Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice trans individuals are given about how to manage the accuracy and maintain the integrity of their data on the Department for Work and Pensions database.

    Lord Freud

    The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides its staff with information about providing services for transgender customers but does not provide information relating to the management of data accuracy or maintenance of data integrity specifically for transgender customers. DWP have a Personal Information Charter which informs all customers of the standards they can expect when we handle their personal information.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number and value of arms export licences issued to Saudi Arabia since 19 March 2015; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    Information on arms export licences are published as Official Statistics in the Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls. These reports contain detailed information on export licences issued, refused or revoked, by destination, including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. They are available to view at GOV.UK.

    The most recently published information covers the period to 31 December 2015. Information covering 1 January to 31 March 2016 will be published on 19 July 2016 and information covering 1 April to 30 June 2016 will be published on 19 October 2016.

    All export licences are issued in strict accordance with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts failed to provide data on referral to treatment times in each year since May 2010.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Patients have a legal right, set out in the NHS Constitution, to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions.

    Since May 2010, performance has been measured against one or more of the following operational standards:

    ― 92% of patients who have not yet started treatment should have been waiting within 18 weeks from referral (the incomplete pathway standard, introduced from April 2012 and the current measure of performance).

    ― 90% of patients admitted to hospital should have started consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks from referral (the admitted pathway standard, introduced from April 2008 and abolished in practice from June 2015 and in legislation in October 2015).

    ― 95% of non-admitted patients (outpatients or patients on pathways that end without treatment) should have started consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks from referral (the non-admitted pathway standard, introduced from April 2008 and abolished in practice from June 2015 and in legislation in October 2015).

    To monitor performance against these standards, organisations that provide NHS services that fall within the scope of referral to treatment, including NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts, are required to submit a monthly return to NHS England. Admitted and non-admitted data are still collected but are no longer used for monitoring against standards.

    The NHS Standard Contract includes a comprehensive requirement on providers to submit all nationally-mandated datasets. However, from time to time trusts need to implement new IT systems and temporarily suspend submissions of data for technical reasons.

    The following table shows the number of NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts that did not report referral to treatment data in one or more months in each financial year from 2010-11.

    Table: number1 of NHS trusts2 and NHS foundation trusts2 that did not report referral to treatment data in one or more months of each financial year from 2010-11

    Year

    Admitted pathway data

    Non-admitted pathway data

    Incomplete pathway data

    2010-11

    1

    1

    5

    2011-12

    1

    1

    3

    2012-13

    1

    1

    4

    2013-14

    6

    63

    7

    2014-15

    9

    9

    12

    2015-16

    14

    15

    16

    Source: NHS England, consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times

    Notes:

    1. Table shows the total number of different trusts not reporting data in a year and not the maximum number of trusts not reporting in anyone month.
    2. The same trust could have been a non-reporter in more than one month.
    3. Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust did not report February 2014 non-admitted data in 2013-14. The data was submitted in a later revision to the dataset.
    4. Each year is April to May. Two trusts that did not report incomplete pathways data in April 2010 also did not report data in some subsequent months of 2010-11.
  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reports of illegal salvage activity on the site of HMS Warrior have been received by the Ministry of Defence Police since the discovery of the wreck in September 2016.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) has carried out the following investigations (taking “disturbances” to mean thefts or alleged thefts and not limited to shipwrecks) under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986:

    YEAR

    2010

    1

    2011

    6

    2012

    1

    2013

    0

    2014

    0

    2015

    1

    The MDP has not received any information related to the illegal salvage of material from HMS Warrior.

    By invoking the principle of Sovereign Immunity, and by designating specific vessels under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, we endeavour to protect these important sites where we are able. Where we have definitive evidence of desecration of these sites, we will take appropriate action. However, it should be appreciated that, given the large number of Royal Navy wrecks around the world and the vast area they cover, there are limitations on what can be achieved with regard to protection.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many clinical commissioning groups have put in place plans for delayed discharges in co-operation with their local independent sector partners.

    Alistair Burt

    This would be a matter for individual clinical commissioning groups, who are responsible for commissioning care that is underpinned by knowledge of local health care needs. As such we do not hold this information centrally.

  • David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote opportunities for businesses in the South West to access high growth markets abroad.

    Anna Soubry

    This financial year UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has helped more than 800 South West (SW) businesses access new markets. UKTI’s Passport to Export programme provided intensive support to 170 companies entering new markets including high growth markets (HGMs) such as China and UAE.

    A further 850 South West business delegates have attended business clinics and seminars promoting export opportunities including those in HGMs. During Export Week in November 2015, 233 business delegates had 787 one-to-one meetings with 69 visiting overseas Trade Officers at the ExploreExport event in Bristol.

    Additionally, in December alone SW businesses responded to 116 Export Opportunities as part of the Exporting is Great campaign, including 25 in China. To date UKTI South West has issued 119 Market Visit Grants to businesses, 42 of which were to HGMs.

    UKTI South West activity is supported by a High Impact in Growth Economies programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund. That programme has assisted forty South West SMEs to trade successfully in Brazil. Focused mainly on sectors with innovative high value products the programme is forecast to increase employment in the region by 260 jobs by 2017 as well as adding £100 million to South West export sales by 2020. UKTI South West aims to continue the programme by targeting further high growth markets over the next 3 years including Mexico, Cuba, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Brazil.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

    “

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reforms of the welfare system are communicated clearly to recipients of welfare payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP communicates reforms of the welfare system to recipients of welfare payments in advance of the change and using the most appropriate channel including on-line, face to face, telephone and in writing.

    To ensure that these communications are clear we follow pre-defined standards that meet accessibility requirements, are readable and easy to act on. We test products to confirm this.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Bangladesh about child marriage, and whether it is their policy that the revised Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 should retain the minimum age of marriage for women at 18 years age without exceptions.

    Baroness Verma

    We welcome the commitments made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Girl Summit last year and in New York in September to end marriage under the age 15 by 2021 and under 18 by 2041. We expect the age of marriage to be maintained at 18.

    Alongside other Donor Partners and NGOs we continue to discuss with the Government of Bangladesh our concerns regarding the legislation, including the possibility of an exception clause that might allow marriage below 18 in certain circumstances, with the aim of ensuring that the public commitments at the UK Girl Summit are maintained. Meanwhile, we are working with other parts of HMG and donor partners to press for improved implementation of policies that protect and promote the status of women and girls. Activities to tackle inequality and promote empowerment are embedded across all of our wider programmes.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of banks closing accounts of money service businesses on grounds relating to adherence to money-laundering regulations since July 2013.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The FCA have recently published a report on the nature and scale of de-risking in the UK. The report reinforces the view that de-risking is driven by a variety of factors, not just anti money-laundering compliance or a fear of regulatory action. From a data set of 23 banks the report noted that “tracking the proportionately tiny number of closures linked to financial crime concerns within this immense dataset is thus inherently challenging, especially if the reason for closure is primarily commercial, with a small component of the equation relating to ‘increased compliance costs’.”

    However the report does indicate that the rate of customer exits has accelerated over the last 2-3 years.

    Data from HM Revenue and Customs (the supervisor of Money Service Businesses outside the banking sector) shows that there are about 2000 MSB’s principals registered to trade with approximately 45,000 agents around the UK. It is a large and diverse sector. HMRC does hold data on the number of de-registered MSB’s, however given that MSB’s are not required to provide HMRC with information on when they have had their bank accounts closed, data on MSB’s effected by de-risking is not available.