Tag: 2016

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether any councils have asked for attendance allowance funding to be distributed to recipients via the provision of social care services.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government announced in December that it would consider giving more responsibility to councils in England to support older people with care needs – including people who, under the current system, would be supported through Attendance Allowance.

    We intend to continue to discuss openly with interested parties what the options are, and give all stakeholders a voice in determining whether and how to proceed with any reform. The Government is currently consulting on the implementation of commitments on 100% business rates retention for councils in England. The consultation seeks views on options for devolving new responsibilities to local government as part of those reforms, and this is one of the options about which we are consulting. The consultation document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/self-sufficient-local-government-100-business-rates-retention

    “

  • 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 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44396, for what reason there has been a decrease in the number of HC3 certificates issued between 2008 and 2016.

    David Mowat

    The direct costs of administering the NHS Low Income Scheme in England in the last three financial years are set out in the table. The figures do not include overheads associated with the wider infrastructure of the NHS Business Services Authority.

    Year

    Direct costs (England only) (£ million)

    2015/16

    £1,327

    2014/15

    £1,397

    2013/14

    £1,414

    Source: provided by the NHS Business Services Authority

    There is no apparent reason for the decrease in the numbers of HC3 certificates issued between 2008 and 2016. There has been no significant change to the scheme criteria nor the rules for calculation during this period. However, as the application numbers have decreased, there has been a corresponding decrease in the certificates issued.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the total beneficiaries from the Thalidomide Health Grants in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The Thalidomide Health Grants are currently for 10 years from 2012 to 2022.They total £80 million in England, £14.2 million in Scotland, £7.5 million in Wales and £4.6 million in Northern Ireland. The Thalidomide Trust administer the Health Grants and the number of beneficiaries receiving the Grants since their inception is set out in the following table.My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (George Freeman) MP, had an introductory meeting with representatives from the Thalidomide Trust and its National Advisory Councilon 22 October last year.

    Country

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    England

    325

    325

    325

    325

    Scotland

    58

    55

    54

    55

    Wales

    30

    31

    31

    31

    Northern Ireland

    19

    19

    19

    19

    Total

    432

    430

    429

    430

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils in Years 10 and 11 were (a) permanently and (b) temporarily excluded from school had autism spectrum disorder in each of the last five years.

    Edward Timpson

    The number of pupils recorded as having a mental health condition who received a permanent or fixed period exclusion is not held by the Department.

    The number and proportion of pupils in national curriculum year group 10 and 11 with an autistic spectrum disorder primary need who were excluded in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

    Information on the number of fixed period and permanent exclusions for all pupils, including separate breakdowns by national curriculum year group and special educational need provision, is available in the ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England’ National Statistics release[1].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions

    “

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he intends to answer the letter dated 12 January 2016 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Sara Lyons, transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HMRC officials are looking into this case and the Right hon. Member will receive a reply in due course.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what process he is following to develop the Apprenticeship Levy Digital Voucher.

    Nick Boles

    The digital apprenticeship service is being built by the Skills Funding Agency in accordance with Cabinet Office best practice.

    To ensure that the service is focused on employer and training provider needs we are performing extensive user research. The service will build on insights gathered from over 2000 employers and around 400 training providers. To make sure that the service is ready for the levy in April 2017, we plan to launch a substantial pilot with employers and providers later this year.

    Further details on the apprenticeship levy and the digital apprenticeship service will be available in the guide for employers which will be published shortly on gov.uk.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate the handling of recent protests in Oromia, Ethiopia.

    James Duddridge

    We remain deeply concerned about the handling of demonstrations in Oromia, including the reported deaths of a number of protestors, and about those detained under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. We have repeatedly made representations to the Ethiopian Government over the situation in that region. Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for International Development, raised our concerns with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January and Her Majesty’s Ambassador last raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam on 26 April.

    I met with Dr Tedros at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on 27 January. I raised the UK’s concerns with regards to the human rights situation. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, most notably through our ongoing Human Rights Dialogue, as well as jointly with our international partners.

    The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been appointed to look into the handling of the protests in Oromia. We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation and we await the publication of their report. We will continue to urge the EHRC and the Government of Ethiopia to ensure that their report is credible, transparent and leads to concrete action. We will take a view on what further lobbying, if any, might be appropriate following the publication of the EHRC report.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 July (HL859), why they do not routinely monitor the timing of the publication of any scientific papers describing the derivation of stem cells; and what assessment they have made of what the maximum time interval should be between publication of any scientific papers describing the derivation of stem cells and the deposit of corresponding samples in the UK Stem Cell Bank.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The UK Code of Practice for the Use of Human Stem Cell Lines does not require monitoring of the timing of scientific publications arising from the derivation of stem cell lines. A copy of the Code of Practice is attached.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the new junior doctors’ contract on the average pay of junior doctors.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The average pay of junior doctors will not change. The cost neutrality of the new contract means that the contract cannot in anyway be used to save money – it maintains the current spend for the current number of full-time equivalent doctors working the current average working week. The British Medical Association itself acknowledged this commitment and communicated it to its junior doctor members before the vote on the contract. Any growth in the junior doctor workforce/commitment will be funded from outside that envelope and the same average pay would apply to new juniors working the same working patterns.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve the frequency of services to Luton Airport Parkway in the 2018 East Midlands franchise specification.

    Claire Perry

    Detailed work on the 2018 East Midlands franchise specification will begin in the Spring, and as with all franchise competitions, a public consultation exercise will take place later this year to help inform the specification for the next long-term franchise.