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Tag: 2016

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Insurance Fraud Taskforce that detected insurance fraud and undetected insurance fraud costs consumers up to £50 per year; and whether they plan to establish a unit (1) to track the return of those costs to the consumer, and (2) to monitor the performance of the insurance industry in tackling fraud and addressing the practices of claims management companies.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    A Written Ministerial Statement was published on 26 May 2016 to announce that the Government accepts each of the recommendations addressed to it. We expect that all organisations tasked with taking forward recommendations do so with urgency. The Government will do what it can to assist and, in order to make sure that all of the recommendations are actively pursued, we will seek an update on progress later in the year.

    The report highlighted the particular problem of fraud in relation to low value personal injury claims and the Government has established a programme of reforms in this area, particularly in respect of whiplash claims and regulation of claims management companies. We are pleased that the report’s recommendations reflect and support that reform programme.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department gives successful schools wishing to establish a multi-academy trust.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department supports successful schools wishing to establish Multi-Academy Trusts and I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided for question 42232 on 13 July 2016.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the staff employed by her Department are non-UK nationals.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

  • 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 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14919, what decisions have been made on how to spend the remaining funds that was allocated for perinatal mental health for 2015-16; and whether NHS England plans to spend the full £15 million allocation by the end of 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    The Budget in March 2015 and the Spending Review in November 2015 both recognised perinatal mental health services as a priority area for additional investment.

    On 11 January the Government set out an additional £290 million which will be made available over the next five years to 2020/21 to invest in perinatal mental health services. This builds on the initial investment announced at the Spring Budget, making a total investment from 2016/17 to 2020/21 of £350 million. This new funding, together with the recommendations of the forthcoming report of the independent Mental Health Taskforce, will enable NHS England to design a broader transformation programme to build capacity and capability in specialist perinatal mental health services, with the aim of enabling women in all areas of England to access NICE-concordant care by 2020/21.

    In the context of this planned broader programme, NHS England anticipates spending up to £5 million of the original 2015/16 funding of £15 million in this financial year, to lay the foundations for this longer-term work through targeted funding of activities to build capacity in specialist services. This will include, for example, a £1 million investment in strengthening clinical networks across the country. It is also expected to include providing national and regional benchmarking data and analytical support to regions, and developing clinical leadership capacity. Additional work will support both the development of specialist Mother and Baby Units in those regions identified as most in need of new services, and training and developing the perinatal workforce to build skills and capabilities within specialist teams.

    NHS England will work with partners over the coming months to develop the new programme for improving specialist perinatal mental health services. This will include setting detailed plans for how the additional investment will be targeted over the period to 2020/21.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason statutory guidance Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015) does not apply to higher education institutions.

    Edward Timpson

    Higher education institutions are not covered by the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years for good reason.

    The new system of Education Health and Care (EHC) plans has a strong focus on the outcomes sought for children and young people with SEND. The Code of Practice defines the attainment of a place in higher education as a successful outcome.

    Local authorities are not responsible for the education of young people in higher education. The sector has its own support system in the form of the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). It would not be sensible for these systems to overlap. For example, it would not be reasonable to hold a local authority to account for securing special educational provision for a young people in an independent higher education institution.

    In the academic year 2013/14, the last year for which full figures are available, DSA totalling £152.7m was provided to 68,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Government also currently provides annual funding to publicly funded institutions, through the Disability element of the Student Opportunity Funding of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) grant, to help them recruit and support disabled students. This funding rose to £20 million for 2015/16, an increase of £5 million on the previous year.

    The Code of Practice provides guidance on the transition to higher education. It says that good transition planning should include:

    • sharing the EHC plan with the university (with the young person’s consent);
    • ensuring the young person is aware of DSA and has made an early application, so that support is in place when their university course begins; and
    • ensuring the continuity of health and care services where these continue to be required by the young person.

    In addition we are working with those conducting DSA assessments to ensure that they understand EHC plans and how they can assist and inform assessments.

    As independent and autonomous bodies, higher education institutions are entirely responsible for addressing any issues of discrimination that might come to their attention. The Government provides a legal framework for individuals, which protects their right not to be discriminated against – primarily through the Equality Act 2010. Through the Equality Act, higher education institutions are prohibited by law from discriminating against students with protected characteristics, such as disability.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on stakeholders of the proposed changes to the Transactions in Securities rules.

    Mr David Gauke

    At Autumn Statement 2015, the Government announced a consultation on aspects of the Transaction in Securities rules, and published draft legislation shortly afterwards. A tax information and impact note setting out expected impacts was published on 9th December, and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporation-tax-income-tax-and-capital-gains-tax-company-distributions.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 64 of the Budget 2016, how much of the £150 million announced for flood defence schemes he plans will be spent in (a) Leeds, (b) Cumbria, (c) Calderdale and (d) York; and when he expects that funding to be delivered.

    Greg Hands

    The Budget announced that over £150m will be invested in flood defence schemes in Leeds, York, Calder Valley, Carlisle and wider Cumbria. Funding will be allocated accordingly: Leeds (£35m), Cumbria (excluding Carlisle) (£33m), Carlisle (up to £25m), Calder Valley (£35m), and York (£45m). This funding will be delivered over the period 2016-17 to 2020-21.

  • 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 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average change in the level of financial support given to a person over (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 30 years under his Department’s proposals to reform financial support for people affected by HIV or hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products if compensation is not linked to inflation.

    Jane Ellison

    The proposal to uncouple the link between annual payments and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was contained in in the consultation document “Infected Blood: Reform of financial and other support”. The aim of this proposal was to provide certainty about the amount of the annual payment and no estimation of the average change in the payments made to an individual claimant was made. No decisions have yet been made and details of the shape and structure of a reformed scheme, including the link to the CPI, will be decided following the end of the public consultation, which closed on 15 April.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will allow the Quality Assurance Agency to include an assessment of how well universities are meeting the needs of disabled students in their remit.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background or mode of learning. In the last year we saw record numbers of applicants and entrants to higher education, and record application rates among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    Universities expect to spend more than £745 million through access agreements agreed with the Director of Fair Access on measures to improve access and success for students from disadvantaged groups, including disabled students – up significantly from £404 million in 2009.

    Under the Equality Act 2010, higher education institutions have a role and responsibility for promoting equality, including for students with disabilities.

    The UK Quality Code promotes an inclusive approach by embedding consideration of equality and diversity throughout higher education institutions. Promoting equality for disabled students can include eliminating arbitrary and unnecessary barriers to learning and offering learning opportunities that are equally accessible to them. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) looks for evidence that universities promote equality when making assessments of higher education institutions in line with the UK Quality Code.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the (a) Saudi Arabian and (b) Yemeni ambassador on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is playing a leading role in responding to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Over the last financial year, we more than doubled our humanitarian aid to Yemen to £85m, which allowed us to help more than 1.3 million Yemenis with food, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter. We regularly engage with Saudi Arabia and the Government of Yemen on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.