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Tag: 2016

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23991, whether calls to make a claim for benefit are free for all (a) pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, (b) monthly contract mobile telephones and (c) landline telephones.

    Justin Tomlinson

    All benefit new claims lines have 0800 numbers and are therefore free whether claimants call from mobile phones or landlines, with the exception of Universal Credit which has an 0345 number as the expectation is that claims are made online.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultations have taken place on privatisation of railway stations currently owned by Network Rail; and which stakeholders have been so consulted.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is exploring new models for station management and ownership with the goal to bring improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options but no decisions have been taken at this early stage. Any decisions on such potential future options will take account of the ‎findings of Nicola Shaw’s report into the longer term shape and financing of Network Rail.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

    George Eustice

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not received any funding from the European Social Fund.

  • Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to match national and local capacity with demand for maternity services, and when they expect a balance to be achieved.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Maternity services are included in the key objectives set out in the Mandate between the Government and the NHS England. The Mandate states that women should receive better care during pregnancy and have a named midwife responsible for ensuring personalised, one-to-one care.

    In its report Better Births: Improving Outcomes of maternity services in England, the National Maternity Review (which was sponsored by NHS England) set out a vision for future models of maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. It recommends that providers and commissioners should come together as “local maternity systems” and develop a local vision for improved maternity services based on the principles contained within the report. A copy of Better Births is attached.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will now be expected to consider the conclusions of Better Births and what changes they may need to make to local services in light of those conclusions. CCGs are expected to understand local demand for maternity services, including listening to what women in their communities want, and consider their health needs in designing services. This should also be reflected in the development of five year Sustainability and Transformation Plans which cover wider geographical ‘footprints’.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the total investment costs per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated by the Clean Technology Fund has increased from £21.40 to £26.40 according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s additional business case and intervention summary 2015; and what is being done to address rising costs.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approval decisions are based on six CTF Investment Criteria, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The total investment cost per tonne is estimated based on the portfolio of CTF projects that have been approved by the Trust Fund Committee. The original appraisal relied on the assessment of 30 individual projects approved by 2013, whereas the latest analysis is based on 57 projects approved by 2015. The total cost per tonne across the portfolio has changed as more projects have been approved, and will be expected to continue to change as the CTF portfolio increases, reflecting the range of projects included in the portfolio. As an example, sectors such as transport and energy efficiency typically have a higher cost per tonne than renewable energy projects. All projects deliver good value for money and wider benefits, such as private finance leveraged, jobs created, and increased numbers of people with access to energy.

    In order to guarantee the continued value for money of the CTF, there is a robust project approval process ensuring compliance with the standards set out in the CTF investment criteria. As a contributor country the UK approves the allocation of CTF resources for programmes, projects, and administrative budgets; assessing new proposals to ensure continued the value for money (see attachment with further detail on the CTF governance structure).

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the average accident rate is higher on dual carriageways than on three lane roads.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department does not hold any information on the number of lanes in either the road accident data supplied by police forces or road traffic estimates. Therefore it is not possible to provide a comparison between dual carriageway roads and single carriage roads with three lanes.

    However, the Department does record the number of carriageways at the scene of accidents as well as the length of ‘A’ roads by number of carriageways. As a guide, in 2015 for Great Britain there were 380 reported personal-injury accidents per billion vehicle miles on single carriageway ‘A’ roads and 140 accidents per billion vehicle miles on dual carriageway ‘A’ roads.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England is looking at treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

    David Mowat

    Treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy are not currently within the Specialised Ear and Ophthalmology Clinical Reference Group work programme and there is no current work in the policy pipeline. Any new proposals are able to be submitted to NHS England who would consider in line with their agreed processes for specialised services.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on potential Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set indicators on autism.

    Alistair Burt

    There have been no specific recent discussions between the Department and NHS England about including autism in NHS England’s Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS). CCG OIS measures are developed from NHS Outcomes Framework indicators that can be measured at CCG level together with additional indicators developed by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). NICE makes recommendations for new CCG OIS indicators via a public consultation process and an Advisory Committee of senior clinicians and commissioners which consider both CCG OIS and Quality Outcomes Framework indicators. NICE is supported by the HSCIC which quality assure indicators through its expert processes.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether membership of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe requires them to regard all citizens in the UK to be equal and thus requiring equal treatment by law.

    Lord Dunlop

    In the UK, The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.

    The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has many commitments that recall that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have withdrawn more than the 25 per cent tax-free allowance from their pension fund as a lump sum since 2014.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not have information on all types of taxable pension payments taken since 2014. However, information on the taxable element of pension flexibility lump sums taken since April 2015 is collated and published quarterly. This also provides details of the number of people who have taken these payments. The publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/flexible-payments-from-pensions.

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