Tag: 2016

  • Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karen Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for judicial review have been (a) made and (b) successful in respect of Children Act 2004 responsibilities in each local authority in England in each of the last five years.

    Caroline Dinenage

    HMCTS does not collect data to the level of detail required to identify local authorities or social service authorities, or applications in respect of the Children Act 2004. The information can only be collated at disproportionate cost.

  • Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cumulative loss in revenue to HM Treasury has been as a result of the effect of tobacco control measures over the last 10 years.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department assesses the impact of all proposed measures before laying legislation using standard government methodology. These assessments are set out in Impact Assessments which are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee before publication alongside the Statutory Instrument. Impact Assessments include a thorough analysis of the costs, benefits and risks associated with policy options.

    A number of the tobacco measures contain commitments to further review the impact of the legislation within five years of them coming into force.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Indonesia on the case of a Christian woman sentenced to caning in Aceh following her being charged with selling alcohol.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We condemn the use of corporal punishment. We welcome public comments made by the head of the EU delegation in Jakarta in November 2015 that the Government of the special territory of Aceh must safeguard human rights and protect the rights of minorities, regardless of religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 7 June 2016 to Question 38382, whether the European Commission’s proposal of 10 June 2016 on ratification of the Paris Agreement has changed the Government’s timeline for UK ratification of that agreement.

    Amber Rudd

    The UK is committed to ratifying the Paris Agreement together with the EU and Member States as soon as possible. The Commission’s proposal for a Council Decision on the EU’s ratification of the Paris Agreement is therefore a positive step forward.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her French counterpart on the conditions at the refugee camp in Calais; and what assistance the UK is providing to improve living standards at that camp.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The management of the migrant camp in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government, and they have made suitable alternative accommodation places available for migrants inside the camp.

    With the support of the UK, the French Government has also created more than 160 new centres away from Calais where migrants can consider their options, including whether to claim asylum, in comfort and safety away from the traffickers. Both Governments are clear that there is no reason for migrants to live in the difficult conditions in the camp, there is a reasonable and accessible remedy available in France.

  • 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 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received from the Chief Executive of NHS England on the financial settlement allocated for the NHS for (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Spending Review settled the level of funding that the National Health Service in England will receive over the course of this Parliament, with the NHS England Chief Executive a full party to the discussions with HM Treasury. As the Chief Executive said at the time the Spending Review was announced, “our case for the NHS has been heard and actively supported’’. Regular discussions around the finances of the NHS continue to take place between my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Chief Executive of NHS England.

    The NHS will be receiving £10 billion more per year in real terms by 2020-21 compared to 2014-15. The following table sets out the financial settlement allocated to the NHS.

    NHS budget for Spending Review period

    Revenue and capital combined

    2015-16

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    Total (£ million)

    100,500

    105,975

    109,337

    111,824

    114,929

    119,035

    Real terms increase on previous year (%)

    3.7%

    1.3%

    0.3%

    0.7%

    1.3%

    Real terms increase on 2015-16 baseline (£ billion)

    3.8

    5.3

    5.8

    6.7

    8.4

    Real terms increase on 2014-15 baseline (£ billion)

    2.0

    6.0

    7.0

    8.0

    9.0

    10.0

    Note:

    These figures differ from the NHS Total Departmental Expenditure Limit (TDEL) figures announced at the Spending Review due to a number of technical adjustments, including transfers of functions. The main transfer of function is the move of 0-5 public health services from NHS England to local government. There are a small number of other transfers including the move of the Leadership Academy to Health Education England. To ensure comparability of numbers, in this table £500 million has been removed from the 2015-16 baseline, representing 6 months of funding for 0-5 public health services between 1 April and 30 September 2015 and these other planned transfers.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by his Department; how many of those employees are paid more than (a) £50,000 and (b) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was in press and public relations by his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Communication Directorate employs 86 full-time employees in London on press and public relations, including promotion of the UK overseas. This number does not include Communication Directorate staff who work solely on functions other than press and public relations (e.g. internal communications, service transformation etc.).

    The FCO also employs staff in press and public relations roles abroad, but as these details are not held centrally this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    i) The number of press and public relations employees who earn more than £50,000 in the FCO is: 18

    ii) The number of press and public relations employees who earn more than £100,000 in the FCO is: 0

    iii) The total expenditure on the central communication function (not including staff costs) by the FCO in 2014/15 was: £1,883,791

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme recovery rate reaches 50 per cent by March 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England (NHSE) monitors clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) performance against the recovery target for people who have received psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. In October 2015, 77 CCGs met the 50% Recovery Standard.

    The Department is working closely with NHSE to reduce the variation in recovery rates across CCG areas.

    NHSE is also supporting lowest performing IAPT providers to improve their recovery rates and is offering workshops to spread good practice to all commissioners and providers.

    The Government is aware of evidence that shows that people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities are less likely to use psychological therapies. There is ongoing activity by NHSE in collaboration with the Department to encourage access to IAPT services by the under-represented groups.

    A BAME benchmarking tool has been developed and is currently being piloted by a number of IAPT services. This will assist services to improve access to people from BAME communities by helping those services understand the ethnicity of the population and whether this is reflected within the population they see. It asks services to assess whether outcomes for BAME communities are equivalent to non-BAME patients whilst also checking whether improvements for access to people from BAME communities have been made and specific training for therapists have been utilised. Once pilots are complete NHS England will publish the benchmarking tool for all services to access.

    Equality of access is an issue for wider mental health services and that is why the Mental Health Partnership Board is considering the issues around equality of access in mental health services, which includes the IAPT programme.

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre publish referrals and outcomes data by ethnic groups. NHSE intends to compare those numbers with BAME prevalence population data to highlight referrals and access rates for ethnic groups at CCG level. CCGs are responsible for taking the necessary actions to address any disparity.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the UK’s international development capabilities of the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 2 of Budget 2016, whether the £3.5 billion savings to public spending to be achieved by 2012-20 will affect the four year funding settlement to local councils announced by his Department in December 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    While the Government has not yet completed its departmental efficiency review to help identify further savings in 2019-20, we expect the four year allocations confirmed in the final settlement on 10 February 2016 to be the amounts presented to Parliament each year, should councils choose to accept the offer.

    We look forward to councils publishing efficiency plans by 14 October 2016 that demonstrate how the greater certainty on offer can bring about opportunities for further savings. However, if councils prefer not to have a four year settlement we cannot guarantee their future levels of funding.

    We have been clear that funding allocations in 2019-20 may be subject to the implementation of 100% business rate retention, something councils have asked for over decades and which we are working with the sector to deliver.