Tag: 2016

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they plan to follow to identify eligible unaccompanied minors and bring them to the UK from refugee camps in Europe.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 May and now reflected in the Immigration Act 2016, we will work to admit unaccompanied refugee children to the UK from elsewhere in the EU, where this is considered to be in the child’s best interests.

    The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. We are working closely with local authorities and consulting NGOs, the UNHCR, UNICEF and relevant Member States to establish suitable processes to im-plement this initiative.

    We are committed to act as quickly as we can but we must take the necessary time to ensure we have the capacity to resettle and support those who are resettled.

    We must also ensure that we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK. We will be working closely with local authorities to find suitable placements within the UK. Statutory agencies at a local level are best placed to understand and meet the needs of all children and will continue to make decisions about the right accommodation and support services for those who are looked after. Unaccompanied children will be eligible for foster care if it is considered that that this placement type will provide appropriate support and best meet their individual needs.

    The UK has well-established and effective safeguarding procedures to ensure the safety of children who come to the UK. All children brought to the UK will be given the care, support and education they require.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether she has made any further machinery of government changes since her Written Ministerial Statement of 18 July 2016.

    Mrs Theresa May

    Machinery of Government changes are set out in Written Statements, and are available in the Official Report.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve early diagnosis of childhood cancers; and if he will make available additional funding to improve such early diagnosis.

    David Mowat

    Improving early diagnosis of cancer is a priority for this Government, and was clearly highlighted in the report Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes published last year by the Independent Cancer Taskforce. Earlier diagnosis makes it more likely that patients, including children with cancer, will receive effective treatments. We have committed to implementing all the recommendations of the Taskforce including that, by 2020, everyone referred with a suspicion of cancer will receive either a definitive diagnosis or the all-clear within four weeks (28 days).

    NHS England has the funds necessary to improve cancer services over the next five years, including up to £300 million by 2020 to support earlier diagnosis of cancer and the £10 billion of real terms increase in National Health Service funding by 2020-21. The recommendations in the Taskforce report give direction as to where these funds should be targeted.

    In order to continue to support general practitioners (GPs) to identify patients whose symptoms may indicate cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated suspected cancer referral guideline in June 2015. The guideline ‘Suspected cancer: recognition and referral’ includes new recommendations for childhood cancers.

    NICE also addressed generally, non-site specific symptoms of concern in children and young people, recommending that GPs should take into account the insight and knowledge of parents and carers when considering making a referral for suspected cancer. NICE noted that more lives could be saved each year in England if GPs followed the new guideline, which encourages GPs to think of cancer sooner and lower the referral threshold.

  • Edward Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Edward Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Garnier on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on proposed fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence cases of concerns expressed in a letter to him of 9 November 2015 from Action against Medical Accidents, Sands, National Voices, Meningitis Now and the Birth Trauma Association.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is currently preparing to go out to public consultation on the introduction of fixed recoverable costs (FRCs) for clinical negligence claims as originally proposed by Lord Woolf and Lord Justice Jackson in 1996 and 2009 respectively. The Department undertook a pre-consultation process in late 2015 and obtained feedback from a range of respondents. Since the pre-consultation, the Department has been working to assess how concerns raised can be addressed and reflected in the formal consultation.

    Respondents to the pre-consultation exercise in August confirmed that there is no exact correlation between value and complexity of clinical negligence claims. The consultation will include consideration of the maximum value of claims that will be covered by the FRC regime, whether there should be any exemptions; and thedate and method of implementation. The consultation is also looking at how behaviours can change to streamline and speed up the way in which clinical negligence claims are processed through the legal system. We, therefore, do not agree with the suggestion in the 9 November letter to delay the consultation whilst a review takes place.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23991, whether calls to make a claim for benefit are free for all (a) pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, (b) monthly contract mobile telephones and (c) landline telephones.

    Justin Tomlinson

    All benefit new claims lines have 0800 numbers and are therefore free whether claimants call from mobile phones or landlines, with the exception of Universal Credit which has an 0345 number as the expectation is that claims are made online.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultations have taken place on privatisation of railway stations currently owned by Network Rail; and which stakeholders have been so consulted.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is exploring new models for station management and ownership with the goal to bring improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options but no decisions have been taken at this early stage. Any decisions on such potential future options will take account of the ‎findings of Nicola Shaw’s report into the longer term shape and financing of Network Rail.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

    George Eustice

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not received any funding from the European Social Fund.

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

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to match national and local capacity with demand for maternity services, and when they expect a balance to be achieved.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Maternity services are included in the key objectives set out in the Mandate between the Government and the NHS England. The Mandate states that women should receive better care during pregnancy and have a named midwife responsible for ensuring personalised, one-to-one care.

    In its report Better Births: Improving Outcomes of maternity services in England, the National Maternity Review (which was sponsored by NHS England) set out a vision for future models of maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. It recommends that providers and commissioners should come together as “local maternity systems” and develop a local vision for improved maternity services based on the principles contained within the report. A copy of Better Births is attached.

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will now be expected to consider the conclusions of Better Births and what changes they may need to make to local services in light of those conclusions. CCGs are expected to understand local demand for maternity services, including listening to what women in their communities want, and consider their health needs in designing services. This should also be reflected in the development of five year Sustainability and Transformation Plans which cover wider geographical ‘footprints’.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Donoughue – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the total investment costs per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated by the Clean Technology Fund has increased from £21.40 to £26.40 according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s additional business case and intervention summary 2015; and what is being done to address rising costs.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approval decisions are based on six CTF Investment Criteria, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The total investment cost per tonne is estimated based on the portfolio of CTF projects that have been approved by the Trust Fund Committee. The original appraisal relied on the assessment of 30 individual projects approved by 2013, whereas the latest analysis is based on 57 projects approved by 2015. The total cost per tonne across the portfolio has changed as more projects have been approved, and will be expected to continue to change as the CTF portfolio increases, reflecting the range of projects included in the portfolio. As an example, sectors such as transport and energy efficiency typically have a higher cost per tonne than renewable energy projects. All projects deliver good value for money and wider benefits, such as private finance leveraged, jobs created, and increased numbers of people with access to energy.

    In order to guarantee the continued value for money of the CTF, there is a robust project approval process ensuring compliance with the standards set out in the CTF investment criteria. As a contributor country the UK approves the allocation of CTF resources for programmes, projects, and administrative budgets; assessing new proposals to ensure continued the value for money (see attachment with further detail on the CTF governance structure).

  • Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the average accident rate is higher on dual carriageways than on three lane roads.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department does not hold any information on the number of lanes in either the road accident data supplied by police forces or road traffic estimates. Therefore it is not possible to provide a comparison between dual carriageway roads and single carriage roads with three lanes.

    However, the Department does record the number of carriageways at the scene of accidents as well as the length of ‘A’ roads by number of carriageways. As a guide, in 2015 for Great Britain there were 380 reported personal-injury accidents per billion vehicle miles on single carriageway ‘A’ roads and 140 accidents per billion vehicle miles on dual carriageway ‘A’ roads.