Tag: 2016

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2016 to Question 29770, how much funding for (a) service fees and (b) allowances NHS England allocated to community pharmacies in (i) London and (ii) Hampstead and Kilburn constituency in (A) 2015-16 and (B) 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    Payments made by NHS England to community pharmacies in its London region in respect of essential and advanced services in 2014-15 totalled £258,069,000.

    For the period April to December 2015, these payments totalled £192,497,000.

    Information at constituency level and for the financial year 2016-17 is not available.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions on international protection her Department made with further submissions lodged under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules in respect of (a) grants on protection grounds, (b) grants on non-protection grounds, (c) decisions to treat as fresh claim and then refuse, (d) further submissions refused, (e) further submissions rejected as not in correct format or (f) further submissions withdrawn before any decision made in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

    James Brokenshire

    Our records indicate that 27,254 further submissions decisions were made under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules from 2013 to 2015. A breakdown of decision outcomes by year has been provided in a separate attached summary document.

    The data used in response to this question relates to all further submissions decisions, as data held does not identify whether the further submission decision was on international protection or other grounds.

    In relation to category (e), decisions to reject further submissions as not in correct format, Home Office policy on further submissions requires that further submissions should be submitted in person unless certain exceptions apply. Data is not available for the number of submissions that are not accepted because they have not been submitted via the appropriate process.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS trusts and foundation trusts met the 10 seven-day services clinical standards and the four priority standards set out by Sir Bruce Keogh in his December 2013 report, NHS Services, Seven Days a Week Forum: Summary of Initial Findings, in 2015-16.

    Ben Gummer

    There is a phased approach to implementation of the four priority standards. By March 2017, 25% of the population will be guaranteed access to the four standards, seven days a week, rising to the whole country by 2020.

    An initial self-assessment of progress on meeting the four priority clinical standards was carried out by trusts in August 2015. This showed that around half of trusts are meeting two or more of the clinical standards. Following feedback from trusts, the self-assessment process is being improved for future surveys.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has (a) made to and (b) received from universities on the implications of the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government has met a number of stakeholders since the referendum for meetings that included discussion of EU issues. The Government continues to work closely with the higher education sector[1] and to listen to their feedback on the implications of the referendum outcome. The Government will continue to engage with the whole HE sector on these important issues and welcome their valuable input.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-higher-education-and-research-following-the-eu-referendum

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions Ministers in her Department have delayed providing information to the Intelligence and Security Committee in order to make a determination as to whether to share that information as set out in Schedule 1 to the Justice and Security Act 2013.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Home Office is unable to find any record of having declined to disclose information to the Intelligence and Security Committee under Schedule 1 of the Justice and Security Act 2013. The Home Office is unable to find any record of having delayed providing information to the Intelligence and Security Committee in order to make a determination as to whether to share that information, as set out in Schedule 1 of the Justice and Security Act 2013.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what revenue has accrued to the Exchequer from the use of fixed odds betting terminals in each of the last four complete financial years; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Hinds

    Total Machine Games Duty (MGD) receipts for the years ending 31 March 2015 and 2014 were £562 million and £502 million. Total Amusement Machine Licence Duty receipts for the years ending 31 March 2013 and 2012 were £151million and £219 million.

    Receipts from fixed odds betting terminals are not separately identified in the figures published in HMRC’s Tax & Duty bulletin. The bulletin can be found here:

    https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx

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

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 20 January (HL5278), what are the equivalent figures for public spending on adult social care; and why percentages have declined since 2009/10.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is usually reported on a United Kingdom basis.

    The Department is responsible for reporting on adult social care spend in England and is not in a position to provide equivalent spend figures for adult social care by the devolved administrations.

    Spend on adult social care in England, including National Health Service transfers, as a percentage of UK GDP is set out in the table below.

    Adult Social Care (ASC) £bn

    UK GDP £bn

    Percentage of GDP Spent on ASC

    2009-10

    15.7

    1503.6

    1.05

    2010-11

    16.1

    1574.9

    1.02

    2011-12

    15.6

    1629.1

    0.95

    2012-13

    15.4

    1678.9

    0.91

    2013-14

    15.5

    1756.2

    0.88

    2014-15

    15.5

    1830.4

    0.85

    Table notes:

    1. Spend information for 2009-10 onwards is based upon Department for Communities and Local Government outturn data.
    2. 2014-15 figures are from Health & Social Care Information Centre Adult Social Care Finance Return data. This data collection is new for 2014-15 and is not comparable to historical spend figures.
    3. GDP figures sourced from HM Treasury 23 December 2015

    Ultimately it is a local decision on how much to spend on adult social care. In order to get the deficit under control, local government has had to find its share of the savings.

    Councils have risen to the challenge of achieving savings whilst setting balanced budgets, keeping council tax low and maintaining satisfaction in services. Many grant ring fences have been removed over the last five years, giving councils more flexibility to meet local priorities as they see fit.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the policy limiting the reuniting of refugee families to children under the age of 18 and partners of refugees who have been granted asylum in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Our refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members of a person in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection status – that is a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin – to reunite with them in the UK. We have no plans to widen these criteria, which are fully compliant with our international obligations and enable thousands of people each year to be reunited with their families in the UK.

    However, where a family reunion application fails under the Immigration Rules, the Entry Clearance Officer must also consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting a visa outside the Rules. This caters for extended family members in exceptional circumstances.

    We are currently reviewing our process for dealing with family reunion applications in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. As part of that review we are working closely with the British Red Cross. We have committed to improving our guidance to caseworkers and redesigning the application form to ensure that applicants better understand the process and what is required of them.

  • Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Robin Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robin Walker on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what criteria the Government uses to decide whether to carry out targeted strikes against individuals in Syria.

    Mr David Cameron

    Following the House of Commons vote on 2 December 2015, the UK joined a global coalition taking military action to tackle the threat posed by Daesh in Syria, as well as Iraq. The action in which the UK is participating includes targeted strikes against members of Daesh in Syria and Iraq, as well as targeting Daesh’s infrastructure, deployed forces and sources of revenue. The Coalition’s ongoing action, including the role of the UK, is lawful in Syria under Article 51 of the UN Charter, and in Iraq with the consent of the Iraqi Government. Coalition action has the support of the international community as reflected in UN Security Council resolution 2249(2015), and the support of the House of Commons.

    My comments to the then right hon. Member for Neath (Mr Hain) on 26 September 2014, Official Report, column 1265, and the Oral Statement I gave on 7 September 2015, Official Report, column 26, about taking lawful action in response to an identified, direct and imminent threat to the UK would still apply, of course, to individuals in Syria and Iraq who are not members of Daesh. The Government reserves the right to take lawful action to address an identified, direct and imminent threat to the UK and report to Parliament after it has done so.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what guarantees she has received that UK development aid for Ethiopia is not used for military or security purposes or the so-called villagisation dispersal programme; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that UK aid to Ethiopia is used only for agreed development purposes.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    All DFID aid in Ethiopia is administered through specific programmes, each with a strong set of controls, high standard monitoring and strong DFID oversight. Aid in Ethiopia is distributed through a number of channels. Where a programme is administered using government systems a standard fiduciary risk assessment evaluating the national public financial management system is mandatory. As with all aid spending, strong checks and balances and regular monitoring ensure that aid is used for the purposes intended.

    UK aid in Ethiopia has contributed to the remarkable developmental gains the country has made over the past decade. The UK has helped reduce poverty and child mortality in Ethiopia by a quarter and put four more million children in primary school.