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Tag: 2016

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on average patient waiting times of the use of closed waiting lists at GP surgeries.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not assessed waiting times for appointments, as each practice decides how to operate in order to meet the contractual requirement to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. The needs of patients can vary considerably from one practice to another.

    NHS England does not routinely collect data on either general practitioner (GP) appointment or GP registration waiting times. NHS England is currently establishing a new collection process to gather information on closed patient lists routinely. Therefore, it is not able currently to assess the impact of a practice closing their list on appointment waiting times.

    Practices may only close their lists to new patients with the approval of NHS England.

    NHS England works with GP practices to ensure patient lists remain open wherever possible. It is possible that the reasons for closing a practice list impact on the flow of appointments to existing patients e.g. with the sudden loss of a GP, but such effects will often be temporary.

    Any patient struggling to find a practice accepting new patients can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for support.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of uninsured vehicles in the UK; and how many vehicles were seized for unpaid insurance in each year since 2009-10.

    Andrew Jones

    Since 2011 the Government has had in place an insurance and compliance strategy, namely the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) scheme operated by DVLA and the Motor Insurers Bureau, which aims to reduce the level of uninsured driving.

    It is estimated that CIE has already helped reduce levels of uninsured driving from 1.4 million in 2010 to 1 million vehicles now.

    The police have powers under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to seize a vehicle that is being used on a public road without motor insurance. How police enforce the law is an operational matter for their discretion.

    The table below shows the number of vehicles seized by the police for driving without insurance.

    Year

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    vehicles seized

    180,000

    150,000

    140,000

    137,000

    135,000

    116,000

    121,000

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Matt Hancock

    All employees are by law required to be paid the National Living Wage. No directly employed or agency staff are employed on zero hour contacts.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications his Department has received for the Widening Access Tax Rebate Scheme for trainee psychologists in each year since the rebate scheme has been in operation.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on the specific course undertaken so is unable to provide figures for the number of applications for trainee psychologists.

  • 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, what steps he is taking to catalyse the delivery of the wider commercial development in the direct commissioning site at Daedelus Waterfront.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Homes and Communities Agency continues to work with the local authority to explore options for bringing forward the wider Daedalus site.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the vacancy rates are in (a) child psychiatry, (b) child psychology and (c) mental health nursing for child and adolescent mental health services in each (i) region and (ii) clinical commissioning group in each of the last 10 years.

    Ben Gummer

    The vacancy rates in child psychiatry, child psychology and mental health nursing for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are not collected.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to review the efficacy of the 111 service in ensuring that 999 is not used in medical non-emergencies.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS 111 services are commissioned by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that should ensure all the services they commission are effective.

    NHS England’s monthly published data for the period April to September 2015 show that 11% of calls handled by NHS 111 resulted in dispatch of an ambulance.

    Most recent figures show that nationally 90.4% of NHS 111 users are satisfied with the service they get.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what regulations govern parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving Cafcass.

    Caroline Dinenage

    There are no regulations governing parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). The extent of the role and responsibilities of Cafcass officers is set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Direction 16a, and this refers to the duty to “make such investigations as may be necessary”. Cafcass practitioners are aware that they must consider the best interests of the child in all aspects of their casework, including dealing with a request from a parent to record an interview.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34792, how the £4 million allocation from LIBOR fines that have been allocated for mental health support is being divided between emergency services; and what proportion of that funding will be allocated to (a) firefighters, (b) police officers and staff and (c) paramedics and ambulance staff.

    Mike Penning

    The LIBOR funding allocated to support emergency services staff and volunteers was allocated to a variety of charities covering all the emergency services. The Police and Fire Service treatment and rehabilitation centres and the Air Ambulance Services Charity are among the charities in receipt of LIBOR funding and they support retired as well as serving personnel. Information is not held centrally on proportions of funding allocated to each emergency service or to retired emergency services workers.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Pensions Regulator will now update its rules on defined benefit (DB) schemes to clarify the legal responsibilities of DB trustees.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Parliament has given the Pensions Regulator operational independence from the Government. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for the Government to comment on such matters. However, we can confirm that the Regulator provides clear guidelines for pension scheme trustees on the requirements for a well-run and well-funded defined benefit scheme, to enable them to meet their legal obligations. These guidelines include a detailed online learning programme for trustees. Trustees must also appoint the right people, including actuaries, auditors, and other appropriate advisers, to help them run their scheme. The Government keeps the Regulator’s role and remit under review.