Tag: 2016

  • Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on which specific NICE guidance NHS England based its decision to restrict access to new treatments for hepatitis C to 10,000 patients in 2016–17.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The planning approach for hepatitis C is set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Technology Appraisals 363, 364 and 365 which require Operational Delivery Networks to prioritise treatment for patients with the highest unmet clinical need. We understand from NHS England that the figure of 10,000 patients reflects NICE modelling used for its recommendations and published alongside the guidance.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department plans to publish data gathered from border exit checks.

    James Brokenshire

    Exit checks were introduced in April 2015. They will, over a period of time, provide us with a range of insights into the behaviours of migrants and how they comply with restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK.

    Data collected from exit checks is a record of cross border movement. It may in the future help inform but will not in itself answer questions on emigration.

    The Home Office has announced that it is considering the use of exit checks data for statistical reporting and intends to publish an initial evaluation of the use of exit checks for this purpose. The evaluation will be a technical assessment of the analysis carried out thus far and of the further analysis necessary to better understand short, medium, and long term opportunities.

    The initial evaluation of the use of exit checks will be published on 25 August to coincide with the next quarterly immigration statistics release.

    Publication of the initial evaluation on the use of exit checks will be on the GOV.UK website

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of public bodies across government.

    Matthew Hancock

    This government will streamline the public bodies landscape through a robust programme of “tailored reviews” overseen by the Cabinet Office and department-led transformation programmes. Non-ministerial departments, non-departmental public bodies and executive agencies will be reviewed once per parliament. These reviews will examine whether their functions should still be delivered at arm’s length, and if so, aim to increase their efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. This builds on the public bodies reform programme delivered from 2010-15, which successfully produced fewer, more accountable, and more efficient public bodies.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control after the UK leaves the EU.

    Mr David Jones

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17th October 2016 to the Question 47173.

    Nothing has yet been decided on whether the UK will continue participation in the European Centre for Disease Control after leaving the European Union. Officials in both the Department of Health and the Department for Exiting the European Union are considering the position and options available to us with the aim of achieving the best outcome for the UK health system and for the UK as a whole.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of homeless families with children who are living in bed and breakfast accommodation have been in that accommodation for more than six weeks.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    As at 30 September 2015 there were 3,000 families with children in bed and breakfast style accommodation in England, of which 960 had been in bed and breakfast style accommodation for longer than six weeks.

    Whilst this is less than the previous peak, we are clear the long term use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children is both unacceptable and unlawful. The law and statutory guidance make clear it should only ever be used in an emergency, and then for no longer than six weeks.

    Tackling and preventing homelessness remains a priority and that is why we have protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20 , increased central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Spending Review period; and have made a commitment to work with local authorities, homelessness organisations and across Departments to consider options, including legislation, to prevent more people from becoming homeless.

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time between (a) offence commission and charge, (b) charge and first court appearance and (c) first court appearance to sentencing or acquittal was for all completed sexual offences cases where the victim was (i) a minor and (ii) an adult in each year since 2013.

    Mike Penning

    Our courts system is in need of urgent reform, which is why we have committed to building a justice system that is swifter and more certain.

    We are investing £700 million over the next five years to create a more effective service. We will utilise modern technology to meet the needs of everyone who uses our services.

    MOJ do not hold figures on dates of sentencing or acquittals and have instead provided the time from first listing to completion.

    The age of a victim is only known where specified as part of the wording of an offence in statute. Figures for sexual offences cases where the victim was a minor are based on cases where the victim was known to be a minor, and figures where the victim was an adult include cases where the age of the victim was not known.

    Data included in the attached tables.

    Table 1 – the average duration from offence to charge, from charge to first listing, and from first listing to completion for sexual offences cases in Greater Manchester LCJB and in England and Wales, for cases completing in 2013, 2014 and January to September 2015.

    Table 2 – the average duration (days) between offence to charge, charge to first listing, and first listing to completion for sexual offence cases completed in England and Wales where the victim was a minor or an adult, 2013 to Q1-Q3 2015.

    Table 3 – the average durations for sexual offences cases in England and Wales. These are an update of Tables 5.1 and 5.2 in the ‘Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales’ publication. Figures are for the last 12 months available, from October 2014 to September 2015.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will announce their response to the consultation Implementing the English Baccalaureate.

    Lord Nash

    The consultation closed on 29 January. We are currently considering the responses and will publish the Government response and final policy in due course.

  • (2) shared temporary or longer-term ownership – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    (2) shared temporary or longer-term ownership – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by (2) shared temporary or longer-term ownership on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid, on 11 April (HC Deb, col 50) on the steel industry that they are looking at the possibility of co-investing with a buyer on commercial terms”

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Co-investment means offers of Government support on commercial terms. Examples of where private investment and public support have worked effectively include the Green Investment Bank and the British Business Bank. The formal process for the sale of Tata Steel’s remaining UK assets commenced on 11 April and we do not yet know what support any potential investor might require. The Government will consider all options to see steel making continue, and stands ready to engage with commercial investors on a package of support, on commercial terms, to help ensure the long term future of our steel industry.

    That is why on 21 April, the Government announced that a package of support worth hundreds of millions of pounds will be made available to potential buyers on commercial terms to support the ongoing operation and deliver long term investment in the future of the business. We will also consider support in other areas such as plant, pensions and power supply, and any other areas that potential buyers believe the Governments can provide support.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to simplify application and processing systems to expedite the processing of Dublin III asylum transfer requests.

    James Brokenshire

    We continue to work with a number of EU Member States and the European Asylum Sup-port Office (EASO) to ensure Dublin works effectively. We are in ongoing discussions with France, Italy and Greece, as well as the UNHCR, to ensure that we continue to have the right processes in place and the resources to make them work effectively.

    We have recently deployed two UK experts to the Greek Dublin Unit. We are currently providing bilateral support to the Italian Dublin Unit through a long term secondment. We are also due to deploy an additional UK expert to the Italian Dublin Unit shortly.

    Our work with France including the permanent official contact group and a recently sec-onded senior UK official to the French Dublin Unit to assist with the identification and transfer of cases has shown results of our collaborative efforts.

    The Home Office has a unit processing Dublin III asylum transfer requests from and to the United Kingdom. This unit comprises 78.34 full time equivalent managers, caseworkers and support staff. Staffing levels will remain in line with anticipated volumes.

    As announced on 4 May we are now looking to transfer children who were already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March, where it is in their best interests. It is important that we ensure we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK, as well ensuring we have the right support for those who may be brought to the UK from Europe. We are working with the relevant Member States, the UNHCR and other Non-Governmental Organisations and local authorities to establish the best way to implement the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of his Department’s capacity to manage the appeals and review process for personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Departmental analysts forecast projected volumes of Personal Independence Payment Mandatory Reconsiderations and appeals; these projections are used to determine staffing requirements. The assessment of the Department’s capacity to handle volumes is determined from current deployment, planned recruitment and attrition rates. The information is updated, reported and reviewed on a monthly basis.