The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is an expectation that an area with a population of over 400,000 should be served by a fully-equipped accident and emergency service.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The detailed configuration of services is a matter for local commissioners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-03-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in response to Main Finding 4 of the 2014 Annual Report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator relating to the admission arrangements of schools that are their own admission authority.
Lord Nash
The Department is giving careful consideration to the findings in the Chief Schools Adjudicator’s annual reports published in December 2014 and November 2015 as part of our current review of the School Admissions Code. We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-03-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in response to Main Finding 5 of the 2014 Annual Report of the Chief Schools Adjudicator relating to admission priority to Reception Year.
Lord Nash
The Department is giving careful consideration to the findings in the Chief Schools Adjudicator’s annual reports published in December 2014 and November 2015 as part of our current review of the School Admissions Code. We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why former foster children cannot claim for criminal injuries compensation against foster parents who have been abusive.
Lord Faulks
Former foster children can apply to the publically funded criminal injuries compensation scheme if they have suffered serious physical or mental injury as the direct result of a violent crime. Awards made under the scheme are paid for by tax payers and not the perpetrator of the violent crime.
If former foster parents were convicted of an offence that resulted in personal injury, loss or damage, when sentencing the court would consider making an order for compensation in favour of the victim which would be paid by the perpetrators.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they give to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board about best practice with respect to keeping open indefinitely cases relating to claimants who allege that they have been abused as children.
Lord Faulks
The criminal injuries compensation scheme recognises that children who have suffered injuries as a result of crime may require greater support in making an application for compensation. The scheme allows those injured as children to make an application up to their 20th birthday, or if the crime was reported after their 18th birthday a period of 2 years from that report in which to do so, providing the applicant includes supporting evidence which allows the case to be concluded without further extensive enquiries. These periods may be extended in exceptional circumstances, also subject to sufficient supporting evidence in respect of the claim being provided.
In addition, an applicant can also apply at any point to have their case medically reopened, should their condition change to such an extent that it would be unjust not to make a further award. A request to medically reopen the case should be made within 2 years of the case being finalised, but can be considered after this time, providing the applicant includes supporting evidence which allows the case to be concluded without further extensive enquiries.
This Government is committed to supporting victims of sexual abuse. As part of this the Ministry of Justice has instructed the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to abide by an embargo on the destruction of files to ensure retention of anything that might be of relevance to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been allocated via the academy conversion grant in each of the last five financial years.
Lord Nash
There have been 3,327 converter academies opened during the current and preceding four financial years, each receiving the standard conversion support grant of £25,000 to spend on the conversion process.
Further details are in the table below:
|
Financial Year |
Converter academies opened |
|
2014-15 |
608 |
|
2013-14 |
573 |
|
2012-13 |
786 |
|
2011-12 |
1,100 |
|
Total |
3,327 |
Figures for 2015-16 are not available at this stage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of the charges deferred to local authority budgets as a consequence of a school with a deficit joining an Academy Trust with an external sponsor, in each of the last five financial years.
Lord Nash
The Department does not hold this information on local authority budgets.
It is right that the deficits of sponsored academies remain with their local authority when they convert. These schools were the responsibility of the authority when they were found to be failing or underperforming and it is the authority’s responsibility for ensuring the school managed its expenditure satisfactorily.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to the nearest fully-equipped accident and emergency department.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department.
The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.
Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the reorganisation of accident and emergency departments in England has affected the time taken for a patient with a serious emergency to be taken from their home to the nearest fully-equipped accident and emergency unit.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England has advised that it does not collect data on the average time taken in England for the ambulance service to take a patient from their home to an accident and emergency department.
The Government is clear the reconfiguration of front line health services is a matter for the local NHS. Services should be tailored to meet the needs of the local population, and proposals for substantial service change must meet the four tests of reconfiguration which are: (i) support from GP commissioners; (ii) strengthened public and patient engagement; (iii) clarity on the clinical evidence base and (iv) support for patient choice.
Locally driven elements of reconfiguration mean delivery will largely be managed by NHS England, who will work closely with commissioners, the Trust Development Authority and Monitor, and only approve the progression of proposals to consultation that have local support. We are aware that NHS England, in their guidance ‘Planning and delivering service changes for patients’, emphasise that NHS service change planners include an analysis of distance and travel times, the impact of these on transport users, as well as the ambulance service. A copy of this guidance is attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2016-01-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the necessity to ensure that private finance initiative hospitals retain maximum use is distorting the siting of full accident and emergency and consultant-led maternity units.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Decisions on reconfiguration are for local commissioners based on identification of local need. NHS England published Planning, assuring and delivering service change for patients on 29 October 2015, a copy of which is attached, providing refreshed guidance for those considering, and involved in, service reconfiguration.
The guidance makes clear that any proposal for service reconfiguration must satisfy the Government’s four tests for change:
(i) strong public and patient engagement;
(ii) consistency with current and prospective need for patient choice;
(iii) a clear clinical evidence base; and
(iv) support for proposals from clinical commissioners.
The guidance includes that commissioners should build proposals by identifying the range of service change options that could improve outcomes within available resources; and that proposals should be clear about the impact of the proposed changes on outcomes for patients.