UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding BHS being placed in administration, and in particular in to the implications for employees, pension scheme members and creditors.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    When a company enters administration, the administrators have to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills within three months on the conduct of the directors.

    In the case of BHS the Insolvency Service is making early contact with the administrators to discuss the directors’ conduct and to consider whether further steps, such as a detailed investigation, may be necessary.

    Where misconduct is established it can lead to disqualification of a director for between 2 and 15 years.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has access to North Korean refugees in China; and what steps they have taken to address the specific matter of China’s responsibilities to aid North Korean refugees fleeing North Korea.

    Baroness Verma

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not have access to the North Koreans at the border area in China.

    We raise our concerns around refoulement – the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution – regularly through our Embassy in Beijing and at the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of his Department’s staff are based in the Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place; and what plans he has for the future of those jobs.

    Joseph Johnson

    As of 1 November 2016, there are 21 members of staff based in the Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place. Following the recent Machinery of Government changes, BEIS is considering how to best align the reform agendas of its predecessor departments.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS prescription charge penalty charge notices were issued in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was recovered in (a) prescription income and (b) penalty charges and surcharges in the last year for which information is available.

    David Mowat

    The number of National Health Service prescription charge penalty charge notices issued between September 2015 and August 2016, which is the most recent 12-month period for which we have complete data, was 780,953. Where no response was received to the initial penalty charge notice a follow up surcharge letter was issued to the patient. For the same period a total of 333,508 surcharge letters were issued.

    The value of the recovered prescription income in this period was £2,556,941, and the value of the income from penalty charges and surcharges was £8,678,911 and £745,830, respectively.

    Since taking over the administration of the Prescription Exemption Checking Service in September 2014, the NHS Business Services Authority has not issued any court proceedings for debt recovery in relation to NHS prescription charges and penalties.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what risk assessment has been made of the proposed centre for destitute asylum seekers in Goytre.

    James Brokenshire

    The premises in Goytre is one of a number of sites throughout the UK that the Home Office, along with its providers, has initially identified as potentially suitable for providing temporary reception facilities for asylum seekers. Initial assessments undertaken by the provider suggest that Goytre could meet the appropriate requirements laid out in Schedule 2 of the COMPASS contract. If the provider elects to progress this option, further appropriate assessments will be completed prior to any commercial agreements and utilisation of the site.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how Government targets for the proportion of business created in supply chains for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) under public procurement contracts apply to companies subject to mergers, acquisitions or other changes in status that take those companies out of the SME category.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government has a target that 33% of central government business, by direct spend and through the supply chain, will go to small and medium businesses by 2020.

    We assess progress against the overall target on a regular basis, including an assessment of those companies identified as Small or Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Where companies no longer meet the statutory definition of an SME at the time of assessment, they are no longer counted.

  • Mark Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mark Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for emergency authorisation for the use of neonicotinoids have been received in 2016; and how many of those applications have been granted.

    George Eustice

    No applications have been received in 2016 for the emergency authorisation of neonicotinoids.

  • 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 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the return on each pound invested in mental health research.

    George Freeman

    The estimated return on each pound invested by government and charities in mental health research is between 22 pence and 25 pence per annum. This consists of an estimate of the net value to the United Kingdom of the health benefit arising from the research of seven pence per annum, and the most recent estimate of the general economic benefit that arises from research of between 15 pence and 18 pence per annum for each pound invested.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish a public inquiry into care failings in the Liverpool Community NHS Trust in the light of findings that executive directors of the trust downgraded serious risks or incidents and kept information from non-executive board members.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are assured by NHS Improvement that it continues to work closely with the Trust following the support provided by the NHS Trust Development Authority (NTDA). Following the Care Quality Commission’s report of 2014, the NTDA took immediate steps to improve the skill set within the executive team, commissioned a board capability review and provided clinical and quality support in developing and delivering a quality improvement plan. As further issues came to light, the non-executive and the executive teams at the time of the failings were replaced.

    A recent independent review made clear that the drive of the board to achieve foundation trust (FT) status was a dominant factor which contributed towards the failures of the trust. The report suggests that the board was managed in the way it was to ensure the FT application remained on track and that this led to downplaying of risks. A copy of this review, Quality, safety and management assurance review at Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust, is attached.

    The Trust withdrew its application for FT status in January 2015. It is now actively working towards a transaction that is likely to see the trust’s services being delivered by alternative providers

    In addition to a new leadership team in place, a number of other measures are being progressed. There is an ongoing improvement plan, the continued support of NHS Improvement, implementation of the independent review’s recommendations and a well-advanced transaction proposal that is likely to lead to the eventual disestablishment of the Trust. However we will consider the possibility of a further review with the leadership of NHS Improvement.

    NHS Improvement is currently developing a new approach to authorising FTs. It will allow National Health Service trusts to demonstrate they meet the standards expected of FT status without the process becoming a serious distraction for them.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many companies required to pay levies to the Pension Protection Fund had put in place a contingent asset that replaced the Pension Protection Fund’s Failure Score for the company with that of a different company in each of the three years to 2012–13; and what are the names of those companies.

    Baroness Altmann

    We are unable to supply the information requested as to do so would incur disproportionate cost. Furthermore, the names of the companies concerned are classed as ‘Restricted Information’ under the Pensions Act 2004.