includes examples of what NHS bodies and local authorities have done to tackle loneliness such as the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group Living Well programme and LinkAge supported by Bristol City Council.

    Prevention is core to the Government’s approach to people managing their health and care needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health set out in his speech to the Local Government Association on 1 July that we all have a responsibility at an individual, family, and community level to identify people with care needs such as loneliness and provide support and improve their wellbeing.

    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.

    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.

  • Damian Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Damian Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Green on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of calls received by Action Fraud result in a police investigation; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    It is the responsibility of the local Chief Constable, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioner, to determine the resources they devote to tackling fraud and cyber crimes locally. The Government does not hold data on the proportion of calls received by Action Fraud which result in a police investigation.

    Action Fraud is the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, and takes reports on behalf of all police forces in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Action Fraud was set up to improve reporting of what has traditionally between an underreported crime type. Official figures support the decision to centralise reporting: in the year ending June 2015, recorded fraud offences more than trebled from 72,000 before the centralisation of reporting to over 230,000.

    Action Fraud works in conjunction with the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB): both are operated by the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud. The NFIB analyses Action Fraud crime reports, spotting links between victims in different force areas, and preparing intelligence packages for police forces to consider for enforcement action. As fraudsters and cyber criminals can target multiple victims across different police force areas at the same time, connecting these crimes gives the best chance of suspects being identified.

    Not all crimes recorded by Action Fraud and analysed by the NFIB will have viable investigative leads: fraudsters and cyber criminals may be based overseas or use false details to mask their identities. Nevertheless, in 2014/15 the number of crimes sent to police forces was almost 62,000. This was an increase of over 50% on 2013/14. Reports made to Action Fraud also support disruption of the enablers of fraud and cyber crime, including websites and telephone numbers. The NFIB has a programme of work with industry to take this forward. NFIB also issues intelligence assessments of the fraud threat which helps the police determine their response. Neither Action Fraud nor the NFIB carry out investigations: it remains the responsibility of local police forces to decide whether and how to proceed with an investigation of the crimes they are sent by the NFIB.