Tag: 2016

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group on the future of the Fracture Clinic Service and physiotherapy service in Greenwich and whether that service is included in the contract awarded to Circle Holdings PLC to provide musculoskeletal services; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The provision of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    There have been no meetings between Ministers at the Department of Health and Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on progress towards meeting the Getting it Right First Time requirements since the contract for musculoskeletal services was awarded to Circle Holdings PLC.

    Neither have there been meetings between Ministers at the Department and Greenwich CCG regarding the future of the Fracture Clinic Service and physiotherapy service in Greenwich and on whether the service is included in the contract awarded to Circle Holdings PLC to provide musculoskeletal services.

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has accrued to the public purse from Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Hinds

    Total Machine Games Duty (MGD) receipts for the years ending 31 March 2015 and 2014 were £562 million and £502 million. Total Amusement Machine Licence Duty receipts for the year ending 31 March 2013 were £151million.

    Receipts from fixed odds betting terminals are not separately identified in the figures published in HMRC’s Tax & Duty bulletin. The bulletin can be found here:

    https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx

    “

  • 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 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of in which type of healthcare there is greatest geographical disparity of treatment (a) availability, (b) choice and (c) outcomes across England.

    Jane Ellison

    No such assessment has been made. However, the Right Care programme actively uses variation between clinical commissioning groups to help identify those diseases or conditions that have the potential for greatest improvement. Indicators used include prevalence, treatment and outcomes.

    The NHS Atlas of Variation, Commissioning for Value Packs and indicators in the National Health Service Outcomes Framework and Public Health Outcomes Framework provide publicly accessible resources to compare geographical areas and highlight health inequalities and other variation across a wide variety of indicators.

  • 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 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a limit on the number of Tier 2 (ICT) visas a company can apply for each year.

    James Brokenshire

    A Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) certificate of sponsorship (CoS) issued by a Tier 2 (ICT) licensed company is required for a migrant worker to be granted a Tier 2 (ICT) visa. There is no limit to the number of Tier 2 (ICT) CoS that a company can apply for each year. When applying for a sponsor licence the company must tell UKVI how many CoS they may need to the end of the financial year and justify why they need them.

    Licensed companies with a proven history of compliance are automatically allocated the same number of CoS they used in the previous financial year. All other sponsors must request CoS each financial year and justify why they are needed. Additional CoS can be requested at any time by all licensed sponsors.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many public libraries have closed since 2010; how many are currently under threat of closure; and what action they are taking to ensure that public libraries are maintained as a statutory service and to promote improvement of the public library service.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport monitors closely proposed changes to library service provision throughout England. The Department does not maintain detail on the number of public libraries under review by local authorities, but based on desk research we estimate that from January 2010 to January 2016 approximately 110 static public libraries in England closed completely.

    Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how best to provide a comprehensive and efficient public library service to their local community, within available resources.

    My Department, together with the Local Government Association, has set up a Leadership for Libraries Taskforce to help public libraries in England build on good practice and add value for the communities they serve. The Taskforce is currently consulting on the attached document at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/libraries-deliver-ambition-for-public-libraries-in-england-2016-2021 which sets out the ambition for public libraries in the future. Furthermore, thanks to Government funding, free Wi-Fi is available to 99% of public libraries in England.

  • 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 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support has been offered to the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance in addition to the support given over the Right Chair, Right Time, Right Now campaign and charter.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Minister for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt), together with the Minister for Disabled People (Justin Tomlinson) recently met with Baroness Grey-Thompson, Chair of the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance, and NHS England to discuss what action could be taken to improve wheelchair services. This includes NHS England discussing the focus and content of a model service specification for wheelchairs with the Alliance.

    NHS England made available a further £10,000 to the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance for support during 2015/16.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has undertaken of the level of need to transfer European Court of Justice rulings into legislation to ensure their continued application in Britain after the UK leaves the EU.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The UK remains a member of the EU until our withdrawal is completed. We will exercise our rights and meet our obligations as a member of the EU accordingly. Under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, the arrangements relating to the UK’s withdrawal are to be made between the UK and the EU.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to speed up family reunification in the UK for unaccompanied refugee children currently in Europe.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Under the Immigration Act 2016, we made a commitment to transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests. Between 12 May and 1 October 2016 over 50 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer, over 35 have already been transferred.

    We are fully committed to the implementation of Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. We are in active discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the French, Italian and Greek Governments to strengthen and speed up mechanisms to identify, assess and transfer children to the UK. We have secondees in Greece and Italy and we have recently seconded another UK expert to France.

    On 10 October, the Home Secretary met with French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to discuss a range of issues, including the proposed clearance of the camp in Calais. The Home Secretary made clear that we will transfer as many minors as possible who have family links that would qualify under the Dublin Regulation before the camp clearance starts. The Home Secretary further emphasised that the remaining children, who may be eligible to come to the UK under the Dubs amendment must be moved to safe facilities where their best interests can be properly considered. Home Office teams are being deployed to France over the coming weeks to work with the French authorities to speed up the identification and transfer of eligible cases.

    More broadly, the family reunion provisions under the Immigration Rules allow children to be reunited with a parent who has been granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK; unless the applicant and/or the family member should be excluded from protection or criminality thresholds apply.

  • 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 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 20054, what funding was allocated to the Winter Weather Repair Fund in 2014-15.

    Andrew Jones

    In 2014/15, the Government provided £950 million to local highway authorities for highways maintenance, including £168 million to specifically tackle potholes across the country.

    In March 2014, the Government provided an additional £183.5 million to help repair local highway infrastructure damaged by the winter floods of 2013/14. This funding was spent by local highway authorities in 2014/15.

    Overall, between 2010 to 2015, local highways maintenance funding was 27% or £1billion higher than under the previous Labour administration.