Tag: 2016

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that the concerns of local populations are taken into account in decisions about NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

    David Mowat

    NHS England released guidance to the local areas developing Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) entitled ‘Engaging local people’ in September 2016 which can be found on their website. This guidance from NHS England to the STP Footprints highlights the need for public engagement and suggests ways of doing this.

    We expect that most areas will take a version of their STP to their organisation’s public board meeting for discussion between late October and the end of the year. We would also expect that most areas will publish their plans, for more formal engagement, during this period. Every area will be working to a different timeframe, based on its own circumstances and how well-progressed its plan is.

    Proposals are at a draft stage but we expect all local leaders to be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly. It is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services.

    No changes to the services people currently receive will be made without local engagement and, where required, consultation. There are longstanding assurance processes in place to make sure this happens.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which ministers have reviewed sections or drafts of the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill, and when.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has published detailed Impact Assessments for the Bill – on the Trade Union Bill, on the Reporting of Facility Time in the Public Sector, and on the Prohibition on Deduction of Union Subscriptions from Wages in the Public Sector. At a meeting with Peers in December, Ministers committed to publishing prior to the Lords Committee stage of the Bill, and they were published in good time on 21 January.

    The Trade Union Bill’s impact assessment has been subject to scrutiny by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee, and its opinion has been published alongside the impact assessment.

    They were reviewed and approved by the relevant Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office. The Permanent Secretary has been kept informed of progress on all stages of the Bill.

    Policy officials and analysts in both Departments have worked together to produce the impact assessments as quickly as possible while ensuring that the analysis was thorough.

    We have not asked civil servants working on the Bill in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Cabinet Office to fill out time sheets.

    We do not record which particular documents each special adviser reads. Special advisers have access to departmental papers in line with the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct and provide advice to Ministers.

    I am placing copies of the relevant documentation in the Library.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of her Department were in each of the last five years.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    This information is not held and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to give bus and coach passengers statutory rights to compensation for delays in their bus or coach service.

    Andrew Jones

    Bus and coach passengers already have statutory rights under the services provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the bus or coach service is not provided with reasonable care and skill or in line with certain information the transport operator has given about it then the passenger may be due compensation, including compensation for delays and cancellations.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether appointments to the posts of NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprint Leaders were subject to open selection.

    George Freeman

    Sustainability and Transformation Plan areas have been determined by local health and care services coming together in ways that make sense for their local areas, in order to transform the way that health and care is planned and delivered for their populations.

    Following local discussions about who is best placed to play the role of footprint leaders, together with discussions with national bodies, 41 of the 44 planning areas have identified and agreed leaders.

    They are mostly a mix of trust chief executive officers, clinical commissioning group leaders and local government executives.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of street level cabinets served by a fibre enabled exchange that are not planned to be upgraded for fibre broadband in commercially viable areas.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    BT’s commercial deployment programme is still ongoing. We will not have access to information on the proportion of cabinets that remain to be upgraded in commercial areas until this is completed.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who drive heavy goods vehicles in city centres receive training that specifically addresses the risks of urban driving.

    Andrew Jones

    The importance of being aware of vulnerable road users is tested during the process of a professional driver passing their test and gaining their heavy goods vehicle driving licence.

    Additionally, all professional drivers of heavy goods vehicles have to complete ongoing Driver Professional Certificate training of 35 hours spread over a 5-year period. This periodic training includes a wide range of topics, including awareness of vulnerable road users in urban areas or city centres.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been granted asylum in the UK on the grounds of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of religion in each year since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    When an individual makes an asylum claim on religious grounds it is recorded in the interview records and any written representations they provide. Data on asylum claims on religious grounds is not systematically recorded on the Casework Information Database (CID) and therefore it is not possible to provide a breakdown of information in this way without individual analysis of thousands of casework files at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the statement made by the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, advocating further EU integration, including the creation of an EU defence capability.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The EU already has a range of capabilities to build and promote security, which can be complementary to those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The UK is working to make these more effective and to improve NATO/EU co-operation. But the Government has consistently made clear that we will oppose any measures which would undermine Member States’ competence for their own military forces or lead to competition and duplication with NATO. Complementarity with NATO is a principle that was reinforced by the European Councils on defence in June 2015 and December 2013.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of agricultural land lost to UK farm production as a result of the construction of High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Approximately 2,750 hectares of agricultural land is permanently required for Phase One of HS2. 4,800 hectares will be taken during the construction period, but much of this will be returned to the existing agricultural condition following construction.

    A detailed assessment of the amount of agricultural land required for future Phases of HS2 will be undertaken alongside the deposit of the relevant hybrid Bills for these phases.