Tag: 2016

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the human rights situation in Turkey during negotiations on the proposed EU-Turkey refugee deal.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer my Rt Hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) on 8 March 2016 which detailed his discussions, including on human rights issues, with his EU counterparts during negotiations on the proposed EU-Turkey deal. In addition, in the conclusions adopted by the European Council at its meeting on 17-18 March, the EU reiterated that it expects Turkey to respect the highest standards when it comes to democracy, rule of law and respect of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression.

  • Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Iain Stewart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Stewart on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount of corporation tax was paid by soft drinks manufacturers in the latest financial year for which figures are available.

    Mr David Gauke

    Corporation Tax payable for accounting periods ending in the financial year 2013-14 for companies manufacturing soft drinks, and producing mineral water is estimated to be about £70 million. This estimate is based on those classified under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 code 11070 (Manufacture of soft drinks; production of mineral waters and other bottled waters) plus those manufacturing soft drinks who are classified elsewhere. This is the latest year available.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have allocated £22 million to hire new presenting officers to support them at disability benefit tribunals.

    Baroness Altmann

    The government is increasing the number of Presenting Officers from 2017, to help the department present its case more effectively and gather valuable feedback from the Tribunal.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to alter the terms and conditions of student loans for existing borrowers.

    Joseph Johnson

    My department has no current plans to alter the terms and conditions of student loans for existing borrowers.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to fund transport infrastructure projects that are completely or partly funded by EU programmes after the UK leaves the EU.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has responsibility for UK involvement in the transport element of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the Trans European Transport Network programme (TEN-T). These schemes have provided co-funding for a number of public and private sector transport infrastructure projects.

    On 13th August my Right Honourable Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made an announcement[1], outlining the Government position on EU funding schemes, which included a commitment to provide continuity of funding for UK participants in EU programmes.

    In line with that announcement, my Department will work closely with HM Treasury and concerned stakeholders to review EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK’s national interest, while ensuring appropriate investor certainty.

    [1] The following is a link to the announcement:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-philip-hammond-guarantees-eu-funding-beyond-date-uk-leaves-the-eu

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what monitoring his Department is undertaking to ensure that the level of service to the public is not negatively affected by the transfer of responsibilities from the Child Support Agency to the Child Maintenance Service.

    Priti Patel

    The government has introduced a new statutory Child Maintenance Service for parents who are unable to make a family-based arrangement. It will bring speedier processing of applications, simpler calculations and faster enforcement action for those that choose not to pay. This will help increase the number of payments reaching children on time and in full and will result in a better use of taxpayers’ money.

    We are contacting parents 6 months before their CSA case closes to allow them the opportunity to access the support services available to them. They receive a reminder 1 month before their CSA case ends, and a confirmation once it has actually ended. We do not transfer cases automatically to the Child Maintenance Service. We close them in a way that minimises the risk of disruption to child maintenance payments.

    Cases on the previous CSA schemes are being closed in an order determined by case characteristics. This includes the micro-management of the phases of case closure using our tried and tested pathfinder approach; sequencing and prioritising case closure to minimise disruption for clients.

    The Department set out an evaluation strategy in December 2014 which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387584/child-maintenance-reforms-evaluation-strategy.pdf

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the provision of mental health care services for children in the care system.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government has made no such central assessment. It is for local areas to consider and commission services based on the needs of their local population. Local transformation plans produced in each area of the country set out how they plan to meet the full spectrum of needs of children and young people with mental health problems including the needs of the most vulnerable, such as children in the care system.

    At the Education Select Committee hearing on the mental health and wellbeing of looked-after children held on 3 February 2016, it was announced that the Department of Health and Department for Education will set up an Expert Group, working with NHS England, Health Education England, and sector partners, to develop care pathways to support an integrated approach to meeting the needs of looked-after children with mental health difficulties. By summer 2016 the expert group will be established to lead the development of models of care for looked-after children’s mental health. Members of this expert group will be drawn from across the health, social care and education sectors, with input from children, young people, carers and families with experience of the care system.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings of the Annual Report of the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis, published on 22 January 2016, on timely access to patient education, what steps he is taking to provide patients with rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis self-education and self-management tools.

    Jane Ellison

    National Clinical Audits are commissioned and managed on behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Audits help drive improvement by providing local trusts with individual benchmarked reports on their performance against a range of measures, feeding back comparative findings to help participants identify necessary improvements for patients

    The first annual report of the national clinical audit of rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis was published on 22 January 2016. The report identifies that although most services offer prompt educational support and agree targets for treatment with their patients, performance against criteria for referral and assessment could be improved. Since the audit, HQIP has reported that a number of trusts have successfully reconfigured their services in order to improve patient care. More information can be found at the following link:

    www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes/a-z-of-nca/arthritis-rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory

    To help clinicians to identify the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and make prompt referrals to specialists, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, in 2009. This best practice guideline sets out the signs and symptoms of the disease and emphasises the need for early diagnosis with urgent referral to a specialist rheumatologist on suspicion of RA. For those diagnosed with the condition, the guidance also recommends they should be offered the opportunity to take part in educational activities, including self-management programmes.

    The NICE RA quality standard (QS), published in 2013, is based on the NICE guideline, and one of the seven quality statements recommends that people with suspected RA are assessed in a rheumatology service within three weeks of referral. However, whilst providers and commissioners must have regard to these standards in planning and delivering services, they do not provide a comprehensive service specification and are not mandatory.

    Regarding the establishment of early arthritis clinics, the configuration of services, including decisions to such arthritis clinics, is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    The latest monthly workforce statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that, as of November 2015, there were 563 full time equivalent rheumatology consultants employed in the NHS. This is an increase of 119 (26.8%) since May 2010. The recruitment and retention of staff is matter for local NHS services.

  • Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to increase tourism in Cornwall from (a) domestic and (b) foreign visitors.

    David Evennett

    Our tourism industry supports millions of jobs and is one of the nation’s leading employers and export earners. In 2014, the sector contributed nearly £60bn to the UK economy, and at the latest spending round the Chancellor announced a new £40m Discover England to encourage international visitors to explore beyond London. In the South West, the number of domestic visitors has​ increased by 14% in the 12 months to December 2015, compared with the previous year; and we have been working to promote international tourism through the £5m South West Tourism Growth Fund. Full-year data for international visitors in 2015 will be released in due course.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what monitoring his Department has undertaken of the adequacy of supply of suitable and affordable accommodation for older people who want to live independently but with some support on-site.

    Brandon Lewis

    Decisions on how to meet the health and social care needs of older people who need affordable and accessible homes and monitoring the supply of such accommodation are best made by local authorities. Government believes that local planning authorities remain best placed to determine the extent to which provision of more accessible housing is necessary and appropriate in their local area, and have appropriate powers to introduce development plan policies to meet these needs, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Guidance and other relevant matters.

    The National Planning Policy Framework & Planning Guidance requires local authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, and the needs of different groups, including elderly people, in their area.