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Tag: 2016

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the NHS of opening hospitals seven days a week.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Spending Review provided the National Health Service in England with £10 billion in real terms additional funding by 2020-21. This fully funds the NHS’s Five Year Forward View, including delivering urgent and emergency hospital services which are of the same high quality at the weekend as during the week.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of civilians who have died in South East Turkey during the current conflict in that region.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are aware of reports of civilian casualties in south east Turkey. The Turkish Government have said that 120 civilians and more than twice that number of Turkish police and military personnel have lost their lives in clashes between 20 July 2015 and 17 February 2016. We continue to believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. Our thoughts are with the victims of these attacks, and the civilians who have been caught up in the violence. As in any conflict, civilian casualties should be avoided and human rights need to be fully protected.

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and our Ambassador in Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights, avoid civilian casualties and return to the peace process. We have been clear, in public and private, that PKK violence must end and we support a return to the peace process, in the interests of Turkey and the region. We stand ready to help in any way we can. I raised these issues when I met Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister on 12 March and with my Turkish counterpart the last time we met in August 2015.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of her Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.

    James Brokenshire

    The Department records actual staffing levels, but does not centrally record the number of jobs by location. Records show that since 2010 neither (a) the Department or (b) the Department’s executive non-departmental public bodies and statutory bodies, including Advisory and Tribunal NDPBs, have had staff based within the Cheshire East local authority area.

    There are therefore no plans for posts to be reduced in this area. The Department’s executive non-departmental Public Bodies are:

    • the Independent Police Complaints Commission;

    • the Gangmasters Licensing Authority;

    • the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner;

    • the Security Industry Authority; and

    • the Disclosure and Barring Service

    Furthermore the National Crime Agency, a non-ministerial government department, and the College of Policing also do not have offices or staff based in Cheshire East.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department monitors the progress of organisations providing NHS or adult social care towards conforming to the Accessible Information Standard.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England published the Accessible Information Standard in July 2015. Compliance with the Standard is a legal duty and organisations that provide National Health Service care or adult social care are required to implement the Standard in full by 31 July 2016. Compliance with the Standard is also a requirement of the NHS Standard Contract 2016/17.

    NHS England does not hold information on how many NHS trusts conform to the Standard.

    NHS England is not proactively monitoring progress of organisations that provide NHS or adult social care towards conforming to the Accessible Information Standard, as the Standard does not establish a new national audit or dataset which requires organisations to report centrally on their adherence. In addition, NHS England as an organisation does not have a monitoring or inspection remit.

    However, the Standard includes requirements for organisations to publish or display an accessible communications policy which explains how they will follow the Accessible Information Standard, and an accessible complaints policy. The inclusion of these requirements is intended to support ease of compliance assessment by interested organisations, and to ensure that people with information and communication support needs are able to provide feedback to organisations about their experiences.

    The specification for the Standard also makes clear that commissioning organisations must actively support compliance by organisations from which they commission services and must also seek assurance from providers in this regard.

    In addition, the Care Quality Commission will look at evidence of how services implement the Accessible Information Standard as part of their inspection of health services and adult social care services when they make judgements about whether health services are responsive to people’s needs, and adult social care services are responsive to people’s needs and whether they are well led.

  • Lord Young of Cookham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Young of Cookham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Young of Cookham on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date they plan to publish the Tobacco Control Plan for England.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Tobacco Control Plan is currently being developed and Ministers will decide on an appropriate publication date in due course.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what type of reception institution suspected people traffickers and illegal migrants who are intercepted by Border Force or other UK government bodies are taken to.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a person of trafficking, they would be arrested and processed in accordance with the provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ;at sea, Customs and Excise Management Act 1979; in Scotland Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

    Border Force, along with operational partners, carries out a range of activity to prevent migrants from entering the UK through clandestine and illegal means.

    Border Force has specific policy, guidance, operating procedures and referral mechanisms to other government departments in order to carry out the appropriate action when an illegal migrant is encountered at a port or other location. Illegal migrants who are intercepted at the Border are processed in accordance with their individual circumstances and where appropriate detained in accommodation based on these circumstances.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) statutory and (b) other guidance is available to higher education institutions on their duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards disabled students.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have clear legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with disabilities.

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced a range of guidance for institutions on their obligations under the Equality Act 2010, including technical guidance setting out the detail of the law.

    Guidance is also produced by the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU), a higher education sector body that supports equality and diversity for staff and students across the UK, including for disabled staff and students on managing “reasonable adjustments”. The ECU also published a report on the implications for institutions of the key issues contained in the Equality Act 2010.

  • 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 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 29 January (HL5640), whether they request and collate statistics from each local authority about pupils who are regularly absent from school, or who have been deleted from the admission register in certain circumstances.

    Lord Nash

    Pupil absence information is collected by the Department at an enrolment level through the School Census.

    Absence information, including figures relating to those pupils who are persistent absentees, is published three times a year in the following National Statistics releases:

    • Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn term

    • Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn and spring term

    • Pupil absence in schools in England: full academic year

    The Department does not collect information on pupils who have been deleted from the admission register for specific circumstances.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides for local authorities to share best practice on adult social work.

    Alistair Burt

    Raising the quality and consistency of social work practice remains a priority for the Department and for Government. We continue to provide local authorities with the tools and resources to enable them to share good practice.

    Principal Social Workers are now in place in nearly every local authority and a number of National Health Service trusts, responsible for strong practice leadership in their organisations. They are supported by strong national and regional networks, with links to regional Association of Directors of Adult Social Services networks, helping to identify and share good social work practice. A statement on the role and the responsibility of local authorities to appoint a principal social worker in adult social care, has been included in revised statutory guidance accompanying the Care Act, which the Department published on 10 March.

    In addition, the Department is working with Skills for Care and the Social Care Institute for Excellence to assist local authorities in the implementation of the Care Act and the sharing of best practice across the whole of the adult social care sector, including social work.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many jobs in (a) her Department and (b) each of her Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Neither DFID nor its non-departmental public bodies have had, nor plan to have, any jobs based in East Cheshire Local Authority during the periods in question.