The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she will take to ensure that people with audio or visual impairments benefit from the Digital Economy Bill; and if she will assess how on-demand services will meet such people’s needs.
Matt Hancock
Ofcom is the regulator with responsibility for on-demand programme services (ODPS). Ofcom are presently consulting on how to improve access services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on agency nurses by each NHS trust in London in each year since 2010.
Alistair Burt
This information is not collected centrally.
The Rt. Hon. Member may wish to contact each National Health Service trust directly for further information.
Following the Francis report many trusts increased their spend on temporary staffing to meet safe staffing levels. The Department expects trusts to have a strong grip on their finances, and manage their contract and agency staffing spend (including use of locums) responsibly through effective and efficient workforce planning and management and to minimise temporary staffing costs in future years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice of 26 January 2016, Official Report, column 129, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on lifting the one per cent public sector pay cap.
Dominic Raab
The Treasury sets public sector pay policy, which includes the 1% cap, in line with wider government priorities. This policy has been subject to agreement with the Prime Minister and consultation within the government at Ministerial level.
In line with the pay freeze announced by the Government in the June Budget 2010, the pay of staff employed by the Ministry of Justice in 2011-12 and 2012-13 earning a full time equivalent of £21,000 or less received pay increases of up to £250. MoJ exited the pay freeze on 1 August 2013. Since then MOJ staff received pay awards averaging at 1% each year, in line with the Government policy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on replacement of Vector protected patrol vehicles.
Mr Philip Dunne
Vector was finally removed from service in 2015 and is currently awaiting disposal. Protected mobility capability is currently provided by a range of vehicles from the existing core fleet, including former Urgent Operational Requirement platforms retained in service following their return from Afghanistan. In the longer term, the Multi Role Vehicle (Protected) series of platforms will provide a light to medium protected vehicle capability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-03-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her European counterparts on changes to the rules of the Dublin Regulation.
James Brokenshire
Home Office Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office
The Commission’s review of the Dublin Regulation started last autumn. The College of Commissioners set out its strategic vision of possible options to reform the Dublin Regulation on 6 April.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the role of the PrescQIPP Programme is within his Department.
Alistair Burt
The PrescQIPP NHS Programme currently has no direct role within the Department as it is an independent social enterprise.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) use its materials to improve the prescribing of medicines. These are mainly publicly available for CCGs and Health Boards, with some additional subscription-only content. Their governance and annual work programme is overseen by a strategic oversight group representing the users.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to reduce re-offending.
Andrew Selous
Reducing reoffending is a priority for the Ministry of Justice, to cut crime and improve public safety. The Ministry of Justice does not analyse the overall cost to the public purse of reoffending. However, the National Audit Office (NAO) has produced analysis in the past.
Reoffending has been too high for too long which is why we are investing £1.3bn over the next five years to transform the prison estate and give prisoners the help they need to turn their lives around. We have also changed the way offenders are managed in the community with almost all now receiving targeted support on release. This will help reduce reoffending, cut crime and make our streets safer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials of his Department are assigned to the provision and collation of data relating to the free television license scheme for people over 75.
Richard Harrington
The summer budget 2015 announced a number of fundamental changes relating to the BBC and free TV licences for those aged 75 and over. DWP will cease to fund free TV licences from 2019/20 and the BBC will absorb the cost of this and take responsibility for the policy which currently sits with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It is estimated that the provision of free TV licences for 2016/17 will cost £629m and DWP will continue to make a transfer to the BBC during the phasing period, as set out in the table below.
|
2018/19 |
2019/20 |
2020/21 |
|
|
HMG transfer for free TV licences (£m) |
468 |
247 |
0 |
DWP resources currently assigned to the provision and collation of data relating to the free television licence scheme for people aged 75 and over is 12 staff days per annum. Any plans for the future role of employees and contractors will be determined following detailed discussions between my Department and the BBC nearer the time the BBC take full responsibility for funding and policy.
In 2014/15 the cost of providing free TV licences to those 75 and over in Scotland was £49m and it is estimated the cost for qualifying residents in Glasgow South West constituency and Glasgow City local authority area was £0.7m and £4m respectively.
The cost of the free TV licences to those aged 75 and over in Scotland for 2015/16 will be published on 21 September on the DWP website. Breakdowns by Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency use that Scotland expenditure estimate and are therefore not currently available.
Savings to the Exchequer resulting from the future transfer of responsibility for funding television licences for people aged 75 or over were set out in the summer budget 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps are being taken to attend to Iraqi civilians expected to be displaced as a result of a planned offensive on Mosul, Iraq.
Rory Stewart
On 21 September, the UK announced an extra £40 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq, taking our total commitment to £90 million this financial year and £169.5 million since June 2014. This new assistance will be targeted specifically to enable a scale up of humanitarian assistance ahead of the Government of Iraq-led Mosul operations. It will provide emergency life-saving assistance – such as food, shelter, medical and protection services – to civilians affected by Mosul operations, as well as continued support to displaced and vulnerable people across the country.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to broker negotiated ceasefires to allow the creation of aid corridors across Syria; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK plays a key role in ensuring humanitarian access to Syria. The UK co-sponsored and lobbied hard for UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enable the UN to deliver aid across borders, without the consent of the regime, to assist those in the hardest to reach areas.
The UK will consider options compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. However, experience suggests that so-called ‘safe’ areas or corridors can prove difficult to demilitarise and protect against all threats. In fact, there is a risk that they can become targets. For an aid corridor to work, all parties to the conflict would need to agree to its establishment. In the absence of such consent, foreign military intervention may be necessary, under the authority of a UN Security Council resolution.
An estimated £275 million of humanitarian assistance funded by the UK for inside Syria has been allocated to the UN and NGOs for cross-border operations. We are now encouraging the UN to consider alternative means of assistance such as cash, to support vulnerable populations that are increasingly hard to reach. We continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.