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Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Education, Health and Care plans are now in place.

    Lord Nash

    Information on statements of special educational needs and statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans maintained by local authorities is collected in the annual SEN2 data return from local authorities in January each year. The latest available data shows there were 4,205 statutory EHC plans maintained by local authorities, as of January 2015.

    The Department does not collect information on which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an EHC plan. Data is collected in the annual SEN2 return on the number of EHC plans which were issued within the 20 weeks set out in regulations.

    Of the new EHC plans issued in 2014, 64.3% were within the 20 weeks when excluding exception cases. Including exception cases; 61.5% were issued within the 20 weeks. However, these figures cover EHC plans issued in the first four months of the transitional period where local authorities are beginning to implement the new reforms within 20 weeks.

    This information was published in the statistical first release ‘Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England 2015’, in May 2015. Data for January 2016 is expected to be published in May 2016.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25988, on Palestinian radicalism, what recent reports he has received on incitement to commit violence by the Palestinian Authority.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We condemn the glorification of terrorism and all incitement to commit violence, whichever side it comes from. Our posts in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem supply regular updates on the current situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Included in these updates are reports on incidents of incitement from both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli authorities.

    We have also received representations from members of the public regarding reports of incitement by the Palestinian Authority.

    We continue to support Palestinian calls to reinstate the Tripartite Committee as the appropriate channel to deal with allegations of Palestinian or Israeli incitement.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the proportion of people affected by contaminated blood likely to (a) be financially advantaged, (b) have their income unchanged and (c) be financially disadvantaged by the Government’s compensation proposals.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government has committed £100 million in additional funding for a reformed payment support scheme for those affected by this tragedy. This is in addition to the current spend and the £25 million already announced in March 2015. This is significantly more than any previous government has been able to provide for those affected by this tragedy.

    Around 2,400 people in England would be financially advantaged by the Government’s proposals to provide new annual payments for those who have received a stage 1 payment from the Skipton Fund, but who have not received a stage 2 payment.

    The consultation proposes that those receiving annual payments from the Skipton Fund and MFET Ltd (879 people in England) would have their annual payment increased from £14,749 to £15,000 per year.

    Discretionary payments (currently made by the charities) vary from year to year. Currently, all infected individuals can apply for discretionary support from the three charities. The consultation proposes that going forward, discretionary support for the infected could cover travel and accommodation costs related to ill-health. However, we are seeking views on this in the consultation and are keen to hear people’s views on this and all other proposals being made.

    Bereaved spouses and partners who currently receive support from the charities are being asked whether they would prefer a lump sum amount or continued access to discretionary help or a choice of either, whatever benefits them most financially.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) reduction in the number of gliders available for Air Cadet forces, (b) reduction in the number of gliding induction courses and (c) closure of 14 volunteer gliding squadrons on the operations and activities of air cadet squadrons across the UK.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    When the in-depth audit of glider engineering found that both the Vigilant and Viking aircraft fleets failed to meet the airworthiness standards required and all Air Cadet gliding had to be suspended as safety is paramount in all flying activity, it was essential that the RAF explored options for the future of glider experience flights, together with future fleet size and location. As a result of this work, and after substantial operational, technical and commercial negotiations with a range of leading aerospace companies, it became apparent that repair of all the existing Viking and Vigilant fleets was not economically sustainable. In particular, there was no reliable contractor able to take on a large scale refurbishment of the Vigilant fleet.

    The reduced glider fleet will operate at fewer, but larger, regional Volunteer Gliding Squadrons. Where Cadets have to travel longer distances investment is being increased to provide good quality residential accommodation. There will also be an uplift in Tutor aircraft, for powered flying from 45 to 70, and the formation of two additional Air Experience Flights, as well as the provision of 25 part task trainers.

    The Air Cadet Organisation are developing their courses, which centre on a common syllabus focusing every single flight on training rather than providing a passenger experience, be that in the air with gliding and powered flight or through synthetic training on part-task trainers funded by the RAF Charitable Trust. The redesigned courses provide a Cadet flying training structure like that used by our future RAF Typhoon and Lightning II pilots. Cadets will learn basic flying skills from an early point in their Air Cadet careers starting with ground school lessons and realistic synthetic training on part task trainers, building flying experience. This smart use and integration of synthetic flying during the early stages alongside powered and glider flying means that the Air Cadet of the future will once more have aviation opportunities unmatched by any other National Cadet Force worldwide.

  • Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on levels of pension saving of the introduction of the lifetime ISA.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Lifetime ISA is a complement to the existing pension system. It will provide savers with greater choice and flexibility in how they save for retirement.

    From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have died as a result of (a) sickle cell disease and (b) thalassaemia in each (i) clinical commissioning group area, (ii) trust area and (iii) national sickle cell and thalassaemia centre area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    George Freeman

    NHS England does not routinely collect this information. Data on adverse events for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassaemia is available from the National Haemoglobinopathy Registry Report 2013/14.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2016 to Question 42347, what assessment she has made of the public health implications of slag and metal contaminants in surface and ground waters at the former SSI site; and if she will make an assessment of the (a) likely cost and (b) timetable for remediation of those contaminants.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Government Officials continue to work with the Official Receiver to maintain a ‘safe state’ position for the SSI site, including managing risks to human health and the water environment.

    Government has committed to fund site assessments to understand the scale and complexity of the SSI site, which will help inform future decisions about the site.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was paid for the inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly in 2003 to (1) the government legal team and (2) the chairman.

    Lord Faulks

    The report of Lord Hutton’s Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly was published on 28 January 2004. The inquiry website indicates that staff costs for the inquiry secretariat were £145,975 and that the cost of external advice, including lawyers’ fees, was £990,303. No fees are shown as having been paid to Lord Hutton. No further breakdown of costs is available.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25396, what communication Ministers of his Department have had with the Metropolitan Police Force and other forces which are not meeting service level agreement standards for the time taken to complete local disclosure checks.

    Alistair Burt

    My Ministerial colleagues and I have not had any communication with the Metropolitan Police and other forces on this matter. The Disclosure and Barring Service monitors the performance of all police disclosure units and works closely with any force, including the Metropolitan Police Service, not meeting its targets.

  • 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 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each (a) gender and (b) ethnicity were sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not available between 2010/11 and 2013/14 as comparable data was not collected during these years due to changes in the way the data was categorised and collected and variations in the number of organisations which reported in some years. Data for 2014/15 are provided in the table below.

    Number of detentions and short term orders under the Mental Health Act 1983 by gender and ethnic group: 2014/15

    Detentions

    Short-term orders

    Detentions and Orders

    41,592

    19,648

    Male

    22,016

    10,651

    Female

    19,566

    8,989

    White

    30,322

    14,954

    Mixed

    938

    444

    Asian or Asian British

    2,714

    924

    Black or Black British

    4,368

    1,438

    Other Ethnic Groups

    1,219

    531

    Source: Mental Health Minimum Data Set/Mental Health & Learning Disabilities Data Set 2014/15

    Notes:

    1. The numbers in this table represent the number of uses of the Mental Health Act 1983, not the number of individuals who were subject to the Act.
    2. Mental Health Minimum Data Set (MHMDS) is not the official data source for statistics about uses of the Mental Health Act 1983 but it is the only one that provides national information about gender and ethnic group. The MHMDS are known to under represent uses of the Mental Health Act 1983.
    3. The data source for official statistics about uses of the Mental Health Act 1983 is the KP90 collection, with figures published in the annual statistical release: Inpatients Formally Detained in Hospitals Under the Mental Health Act 1983 and Patients Subject to Supervised Community Treatment, England. Therefore, the data in the table may differ from data in the official published statistics.
    4. Counts by ethnicity and gender may not sum exactly to the overall total because for some people this information was invalid or not recorded.
    5. Detentions includes: detentions under Part ll, detentions under Part lll, detentions under previous legislation (Fifth Schedule) and other Acts, detentions subsequent to admission, detentions following use of a Place of Safety Order and detentions following revocation of a Community Treatment Order.
    6. Short-term orders are defined as those of no greater than 72 hours’ duration and involving uses of sections 4 and 5 and sections 135 and 136.