Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it remains their policy to put the UK at the heart of the EU and if so, how this will be achieved outside the Eurozone.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement giving the UK special status in a reformed EU. The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU. The settlement protects the UK’s rights as a country outside the Eurozone, and makes it clear that the UK is not committed to any future political integration.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce a human rights charter for care homes; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    There are no plans to introduce a human rights charter. Local authorities are public authorities and are subject to the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). They must take account of the HRA in their contracting arrangements, including those with care providers.

    The HRA applies to the relationship between individuals and public authorities and is not intended to apply directly to purely private arrangements. However, section 73 of the Care Act 2014 is explicit that care providers which are regulated by the Care Quality Commission in England, or by equivalent bodies in the rest of the United Kingdom, are exercising a public function for the purposes of the HRA when providing care and support, arranged or funded in whole or in part by local authorities.

    Those purchasing care privately have rights of legal challenge against a provider via their contract or through criminal or tort law.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding was allocated to each of his Department’s sub-divisions in each year since 2009-10; and what forecasts of allocations have been made for future years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The funding for each of Treasury’s sub divisions since 2009-10 can be found on the Main Estimates at www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-main-estimates.

    The Treasury does not usually set detailed budgets more than a year ahead but have provided the Office for Budget Responsibility with a funding commitment for the period to 2020-21. This can be found at www.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/topics/governance-and-reporting/#letters.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his Department’s policy to implement the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s commitment to feed-in tariff deployment cap top-ups, set out in its review of the feed-in tariffs scheme, published in December 2015.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government response to the 2015 review of the scheme set out that a budget reconciliation process could be biannual, or more or less frequent, depending on deployment. As well as our current consultation on support for anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power under the scheme, we are reviewing the deployment that has taken place since the revised scheme was re-launched in February of this year and will make a statement in due course.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of the maritime sector to improve safety in that sector.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In accordance with the Department’s priority of maintaining high standards of safety and security in transport, matters relating to improving safety are frequently discussed at our meetings with a range of maritime organisations.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 25491, how many prisoners returned to jail having broken their licence conditions were subsequently found to be carrying concealed drugs in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    Prisoners recalled to custody having breached the conditions of their licence will be arrested by the police and then taken to the nearest local prison for the area in which they were arrested.

    Once returned to a local prison, prisoners will be searched and risk assessed in line with the prison’s local policy for stopping contraband. Prisons deploy a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison.

    Prisoners found with drugs on entry to prison could receive a range of sanctions including days added to their sentence, or, in cases where the quantity of drug or packaging suggests possession with intent to supply, are referred to the police. All visitors or staff caught with drugs are referred to the police as supply is always suspected in these cases.

    Data on the number of prisoners who were found with drugs following licence recall could only be collated at disproportionate cost.

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will publish all correspondence, emails and records of office and mobile telephone logs dated between 3 and 7 March 2016 involving Daniel Korski that concern the conduct of the former British Chambers of Commerce Director General, John Longworth.

    Mr David Cameron

    Information relating to internal communications is not normally made public.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the qualifying period applicants can apply for and claim bereavement allowance after the death of a partner.

    Priti Patel

    Information about Bereavement Benefits is widely available through GOV.UK. We also work closely with third party organisations who the bereaved traditionally contact such as registrars, hospitals, funeral directors and voluntary groups ensuring that they have the correct information available to signpost the bereaved to the DWP Bereavement Service.

    Upon contacting the DWP Bereavement Service our staff will ensure that any benefits and pensions arrears are claimed and will also initiate a claim for Social Fund Funeral Payments and Bereavement Benefits if appropriate.

    .

    We continue to look for opportunities to improve the availability of advice about these particular benefits and as a result we have improved the information available on GOV.UK, and are currently exploring ways in which to to join up the Tell Us Once and Bereavement Service offers.

    Tell Us Once is a cross-government service delivered through Local Authorities whereby notification of the death is cascaded out to other agencies, thus reducing the number of contacts an individual has to make.

    The time limit for claiming Bereavement Allowance is three months from the date of death, which is consistent with the time limit for other welfare entitlements. We are currently developing the new Bereavement Support Payment due to be implemented for new claims from April 2017, and we will assess the merits of further flexibilities on backdating as part of this work.

    Information available on the number of people in receipt of Bereavement Allowance by duration of current claim can be found at:

    http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html

    Guidance for users can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

    “

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of high-risk pregnancies caused by patients going abroad for IVF treatment.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has not made an assessment of the annual cost to the National Health Service of high risk pregnancies caused by patients going abroad for in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

    Multiple births are the single biggest risk to the health and welfare of children born following fertility treatment and present significant health risks to mothers and babies. Over recent years, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has worked to drive down multiple birth rates whilst maintaining consistent treatment success rates.

    To minimise the risk of multiple pregnancies, there has been a growing trend for IVF providers to only transfer one embryo, even when more are available, in patients who have a good chance of successful treatment. Elective single embryo transfer is the most effective way of reducing multiple pregnancies. The HFEA has advised that most clinics have shown significant progress in reducing multiple births without compromising pregnancy rates. In 2008 nearly one in four IVF births resulted in a multiple birth but now, with a concerted multiple births reduction policy, this number is one in six.

    Although progress has been made, this number is still higher than the rate in conceptions that do not involve assisted reproduction treatment. The overall goal is to reduce multiple births to one in ten.

    The level of provision of infertility treatment, as for all health services they commission, is decided by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and will take into account the needs of the population overall. The CCG’s decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. As such, provision of services will vary in response to local needs.

    Information about CCGs approach to commissioning or compliance with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines regarding IVF services is not collected centrally.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Northern Ireland counterpart on control of bovine TB in Northern Ireland.

    George Eustice

    Bovine TB policy is a devolved matter. The UK Chief Veterinary Office and other Defra officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in Northern Ireland on the eradication of bovine TB.