Tag: 2016

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, a claimant receiving Employment and Support Allowance support component prior to April 2017 who is reassessed after April 2017 and moved to the work-related activity group would have their benefit reduced to the level of Jobseeker’s Allowance.

    Lord Freud

    The changes as introduced to the House of Commons on 9th July 2015 would mean that existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the contracting out of healthcare provision to the private and charity sector does not lead to fragmentation or waste in NHS provision.

    Ben Gummer

    Our position on who should provide services is taken to ensure patients receive the best possible services and outcomes. These decisions are taken by the local clinical commissioning groups, which are clinically led and therefore best placed to act for the benefit of their patients.

    Competition for quality, on the basis of fixed national tariffs, is one of a number of tools available to commissioners to drive greater integration in healthcare provision across the National Health Service.

  • 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 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for how many hospital shifts a full complement of staff was not available in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold this information.

    All National Health Service providers of regulated activities have to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. One of the fundamental standards relates to staffing and requires that a provider must have sufficient numbers of suitability qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons in order to meet the requirements of residents.

    The CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if the provider is not does not meet the fundamental standards.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have offered places to unaccompanied refugee children from (1) Europe, and (2) Syria, and which councils other than Kent County Council have already filled their quota.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    As the Prime Minister announced on 4 May and as set out in the new Immigration Act 2016, we will work to admit unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK. The very nature of this legislation means we must take the time to consult others before bringing final proposals on how to implement this scheme.

    We will consult local authorities to establish how best to implement this commitment and the recently announced Children at Risk resettlement scheme, which is the only other resettlement to include unaccompanied children, as part of our wider discussion with them about the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have arrived spontaneously, which is designed to relieve the pressure on authorities such as Kent. We are not proposing to ask local authorities to distinguish between which unaccompanied children they accept.

    We are determined to ensure that no local authority is asked to take more than the local structures are able to cope with. That is why we are talking to local authorities and other partners including non-governmental organsations to ensure that capacity can be identified and the impact can be managed in a fair and controlled way.

    Work has already begun and we are committed to act as quickly as we can but it is important we take the necessary time to ensure we have the capacity to resettle and support those who are resettled. We must also ensure that we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Creative Industries Council in its report entitled Create Together, published in July 2016, on clarifying the role of safe harbours and rights holders’ remuneration.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Create Together strategy produced by the industry members of the Creative Industries Council is a strategy for building on the economic success of the UK’s creative sector. It is one which the Government supports. Government is currently reviewing specific recommendations within the strategy, including on safe harbour. We are strongly committed to working constructively with industry on these issues.

    The Government agrees that it should not be possible to benefit from encouraging the posting of copyright infringing content through safe harbours, and that the rules governing who is responsible for such content should be clear. In developing the UK’s copyright framework going forward, we will consider whether the current situation is providing the right mix of incentives and protections.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that human rights are being upheld in Ethiopia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain deeply concerned by the violence which has occurred in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia throughout 2016 including the high number of deaths.

    We have made clear to the Government of Ethiopia, including at ministerial level, our concerns about the handling of these protests. We have reiterated our strong support for the constitutional right of all Ethiopian citizens to gather peacefully and express their opinions. We also supported the EU’s statement of 10 August expressing concern and condolences to those affected, and their statement on the current state of emergency.

    At the Ethiopian state opening on Parliament on Monday 10 October, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, announced proposals which Ethiopia hope will address some of the underlying grievances of the wider population.

    We continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, as well as jointly with our international partners.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how his Department will measure the progress of the roll-out of the broadband universal service obligation.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Once the new broadband USO is in place, Ofcom will monitor its implementation and feedback progress to Government.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the publication, entitled The Department for Education review, published in November 2012, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential benefits of departmental regional office bases to the delivery of his Department’s policies.

    Joseph Johnson

    There have been no conversations between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Secretary of State for Education on the subjects above.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to enforce section 54 of the Pensions Act 2008.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Section 54 of the Pensions Act 2008 prohibits employers from taking any action for the sole or main purpose of inducing a worker to leave a workplace pension scheme.

    The Government takes potential inducement by employers very seriously. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is responsible for all matters relating to employers’ compliance with their enrolment duties, including investigations into individual cases of potential inducement by employers.

    Through automatic enrolment we are delivering a fundamental shift in workplace pension saving that is changing the way that people are enabled to save for retirement. Already 100,668 employers have completed their declaration of compliance with the Regulator, resulting in more than 6 million eligible jobholders being automatically enrolled into a qualifying pension scheme.

    The law relating to inducements is an important safeguard for workers and the Regulator has statutory powers of investigation and enforcement it can use in appropriate circumstances. We are working with the Regulator to monitor the number and nature of possible inducement cases as the roll-out of automatic enrolment continues. That will enable us to judge whether the current legislation covering inducement, and the guidance and messaging provided by the Regulator, are operating effectively to protect employees, and whether change may be appropriate.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve dental standards amongst primary school age children.

    Alistair Burt

    We are committed to improving the oral health of school children. Public Health England (PHE) has produced a toolkit to support local authorities in their responsibility to improve dental health and reduce inequalities among children and young people in their area. It supports local authorities to invest in programmes which have demonstrated improvement in children’s dental health, for example targeted community-based fluoride varnish programmes, targeted tooth brushing programmes and water fluoridation. PHE has also this year published a toolkit to support the consideration of water fluoridation as a measure to reduce levels of tooth decay.

    Sugar consumption is the primary cause of tooth decay in children. The Sugar Swaps campaign was launched in January 2015, helping families reduce their sugar consumption through making simple swaps to their diets. In addition PHE has developed guidance for dental teams on preventing dental disease in young children. Advice on prevention of dental disease has also been published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.