Tag: 2016

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what criteria his Department uses to determine who receives Start-Up Loans; and what processes are in place to ensure that people with mental health problems have their applications considered fairly.

    Anna Soubry

    The Start-Up Loans programme provides loans and mentoring support to enable entrepreneurs aged 18 and over from all parts of society and based in the UK to start a business. So far, over 34,300 entrepreneurs have received support from the programme, which in turn has facilitated over £187 million worth of lending to date.

    The programme operates through a network of Delivery Partners, who make individual lending decisions based on criteria set by the Start-Up Loans Company. Delivery Partners are required to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. A condition of this authorisation is that they adhere to the FCA’s Treating Customers Fairly principles, which include reference to the treatment of customers with mental health issues.

    A full list of principles is available on the FCA’s website

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has allocated funding for primary and secondary schools to employ a dedicated mental health practitioner to provide services to pupils on site.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The most recent prevalence survey estimated that 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder, and more have lower level problems. This is why the Government has made good mental health, character and resilience a high priority. The Department of Health is commissioning a new prevalence survey to update this estimate for a wider range of ages, from 2-19. It is due to report in 2018. We do not routinely collect data that allows us to measure the amount schools spend specifically on addressing mental health issues.

    We are committed to better understanding what schools are doing on this matter, which is why my department is commissioning an extensive survey. This survey will provide a robust national picture of mental health support provided by schools and colleges.

    It is for head teachers to determine how they spend their individual school budgets to best meet the needs of all their pupils. In the Spending Review we announced that the core schools budget will be protected in real terms through this Parliament. We are also protecting the Pupil Premium, which many schools use to fund mental health provision, at current pupil rates. Within these protections, we announced in December 2015 that an additional £92.5 million will specifically be provided in the high needs element of the Dedicated School Grant (DSG) next year.

    We have also made £1.4 billion available over the next five years to transform local children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services. Clinical Commissioning Groups have been required to work with others services locally, including schools, to produce plans that set out how they will transform children and young people’s mental health services locally to make them more accessible and increase the focus on prevention.

    We are also contributing to a £3 million joint pilot with NHS England for training single points of contact in schools and specialist mental health services, to ensure that children and young people have timely access to specialist support where needed. There are 22 pilot areas covering more than 200 schools across 27 CCGs.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from (a) consumer groups and (b) railway franchise holders on the level of staffing at small railway stations; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    Whilst we regulate Ticket Office opening times through the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, station staffing levels are primarily a matter for operators as we believe that they themselves are best placed to determine how to meet the needs of their passengers.

    Since February 2015, 3 ticket offices have reduced their opening hours after train companies followed the procedure as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, which includes making representation to the Department.

    Passenger Focus (as was) and London TravelWatch provided responses to the East Anglia franchise public consultation with regard to staffing.

    More recently, both Transport Focus and London TravelWatch have made representations to the Department with regard to the South Western franchise consultation and staffing.

    Representatives from Govia Thameslink Railway have also briefed officials at the Department on their plans to carry out a consultation on proposals to change ticket office opening hours at some stations.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to increase the number of bedded inpatient services for young people with mental health conditions.

    Alistair Burt

    The £1.4 billion additional funding the Government has made available over the course of this Parliament to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind includes £7 million to enable NHS England to commission 56 new inpatient care beds for children and young people with mental health needs. This raises the total number of beds to 1,442, the highest this has ever been.

    The local Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) transformation plans developed during 2015/16 provide the ideal context within which to make decisions about the future requirements for CAMHS T4 beds. The specialised commissioners have reviewed the approach to be taken to the CAMHS T4 procurement and have moved away from a single national procurement to local procurement, clearly set within a national framework. This revised approach will enable variation around timescales and ensure responsiveness to the local agenda. The approach will also reinforce the essential local ownership of capacity plans and pathways of care.

    We also need to be clear that effective mental health care is about far more than inpatient beds. We are therefore working with local commissioners to strengthen care across the system. The aim is to bolster preventive and early-intervention services that help young people stay well in their own communities, without ever needing inpatient care.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress has been made on the techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors which was due to conclude at the end of March 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors is due to conclude shortly. Once the assessment is complete officials will consider the key findings as part of on-going SMR policy development

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the net expenditure of the Standards and Testing Agency in the year ending March 2012 was over 25 per cent lower than the average yearly net expenditure for the period April 2010 to March 2015.

    Lord Nash

    The year ending March 2012 was the period when the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency closed and the Standards and Testing Agency opened. The reduction in expenditure can partly be explained by the transfer of functions between the two organisations. In addition, there was no whole cohort external marking of the Key Stage 2 writing test that year.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of all government departments adopting the same practice of informal monthly performance reviews which has been implemented by the Valuation Office Agency.

    Ben Gummer

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Wednesday 7 September 2016 to UIN: 44500.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the UN Human Rights Council on the persecution of Christians.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK has a strong record of supporting freedom of religion or belief, including christianity, at the Human Rights Council. We supported the resolution on freedom of religion or belief in both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in 2015, and will look to do so again in March 2016. The UK also supported the appointment of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, who is tasked with monitoring and reporting these issues worldwide.

    In addition, we regularly support language in country specific resolutions about the importance of protecting religious minorities, as evidenced in the Syria resolution of September 2015. We also regularly work with EU partners to ensure a strong EU position on freedom of religion or belief at the Human Rights Council.

    When raising persecution faced by one faith group, we endeavour to frame our remarks in the wider context of the rule of law and freedom – making the point that when one faith community is persecuted, the liberty of all is jeopardised.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on the use of the Mental Health Act 1983 are of the Care Quality Commission’s sixth annual report, HC483, published on 14 October 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    The Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice, which came into force in April 2015, provides statutory guidance on how functions under the Mental Health Act 1983 (the Act) should be carried out. All providers of mental health services under the Act have a duty to abide by both the provisions of the Act and the detailed guidance on how implement those provisions contained in the Code of Practice. That includes the duty of all such mental health providers to ensure their staff know and understand their responsibilities under the Act.

    Empowerment and the involvement of patients are key principles underpinning the Act, and the Code of Practice is clear that detained patients must be informed of their rights; that it is the responsibility of those treating them to ensure that patients understand their rights; and that patients are aware that they are entitled to ask for the assistance of an Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) to help them understand this information.

    The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) annual report Monitoring the Mental Health Act 2014/15 indicates that CQC have already taken action where providers are failing to effectively monitor the Act, train staff and support patients and recommends that services use the findings of that report to make sure staff have the right skills and knowledge and decide what action needs to be taken to improve the care and support available for patients.

  • Margaret Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Margaret Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Greenwood on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what formula his Department used to allocated funding to local authorities from the transitional grant of £150 million per year for two years to mitigate the effects of reductions in revenue support grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I refer the hon. member to the response I gave to the hon. member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) on the 22 February, PQ 26616.