Tag: 2016

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

    EU Directives related to HM Treasury responsibilities awaiting transposition into UK law are as follows: The Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, VAT Vouchers Directive, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, the Payment Services Directive II, the Insurance Distribution Directive and amendment to the Directive on Administrative Assistance and Mutual Cooperation.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the announcement of 4 January 2016, The Government will directly build affordable homes, whether the new high street, schools and leisure facilities and commercial and office space are intended to be open at the same time as new homes take their first residents at the direct commissioning site at Old Oak Common.

    Brandon Lewis

    The direct commissioning pilots will follow the normal planning and commercial processes for determining the phasing of homes and associated facilities.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications for his policies are of the findings of the 2015 report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, Sepsis: Just Say Sepsis on delayed diagnosis.

    Ben Gummer

    In January 2015, we announced a package of measures to focus attention on sepsis and raise the awareness of this potentially devastating condition amongst professionals and the public. These included new incentives to encourage hospitals to recognise sepsis in adults and children, and to provide timely treatment with intravenous antibiotics within 60 minutes of a diagnosis of severe sepsis.

    The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report outlined many important findings about awareness and treatment of sepsis both in primary care and hospital settings, and many of these findings are being addressed through the work of the NHS England Cross-system Sepsis Programme Board. The Board published its report, Improving Outcome for Patients with Sepsis, A Cross-System Action Plan, in December 2015.

    This sets out the actions being be taken forward to (a) Prevent avoidable cases of sepsis; (b) Increase awareness of sepsis amongst professionals and the public; (c) Improve the identification and treatment of sepsis across the whole patient pathway; (d) Improve consistency of standards and reporting; and (e) Underpin all actions with the principles of appropriate antibiotic use and antimicrobial stewardship.

    A copy of the report can found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/sepsis/

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14463, what the timetable for the equality impact assessment referred to will be.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government and NHS Employers have made clear that an Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside the new national contract, 90% of which was agreed with the British Medical Association in talks up to 10 February 2016.

  • 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 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 8.18 of the Airports Commission Final Report, July 2015, what the estimated cost is of the tunnelling work required for the M25; and whether that cost would be incurred by the public purse or Heathrow Airport Limited.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Alongside its Final Report in July 2015, the Airports Commission published a range of supporting analysis and assessments. The Cost and Commercial Viability: Financial Modelling Input Costs Update report included estimated costs for the surface access proposals for each of the Commission’s three short-listed options for airport expansion.

    The report set out the estimated capital expenditure costs for the works associated with M25 tunnelling (south of junction 15) as £576m for the Heathrow Airport North West runway option and £864m for the Heathrow Airport Extended Northern runway option.

    The Airports Commission made clear in its Final Report (paragraph 16.33) that Government would need to agree the nature, scale and financing of the surface access transport improvements associated with expansion, and the Government has been clear that it expects the scheme promoter to meet the costs of any surface access proposals that are required as a direct result of airport expansion and from which they will directly benefit.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Tier 2 visas have been issued for pharmacists in each of the last three years.

    James Brokenshire

    The figures below show the number of Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) assigned in support of visa applications for Pharmacists in each of the last three years. A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) is required to support all visa applications and a sponsor is required to enter a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code on their CoS. There is a SoC code for Pharmacists.

    Assigning a CoS does not guarantee a visa will be issued.

    2013 380

    2014 380

    2015 400

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have been reassessed to remain in the support group of employment support allowance have medical conditions that are not expected to improve.

    Priti Patel

    Between October 2008 and September 2015 a total of 38,100 people in the Support Group have been reassessed and found to still be eligible for Employment and Support Allowance, and to remain in the Support Group, and were also found to either be terminally ill or had a prognosis of “in the longer term”, suggesting that their conditions are not expected to improve in the short term.

    Source: Data is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by Atos and the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments.

    Notes:

    1. Please note that the figure supplied is derived from unpublished information and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
    2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce costs incurred by schools which were built under the Private Finance Initiative.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities are responsible for their own Private Finance Initiative contracts and are encouraged to seek savings in the context of those contracts.

    The Department is working closely with Her Majesty’s Treasury to develop guidance to demonstrate how local authorities may make savings.

    The Department continues to work closely with local authorities to assist in identifying and securing savings.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities’ children’s social work services have been rated inadequate; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    The following local authorities are currently rated as ‘inadequate’ under Ofsted’s Single Inspection Framework:

    Birmingham, Bromley, Buckinghamshire, Coventry, Cumbria, Darlington, Doncaster, Dudley, Knowsley, Lambeth, Lancashire, Leicester City, Manchester, Norfolk, Reading, Rotherham, Sandwell, Slough, Somerset, Sunderland, Surrey, Torbay, Wandsworth, West Berkshire and Wirral.

    The Government does not use set criteria to require local authorities to contract out their statutory children’s social care services.

    The Department for Education has statutory powers to intervene in local authority children’s services under section 497A of the Education Act 1996. This legislation allows the Department to remove day-to-day operational control of children’s services from the local authority, for a period of time, if the Secretary of State believes that the local authority is failing to secure its relevant statutory functions by delivering children’s services to the required standard.

    As a matter of policy, the Government has decided that any authority rated by Ofsted as ‘inadequate’ across all the key judgements in any one Ofsted inspection is deemed to be failing ‘systemically’, and any authority that is rated inadequate twice overall in any five year period is deemed to be failing persistently.

    In these circumstances the Secretary of State appoints a children’s services commissioner to review services and then provide advice to the Secretary of State on whether they should remain in local authority control.

    Once the Secretary of State has received the commissioner’s advice, she will decide whether to direct the authority to enter into a contract with a third party – for instance a Children’s Services Trust – to deliver those services on its behalf.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many tickets to the Thiepval Memorial event on 1 July 2016 have been allocated to applicants from (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

    Tracey Crouch

    Tickets to the Commemorative Event at the Thiepval Memorial were allocated in pairs to residents of the UK via a random ballot, which gave no weighting to residents of a particular area of the UK.