Tag: 2016

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contingency plans are in place to alleviate the increased demands on neighbouring GP practices when a practice closes.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England is statutorily accountable for ensuring that patients have access to a general practitioner (GP) practice. In the event of a practice closure, NHS England will assess the need for a replacement provider before dispersing a list when a GP surgery closes. A decision to disperse a list will be made on the basis that there is capacity in neighbouring practices to absorb the additional patient numbers.

    To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups. The Primary Care Outcomes Framework is published nationally and is derived from data submitted by individual practices on service levels and outcomes alongside national patient survey data on patient satisfaction. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health & Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area.

    There is no national guidance on the ratio of patients to doctors in GP practices. In recent years, the development of the wider primary care teams (with nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists and therapists) means that a focus on the ratio of patients to doctors has less meaning than in previous years. The national workforce survey allows NHS England to benchmark individual practices in terms of the staffing to patient ratio.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22896, whether his Department records the number of junior doctors working 91 hours or more each week.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not collect this information centrally; it is collected by local National Health Service employers.

    We agreed with the British Medical Association that 91 hours’ work in any seven day period is too long and not safe. That is why, in the new contract, there is a contractual maximum of 72 hours’ work in any seven day period even for junior doctors who opt out of the working time regulations.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on supporting all new armed forces recruits who arrive without A* to C passes in GCSE English and mathematics to gain such qualifications; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence does not make financial provision to improve the Functional Skills (FS) of recruits before they are selected to join the UK Armed Forces.

    For those who join the UK Armed Forces, there are clearly identified routes to ensure acceptable levels of FS. Over 95% of all recruits, no matter what their age or prior qualifications, enrol in an Apprenticeship Programme each year. Apprenticeships ensure that Service personnel (SP) will gain level 2 in literacy and numeracy – which is the equivalent to GCSE level. The Armed Forces also offer courses in a wide range of skills, such as engineering, information and communications technology (ICT), construction, driving, and animal care.

    All recruits aged under 18 receive key skills education in literacy and numeracy, should they need it, and all are enrolled onto apprenticeships. The Armed Forces remain the UK’s largest apprenticeship provider, equipping young people with valuable and transferable skills for life. Ofsted regularly inspects our care of newly joined young recruits, and we are very proud of the standards we achieve.

    Since September 2012, Defence has adopted FS qualifications (FS (English) and FS (Mathematics)) as the accredited measures of literacy and numeracy skills for all SP accessing in-Service literacy and numeracy provision. Defence FS provision will be (in most cases) a blend of in-house and external provision. FS provision and qualifications have been available and publicly funded in England since September 2010, with the single Services funding the following elements:

    Specialist manpower. Sufficient in-house specialist practitioners to meet the FS requirements that are not met from external or Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency funded providers and, co-ordinate the delivery of that provision across their Service.

    FS staff training. Training for in-house specialist practitioners and support staff to meet the required professional standards, where this is not externally funded.

    Trainee costs. All direct and indirect costs incurred by Initial Training Establishments, where training has to be extended to cover FS provision to meet the minimum FS Entry Level 3 standard, by the start of Phase 2 training.

    FS resources. FS support materials, essential ICT, audio-visual equipment and associated consumables, and any other essential resource costs.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the responses received by the review on secondary ticketing as required by section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

    David Evennett

    The plan is to publish responses to the Call for Evidence in due course.

  • Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on access by farmers to new Countryside Stewardship scheme agreements.

    George Eustice

    Until negotiations conclude and the UK leaves the EU, all existing arrangements remain in place, including rural development programmes. We are having ongoing discussions with the Treasury because it is important that there is continuity, particularly for agri-environment schemes, without prejudice to future decisions. An update on future funding under current EU schemes will follow shortly.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans that the new funding system planned for 2019/20 will apply to existing supported housing tenants.

    Caroline Nokes

    It is our intention that from 2019/20 core rent and service charges will be funded through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit up to the level of the applicable LHA rate. This will apply to all those living in supported accommodation from this date, including existing tenants.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans his Department has to ensure that a privatised Green Investment Bank would be able to maximise the deployment of equity and debt from the European Fund for Structural Investment and other EU sources.

    Anna Soubry

    There is no reason why the Green Investment Bank (GIB) could not invest alongside the EFSI whether GIB is in public or private hands, as it seeks to gather the range of financing necessary to sponsor projects.

  • 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 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of UK citizens previously granted refugee status who have been refused permission for family members to join them on account of the minimum income threshold in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is not available from centrally collated statistical databases, and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information her Department holds on how many buildings the construction of which was funded by the (a) UK and (b) EU there are in the (i) Gaza Strip and (ii) other Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID does not hold information on how many EU funded buildings there are in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPTs). There are 13 UK funded schools in Gaza. Currently the UK does not directly fund the construction of buildings in the West Bank. However, we are joining the EU Consortium to support the construction of small-scale infrastructure in Area C.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has published on academy schools and their entitlement to run consultancy businesses alongside the educational function of the school.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department’s Governance Handbook states that:

    “An academy trust’s Articles of Association set out its ‘object’ and the powers that it may exercise to further that object. These powers include the power to establish or support any charitable companies or trusts formed for the trust’s object and to set up subsidiary companies to carry on any trade or business to raise funds for the trust.”

    The Department’s Governance Handbook is available on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook

    The model Articles of Association also require that the trust’s income and property shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the trust’s charitable objects. The Charity Commission provides guidance for charities on trading activity on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trustees-trading-and-tax-how-charities-may-lawfully-trade-cc35/trustees-trading-and-tax-how-charities-may-lawfully-trade.

    “