Tag: 2016

Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prevent EU health tourism.

Alistair Burt

Since its inception in 2013, the Department’s Visitor and Migrant NHS Cost Recovery Programme has been working to design and implement key improvements to ensure that those people who should pay for National Health Service care are identified and charged.

Achievements include:

– The launch of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) reporting incentive on 1 October 2014. All EHIC activity correctly reported by NHS secondary providers, so that the UK is able to make appropriate reimbursement claims from other member states, allows them to access an additional 25% funding;

– The revision of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations which came into force on 6 April 2015, reducing the number of exemption from charge categories and realigning the Regulations to the principle that the NHS is a residency-based healthcare system; and

– Support and engagement with NHS providers through meetings with senior trust employees and the launch of a cost recovery support team to provide bespoke assistance to trusts to improve their processes for identifying chargeable patients and recovering funds owed, including those from Europe.

The Department is currently consulting on the extension of charging overseas visitors and migrants using the NHS in England. Part of the consultation proposes to amend the residence definition for EEA nationals, by which they qualify for free NHS treatment in England. The consultation is due to conclude on 7 March 2016.

The Department does not hold information on the cost to the public purse of EU health tourism.

01/01/2023
Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which circumstances magistrates are required to send cases to the Crown Court in cases in which their sentencing powers would be sufficient to deal with the cases in their court.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There are a range of circumstances which would require magistrates to send cases within their sentencing powers to the Crown Court for trial including those involving indictable-only offences; or where the offence concerned is linked to one or more other offences which must be tried in the Crown Court; or where the defendant elects for a jury trial; or, in youth cases, where the offence involves an adult co-defendant who must be tried in the Crown Court.

In accordance with the Allocation Guideline issued by the independent Sentencing Council, magistrates should take account of any potential mitigation and guilty plea, which would bring a case within their jurisdiction. Where they are uncertain about the adequacy of their powers, they should retain a case and commit for sentence if they later take the view that it falls outside their sentencing powers.

01/01/2023
Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people from other EU member states were in receipt of housing benefit in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost to the public purse was of those people claiming that benefit in each of those years.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will bring forward proposals to give the Oil and Gas Authority powers to regulate commercial decisions in the offshore helicopter industry.

Andrea Leadsom

The Civil Aviation Authority regulates the offshore helicopter industry.

01/01/2023
Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards and governance arrangements have been put in place to prevent a recurrence of the situation where (1) the Principal of North East Surrey College of Technology allegedly paid her husband over £170,000 during the course of a contract with a Saudi Arabian college, and (2) the Board of Governors were unaware for over 18 months that such payments were made.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

As an independent corporation North East Surrey College of Technology is responsible for ensuring appropriate safeguards and governance arrangements are in place in relation to the corporation including subsidiary companies. The Skills Funding Agency has received a report from NESCOT and is considering whether there is any risk to public funds and if so what action should be taken.

01/01/2023
Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the continued demolition of Palestinian homes.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We continue to raise our serious concerns over this issue with the Israeli Government at all levels. On 07 September, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) emphasised our concerns about demolitions with Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman during their meeting.

01/01/2023
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to restrict the ability of local authorities to request information about children’s self-perception of their sexual orientation.

Lord Nash

The Department for Education do not require schools or local authorities to collect any information on the sexual orientation of children. Any information collected locally by schools and / or local authorities on sexual orientation for their own purposes is a matter for them to manage locally.

The Department for Education has provided schools with guidance on complying with the Equality Act.

The Public Sector Equality Duty, at section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, is a duty on public bodies (and others carrying out public functions) to consider, in their day to day work, the needs of people who share particular protected characteristics. This includes schools and children’s services.

Under the Duty, public bodies must have due regard to the need to:
- eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conducted that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010
- advance equality of opportunity, and;
- foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.
The Equality Duty covers the protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act, which includes age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Guidance on complying with the Act and the Equality Duty can be found on GOV.UK (under Equality Act 2010 guidance). Earlier guidance formed under the Coalition Government has been archived on the National Archives website (under the ‘Equality Bill’ guidance). The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also issued guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Local authorities will also have to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 on the data they collect. The Information Commissioner’s Office state that data should only be collected if organisations have legitimate grounds for collecting and using the personal data; that they do not use the data in ways that have unjustified adverse effects on the individuals concerned; that they be transparent about how they intend to use the data, and give individuals appropriate privacy notices when collecting their personal data.
01/01/2023
Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many letters his Department received from hon. Members and Peers in each month in 2015; and how many such letters received a substantive response within 10 working days.

Brandon Lewis

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 December 2015, PQ 19650.

The reporting of performance of Government Departments in handling correspondence from hon. Members is co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office and published annually.

01/01/2023

Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children aged up to three years old were taken into care in the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the reasons why those children were taken into care.

Edward Timpson

The number of children aged 0-3 years, that started to be looked after in the last five years ending 31 March, and the main reason why they entered care, is shown in the table below. This information is for England only.

Category of need	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Abuse or neglect	6,880	7,350	7,430	7,380	7,270
Child’s disability	50	50	60	50	50
Parents illness or disability	520	550	480	500	460
Family in acute stress	690	710	740	740	670
Family dysfunction	1,460	1,560	1,710	1,840	1,730
Socially unacceptable behaviour	50	40	70	70	60
Low income	20	20	10	20	20
Absent parenting	260	210	190	150	160
Total number of looked after children aged 0-3 years, in England	9,910	10,500	10,690	10,740	10,420

Source: SSDA903

Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Only the first occasion on which a child was taken into care in the year has been counted.

01/01/2023

Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to mitigate the costs of and time taken for International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) applications related to the UK spaceport in order to facilitate investment and involvement from the US; and what steps the Government is taking to work with the US to ensure that ITAR is applied in a way that precludes a need for multiple applications to be made for discrete systems and single vehicle types.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The 2014 Government Spaceplane Review provided the groundwork for enabling spaceplane operations from the UK, including identifying key criteria for locating a UK spaceport, and identifying potential locations based on these. The Government tested the conclusions of this review through consultation and published its response in March 2015. This confirmed Campbeltown, Glasgow Prestwick and Stornoway in Scotland, Llanbedr Airfield in Wales and Newquay in England as potential spaceport locations.

Further information on the Spaceplane review and the Government consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/spaceport-locations-and-criteria

Commercial spaceflight is a complex, international, and evolving market. The Government is considering a range of options on next steps that would best deliver our ambition of a spaceport, and the supporting regulatory environment for spaceflight, within this Parliament.

The Government is in discussion with the US Government on ITAR-related issues. However, ITAR applications are not a factor at this stage for potential spaceport locations but may become so if a US spaceplane operator seeks to operate from the UK.

01/01/2023