Tag: 2016

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made in implementing the British Food Plan across all Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Government is committed to providing food produced to British standards or their equivalent in all its canteens, restaurants and cafeterias by the end of this Parliament. Defra is working closely with other Departments and businesses to implement the Plan for Public Procurement of Food, including a balanced scorecard. The Ministry of Justice recently launched a tender for supplying food to prisons, worth £500 million, which requires bids to use the balanced scorecard. Their current supplier has agreed that the 30 million portions of UHT milk served in prisons each year will be sourced from UK producers. We are working with MoD to develop the best way to embed the balanced scorecard into their forthcoming contracts. We are working with all central Departments to ensure their food and catering contracts comply with the balanced scorecard approach.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the Govia Thameslink Railway remedial plan.

    Claire Perry

    This has been published and is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525767/govia-thameslink-remedial-plan.pdf

    “

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department employs staff with responsibility for developing best practice on withdrawing bilateral programmes from countries that transition to middle-income status.

    Rory Stewart

    Transition planning and development of best practice is led by the relevant country office, with support from officials in the UK and across regions. Each transition process has been different depending on circumstance. ICAI is currently undertaking a review of DFID’s approach to transition and their report is due to be published towards the end of 2016.

  • 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 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44480, what monitoring mechanisms are in place to collect data on the effects of his Department’s devolution policies.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government believes that local areas are best placed to monitor the effects of devolution policies within their locality. All devolution deals include a commitment to putting in place a monitoring and evaluation plan, which is locally developed and administered with government support and signed off by government.

    Combined authorities are also required to have local scrutiny committees, helping to ensure that those best placed to monitor devolution activity are empowered to do so.

    It is the government’s view that this is an appropriate and proportionate approach to decentralising power.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans to they have to assess the effectiveness of the Domestic Fire Safety (Wales) Measure 2011 after it comes into force in Wales on 1 January 2016.

    Lord Bates

    Responsibility for Building Regulations in Wales, including fire safety provisions, is a devolved matter and the Government has no plans to assess the effectiveness of this measure, which is a matter for the Welsh Government.

  • 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 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the level of payments by Remploy to Experts by Experience; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has advised that it has taken into account the application of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 in the new contracts with Choice Support and Remploy Ltd.

    The CQC issued a press release on 28 January 2016 on this matter. It advised that the CQC’s contractual discussions with Remploy Ltd and Choice Support are still ongoing. The CQC understand that Remploy has now written to Experts by Experience confirming they will pay an hourly rate of £15 for the first six months of the contract – commencing 1 February 2016.

    Departmental Ministers have not received any representations about the importance of Experts by Experience in the National Health Service or the level of payments by Remploy to Experts by Experience.

    The Department has not received any direct correspondence about the importance of Experts by Experience in the NHS or the level of payments by Remploy to Experts by Experience. We are, however, aware of one email on this subject that the Department has been copied into that was sent to the CQC.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of the Defence Assistance Fund was in 2014-15.

    Michael Fallon

    The cost of the Defence Assistance Fund in financial year 2014-15 was £15.529 million.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for trends in the number of junior doctors electing not to finish their postgraduate training in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The General Medical Council report, “Interactive reports to investigate factors that affect progression of doctors in training”, shows that for 7,423 Foundation Year 2 (F2) doctors who completed foundation training in 2012, the first cohort the General Medical Council began collecting data on:

    – 65.8% of these doctors took up a specialty or general practitioner training place immediately after completing foundation training;

    – a further 16.6% took up a training place the following year; and

    – 92.5% were in further medical training or working as doctors in the United Kingdom within two and a half years of completing F2.

    A copy of the report is attached and it can also be found at:

    http://www.gmc-uk.org/Briefing_note___Exams_and_recruitment_outcome_reports.pdf_60060997.pdf_60086828.pdf

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the annual costs incurred in clinical negligence legislation due to the failure of the NHS Litigation Authority to (a) properly investigate claims early in the process and (b) offer a realistic settlement at the earliest possible time; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The role of the National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHS LA) is to deal efficiently and effectively with clinical negligence cases against the NHS as set out in the framework agreement with the Department.

    The NHS LA discharges its functions by:

    ― paying justified claims promptly and appropriately;

    ― defending claims without merit;

    ― undertaking appropriate and proportionate risk management activities with its members with a view to assisting them to minimise their claims and thus improve patient and staff safety; and

    ― ensuring that the lessons learned from claims and the other activities of the NHS LA are appropriately shared in order to help reduce adverse incidents in the future.

    A review of NHS LA by the Department, published in July 2015, concluded that it is a well-led and efficient organisation.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people appointed to the taskforce to look at improving accessibility of apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities have learning difficulties.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The individuals invited to sit on the taskforce represent a range of organisations and specialisms, from employers and training providers to charities and educational experts. Organisations representing disabled people and those with learning disabilities have been invited to take part.

    It would not be appropriate for DWP to disclose personal information about taskforce members.