Tag: 2016

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    (a) None. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not have any staff in Stoke-on-Trent, and has not abolished or relocated any jobs from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010.

    (b) None. The FCO’s non-departmental public departments and executive agencies do not have any staff in Stoke-on-Trent, and have not abolished or relocated any jobs from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010.

  • 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 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions are in place to support and promote the mental wellbeing of psychology professionals within the NHS workforce.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England’s Five Year Forward View draws attention to how National Health Service employers should look after their staff to stay healthy through new incentives, ensuring that guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on promoting healthy workplaces is implemented, particularly for mental health. The frontline work of our staff requires support, which is why both psychological wellbeing practitioners and high intensity practitioners have one hour of clinical supervision with an experienced trained supervisor per week. In addition, group supervision is available for longer sessions.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority on its response to future flooding.

    Mike Penning

    The Government commissioned Sir Ken Knight to carry out an independent review of the scope for fire and rescue authorities across England to improve their efficiency. His report, Facing the Future, published in 2013, provided a wide-ranging analysis of costs and benchmarking between fire and rescue authorities on a range of measures of financial performance.

    We have delivered a sustainable finance settlement and there is no question that fire and rescue authorities will continue to have the resources they need. The number of incidents attended by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is 27 per cent lower than five years ago, and injuries requiring hospital treatment are 59 per cent lower.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2016 to Question 26459, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to the pay to stay scheme proposed in the Housing and Planning Bill on the number of residents who leave their local communities.

    Brandon Lewis

    Following my answer on 17 February, the Government’s consultation response on Pay to Stay published on 9 March confirmed that a taper will be applied above the minimum income thresholds. This will mean that rental increases will be lower for those households close to the income thresholds. And I would reiterate that if tenants on incomes well above the threshold wish to take up rental opportunities in the private sector then this should be encouraged to free up social housing for those most in need.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which categories of recipients of grants awarded by her Department will be covered by the new anti-lobbying clause in Government grant agreements.

    George Eustice

    The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs intends to await further guidance from the Cabinet Office with regards to the implementation of the grants clause following its review of representations.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the level of access to stroke rehabilitation services in areas that are socio-economically deprived.

    Jane Ellison

    Although the Department has made no assessment of access to stroke rehabilitation in socio-economically deprived areas, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) undertook an audit in 2015 of the provision and organisation of post-acute stroke care, including rehabilitation services. The audit shows there are variations around the country in the availability of these services to stroke survivors. The Strategic Clinical Networks and the National Clinical Director for Stroke are working with clinical commissioning groups to help address this.

    The SSNAP data can be found at:

    https://www.strokeaudit.org/results/PostAcute/National.aspx

    “

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to combat the supply of drugs into prisons.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Justice Secretary is clear that safety is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and a vital part of our reform plans. There are a number of factors, including the availability of drugs in prisons, which must be tackled in order to make our prisons safe and places of rehabilitation.

    We have introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they could face prosecution and extra time behind bars. We have a range of security measures and searching techniques in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.

    I am looking closely at this important issue, and will be setting our further plans in due course.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the risk and potential effect of new government-funded assets on commercial innovation activity in existing commercial innovation facilities.

    Joseph Johnson

    All potential major capital projects are assessed against the additional value they add, including an evaluation of whether the research or innovation activity is already being undertaken elsewhere. The majority of decisions about which research investments to undertake are taken directly by Research Councils, based on rigorous criteria including peer review.

    In respect of the establishment of Innovate UK’s 11 Catapult Centres, all candidate areas have undergone a robust evaluation by Innovate UK’s Senior Innovation Leads who have relevant domain expertise. In addition, facilitated workshops, with leading figures in the relevant industries – including business, academic and representatives from the public sector, are held to ascertain whether Innovate UK’s analysis of the market opportunities in this area is correct. Each candidate area is evaluated according to an agreed process to assess the size of the global market opportunity and the demand for a Catapult to help business build on their capabilities to commercialise innovation and realise this potential in the UK.

    In setting up new Catapult centres Innovate UK take into account the option of working within or alongside existing physical centres in the UK either to avoid duplication or to achieve quicker delivery.

    At a local level, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are responsible for identifying, assessing and approving Local Growth Funded projects. They do this in accordance with their strategic economic objectives and Local Assurance Frameworks which have to comply with the LEP National Assurance Framework. The National Assurance Framework covers value for money and states that methodology should be proportionate to the funding allocated and in line with established Government guidance including the HM Treasury Green Book.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessments he has made of the reasons for the increase in excess winter mortality rates in England in the winter of 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    The increased excess deaths in 2014-15 coincided with the circulation of a strain of flu, A(H3N2), that particularly affects older people. Cold snaps and other respiratory infections may also have contributed to an increase in excess mortality. There was evidence also that the flu vaccine provided reduced protection due to some drift of the circulating A(H3N2) virus.

    These observations were not unique to the United Kingdom, with 14 other European countries also reporting an increase in excess mortality. Throughout the last decade, there has generally been a good match between the strains of flu in the vaccine and those that subsequently circulate, highlighting the importance of flu vaccination for at risk groups, including older people and also the childhood flu vaccine programme, which when rolled out, aims to provide protection for both children, but also the general population.

    Public Health England has no such data available for North East England.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners returned to jail having broken their licence conditions and subsequently been found to be carrying concealed drugs.

    Andrew Selous

    Prisoners recalled to custody having breached the conditions of their licence will be arrested by the police and then taken to the nearest local prison for the area in which they were arrested.

    Once returned to a local prison, prisoners will be searched and risk assessed in line with the prisons’ local policy for stopping contraband. Prisons deploy a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband, both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. We will continue to explore new methods of preventing drugs coming into prisons

    Prisoners found with drugs on entry to prison are sanctioned, potentially including days added to their sentence, or, in cases where the quantity of drug or packaging suggests possession with intent to supply, will be referred to the police. All visitors or staff caught with drugs are referred to the police.